Mad Honey by Jodi Picoult & Finney Boylan

ONE BOOK TWO AUTHORS

It’s not often that my lovely mum brings back her books from holiday. But this one — she said it had to come home with her — and I promptly whipped it off her bedside table for my own reading pleasure.

I’m three quarters of the way through and I have to say, it’s a damn good read and one that’s got my mind seriously whirring. 

Written by two hugely acclaimed authors — Picoult’s only sold about 40 million copies of her books worldwide — the story is told from two perspectives. The first is that of beekeeper Olivia, written by Picoult, whose beloved son Asher is being tried for the murder of his girlfriend, Lily. The second is that of Lily herself, written by Finney Boylan.

Whilst both characters have very different voices, it’s a testament to both authors’ talents that the story is seamless and smooth and one that you can’t quite believe has two distinct composers. I certainly can’t. 

Set in New Hampshire, the sense of place created in this novel is almost as important as the plot and the characters themselves as you will genuinely feel like you are there, in small town America, living alongside them.

In terms of the story itself, it tackles major topics with great skill and tremendous sensitivity — abuse, domestic violence, identity and gender. Poignant and genuinely moving, it will stop you in your tracks because it does what the best books do; it makes you think ~ S