THE STING OF DEATH

How's this for a devilishly different combination--an undertaker who's an amateur sleuth and a suspect who's a beekeeper? The setting is England's gorgeous Devon countryside. Drew Slocombe, head of Natural Burials, and his feisty assistant, Maggs, are consulted when a woman goes missing. Narrator Julia Franklin cleverly conveys characters of varying ages and classes as well as a wide range of accents. She provides emotional range as the region's farmers cope with the horror of the Mad Cow epidemic. When a child is found dead, the tension escalates and multiple suspects give Slocombe and Detective Den Cooper a real challenge. Tidbits about farming, bees, and death rituals add interest. There's even a charming blossoming romance. Franklin conveys a sense of hearing firsthand details as the story unfolds. S.G.B. © AudioFile 2013, Portland, Maine [Published: SEPTEMBER 2013]