QUEEN BEE Lowcountry Tales, Book 12

Narrator Shannon McManus performs this Lowcountry story about three women, each on the brink of change. Holly raises bees while waiting for a teaching position to open up at the local elementary school, Leslie has moved back home because her marriage is in trouble, and their mother--referred to as the Queen Bee--is starting to have health issues. Although generally engaging, the performance would have benefited from more sharply distinguished voices to make the dialogue easier to follow. But McManus's hint of a Southern accent helps ground the audiobook to the Sullivan Island setting, and her lively delivery amplifies the humor and drama that ensue after the women, reunited under one roof, attempt to sort out their love lives, their family dynamics, and their futures. C.B.L. © AudioFile 2019, Portland, Maine [Published: AUGUST 2019]