A BOOK REVIEW OF THE BEEKEEPER'S SON BY KELLY IRVIN

Incredible writing talent by Kelly Irvin is the first thing readers will notice about The Beekeeper’s Son (Zondervan Fiction).  Kelly’s vivid descriptions of the landscape and characters engage the reader and add immensely to the reading experience.  This enchanting and absorbing novel is hard to put down and is filled with messages from the Good Word.

Widowed Abigail Lantz is moving her children from their home in Ethridge, Tennessee to a small Amish settlement in Bee County, Texas.  Abigail’s brother John and his family live there in the middle of desolation, heat, and dirt.  The Amish in Bee County don’t take care of their property like the Ethridge Amish do.  It’s no wonder that depression begins to set in for the Lantz’s.

Oldest daughter, 19 year old Deborah, is missing her special friend, Aaron, back in Tennessee but he is already moving on, much to Deborah’s despair. Deborah’s mother, Abigail is making this move to see if she and an old friend, Stephen, are compatible for marriage.  Kelly Irvin’s writing surrounding this couple is engrossing.  Readers will be in suspense waiting to see how Stephen and Abigail’s relationship turns out.

One of the Bee County families steps up to befriend Abigail and her children.  Mordecai King and his family raise bees to sell their wax and honey.  His son, Phineas King, is physically and mentally traumatized from an accident that killed his mother when he was a small child.  Now as a young adult, he keeps to himself and rarely speaks to anyone as he feels too disfigured to mix with others. 

When Phineas and Deborah meet, sparks fly but neither want to acknowledge the attraction.  Phineas doesn’t feel like anyone could ever love him since he is facially scarred.  He tries to push Deborah away at every chance he gets as he detests pity and to protect his heart from more pain.  Deborah doesn’t understand why Phineas doesn’t believe her when she tries to express her feelings and she gets discouraged.

With two romances to develop, and a few calamities thrown in, this book is very noteworthy and a real page turner.  Kelly Irvin writes with a passion for prayer and Christian values that is woven throughout the pages.  The Beekeeper’s Son is a keeper, worthy of purchase for any book collection.  The Beekeeper’s Son was published January 12, 2015.