The Last Beekeeper by Julie Carrick Dalton | Book Review

NAVIGATION

“Sasha had more to love in this world than at any point in her life. But having more to love meant having more to lose.“

I didn’t know what to expect when I picked up The Last Beekeeper. Maybe a story about bees, but from which angle, I wasn’t sure. This post-apocalyptic, eco-thriller was a pleasant surprise.

The nature writing being the foundation upon which the imagery and story are captured, I was reminded much of my reading experience of Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens.

Through the lens of our main character, Sasha, Dalton effortlessly captures the way the need to belong overrides many of the things we initially have in mind for ourselves. In Sasha’s case, she returns to her childhood home, expecting it to be abandoned. The plan was to build trust with squatters who had occupied the home and eventually reveal her intentions later. However, with time, and experience, the gravitation of gaining a found family and all its attributes proves to be stronger than she expected. This pull is so strong that she ignores every opportunity to be open and honest for fear of losing all that she’s gained. It was a rebuild and a restart that she and I didn’t see for herself.

The Last Beekeeper is a poignant story built around the extinction of bees due to an event dubbed The Great Collapse. As readers, we understand the significance of The Great Collapse in two timelines from Sasha’s perspective, bouncing from ages, 11, 22, and 23.

Shasha’s interactions with her imprisoned father, The Last Beekeeper, her sketchy uncle, and the team of individuals she meets along the way, all merge and progressively reveal several mysteries. Nestled in there is a long-kept secret that Sasha has to take great care in keeping or revealing.

Admittedly, I was afraid that the nature writing would make this story too technical, but it was not. Dalton included her knowledge, but not in a heavy-handed manner. I appreciate them for keeping it simplistic enough for me to understand how impactful this event was and its effect on agriculture and society.

If anything, after reading this book, if you don’t like the mystery or some of the character interactions, one of the takeaways should be a growing appreciation for pollinators and what they contribute to our ecosystem.

Several themes are explored in this book, family secrets, found family, and community were the ones I zoomed in on. Having finished the book, I know The Last Beekeeper is guaranteed to spur conversations centered around ecology and ultimately pose the questions: What would happen if bees were extinct, and is this story plausible? Dalton has made it so with her world-building and characterization.

I look forward to reading other books by Julie Carrick Dalton. With The Last Beekeeper, she showed that there can be beauty in chaos.

Many thanks to Forge Books, Julie Carrick Dalton, and NetGalley for an Advanced Review Copy in exchange for an honest review. My review/reaction is voluntary, all thoughts are mine and unbiased, and receiving the Advanced Review Copy does not influence my rating and/or recommendation.

Description

Julie Carrick Dalton’s The Last Beekeeper is a celebration of found family, an exploration of truth versus power, and the triumph of hope in the face of despair.

“Fans of Delia Owens will swoon to find their new favorite author.” (Hank Phillippi Ryan)

It’s been more than a decade since the world has come undone, and Sasha Severn has returned to her childhood home with one goal in mind–find the mythic research her father, the infamous Last Beekeeper, hid before he was incarcerated. There, Sasha is confronted with a group of squatters who have claimed the quiet, idyllic farm as their own. While she initially feels threatened, the group soon becomes her newfound family, offering what she hasn’t felt since her father was imprisoned: security and hope. Maybe it’s time to forget the family secrets buried on the farm and focus on her future.

But just as she settles into her new life, Sasha witnesses the impossible. She sees a honey bee, presumed extinct. People who claim to see bees are ridiculed and silenced for reasons Sasha doesn’t understand, but she can’t shake the feeling that this impossible bee is connected to her father’s missing research. Fighting to uncover the truth could shatter Sasha’s fragile security and threaten the lives of her newfound family–or it could save them all.

Julie Carrick Dalton’s The Last Beekeeper is a celebration of found family, an exploration of truth versus power, and the triumph of hope in the face of despair. It is a meditation on forgiveness and redemption and a reminder to cherish the beauty that still exists in this fragile world.

***Book description from bookshop.org***