Telling the Bees

“With infinite compassion and perfect pitch, Peggy Hesketh has written an American classic.”—Elizabeth George

“Some have compared Telling the Bees, Peggy Hesketh’s first, stately and beautiful novel to The Remains of the Day, but to my mind it compares to the best of Elmore Leonard. There are murders here but much more than that: a series of glimpses into an entirely different and closed place…in addition to the murder-mystery part of this narrative, the bees add another entirely sweet layer of plot and character.”—The Washington Post

“ELEGIAC AND INTELLIGENT.”—Gordon McAlpine, author of Joy in Mudville

“WONDERFUL.”—Karen Joy Fowler, New York Times bestselling author

“HEARTFELT [AND] THOUGHT-PROVOKING.”—Library Journal (starred review)

“POIGNANT.”—Gail Tsukiyama, author of A Hundred Flowers

“CHARMING.”—Jo-Ann Mapson, author of Solomon’s Oak

“UTTERLY UNFORGETTABLE.”—BookPage

“DOWNRIGHT GORGEOUS.”—The Christian Science Monitor

Peggy Hesketh’s writing has appeared in Calliope and Antietam Review; her short story “A Madness of Two” was selected by Elizabeth George for inclusion in the anthology Two of the Deadliest. A longtime journalist, Hesketh teaches writing and rhetoric at the University of California, Irvine. This is her first novel.