Mad Honey an absolutely heart-pounding and heart-breaking book club novel

Erneut hat mich Jodi, dieses Mal in Co-Authoring mit Jennifer Boylan, mitgerissen. Ich liebe ihre Erzählweise, wie man nach und nach Infos gefüttert wird, die für die Handlung (in diesem Fall erneut ein spannender Gerichtsprozess wegen einer Mordanklage) relevant sind. Obwohl ich jedes ihrer Bücher gelesen habe, hat mich dieses endlich mal wieder geschafft zu überraschen. Wer Komplexität bei Romanen mag, ist hier absolut an der richtigen Stelle! UND - man lernt hier wieder viel Neues, nicht nur über Bienen.

„We aren’t here on earth in order to bend over backwards to resemble everybody else. We’re here to be ourselves, in all our gnarly brilliance.“ Olivia McAfee and Lily Campanello have two things in common – they both know what it feels like to run from one‘s past and start over, and they love Olivia’s son with all their hearts. But both of their worlds are shattered when Lily is found dead and Asher ends up as the police’s prime suspect. Did Asher, despite Olivia’s best efforts, take after his father and really do what everybody says he did or was he simply in the wrong place at the wrong time? I find it really hard to properly review „Mad Honey“ without giving too much away as some of the most hard-hitting elements of the story only become apparent after some major plot twists. Just know that this book will pull on your heart-strings and isn’t an easy read due to topics like domestic violence, crimes against the LGBTQ+ community, abortion, murder and attempted suicide. I loved the dual POV, really getting to know Lily and Olivia, and seeing everything unfold through their eyes. Both of them are very strong characters who haven’t been dealt the best of hands and it’s easy to sympathize with them. Lily’s hesitance to reveal too much about her past is as understandable as it is heart-breaking and Olivia’s determination to stand by her son despite the uncertainty of his innocence, her own experiences and deepest fears just goes to show how unconditional a mother’s love can be. Despite the fact that I’ve been a huge fan of Jodi Picoult since I was a teenager and virtually all of her books have left a lasting impression on me, I appreciate that „Mad Honey“ was a joint endeavor. Jennifer Finney Boylan just brings an authenticity to the table that makes this book even more devastating and special. „Mad Honey“ is not an easy book to read and will pull on your heart-strings, enrage and surprise you in the best and worst ways possible. If you enjoy thought-provoking novels that stay with you long after you’ve read them, you should definitely give this one a go. Highly recommended!

Leider habe ich bei der Bestellung nicht gesehen, dass das Buch auf englisch ist. Doch um ein Buch in englischer Sprache zu lesen sind meine Sprachkenntnisse zu bescheiden. Jetzt warte ich halt auf die deutsche Ausgabe.