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A Novel
by Eileen Garvin
Three lonely strangers in a rural Oregon town, each working through grief and life's curveballs, are brought together by happenstance on a local honeybee farm where they find surprising friendship, healing--and maybe even a second chance--just when they least expect it.
Forty-four-year-old Alice Holtzman is stuck in a dead-end job, bereft of family, and now reeling from the unexpected death of her husband. Alice has begun having panic attacks whenever she thinks about how her life hasn't turned out the way she dreamed. Even the beloved honeybees she raises in her spare time aren't helping her feel better these days.
In the grip of a panic attack, she nearly collides with Jake—a troubled, paraplegic teenager with the tallest mohawk in Hood River County—while carrying 120,000 honeybees in the back of her pickup truck. Charmed by Jake's sincere interest in her bees and seeking to rescue him from his toxic home life, Alice surprises herself by inviting Jake to her farm.
And then there's Harry, a twenty-four-year-old with debilitating social anxiety who is desperate for work. When he applies to Alice's ad for part-time farm help, he's shocked to find himself hired. As an unexpected friendship blossoms among Alice, Jake, and Harry, a nefarious pesticide company moves to town, threatening the local honeybee population and illuminating deep-seated corruption in the community. The unlikely trio must unite for the sake of the bees—and in the process, they just might forge a new future for themselves.
Beautifully moving, warm, and uplifting, The Music of Bees is about the power of friendship, compassion in the face of loss, and finding the courage to start over (at any age) when things don't turn out the way you expect.
What are you reading this week? And what did you think of last week’s books? (6/25/2026)
I came across Eileen Garvin's "Bumblebee Season", sequel to her "Music of Bees" (which I loved!). This one didn't reach that level but it was good to "catch up" with the characters. I just started "Spy Coast" by Tess Gerritsen and am tearing through it. A member of my book group recommended it an...
-Carol_Ann_Robb
What are you reading this week? And what did you think of last week’s books? (6/18/2026)
Last week I finished both Calamity Club by Stockett & Pair of Aces by Benjamin & Murray. Liked them both with their differing takes on prostitution during the 1930's in the South & NYC. I've just started Bumblebee Season by Eileen Garvin that I found by chance at the library–it's the sequel to he...
-Carol_Ann_Robb
What are you reading this week? (4/17/2025)
...my copy of Lessons In Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus in the mail on Friday and am enjoying it. It is more humorous than I anticipated. I am also reading The Music of Bees by Eileen Garvin.
-Dee_Hatcher
What are you reading this week? (3/12/2025)
...I am about a third of the way through At the Quiet Edge by Victoria Helen Stone, a mystery. Also, about to start Olive, Again by Elizabeth Strout and The Music of Bees by Eileen Garvin. I absolutely loved Garvin's book, Crow Talk.
-Dee_Hatcher
"Both buoyant and bittersweet, Garvin's impressive first novel, a luscious paean to the bonds of friendship and limitations of family, is the kind of comforting yet thought-provoking tale that will appeal to fans of Anne Tyler and Sue Miller." —Booklist (starred review)
"Genuinely touching." —Publishers Weekly
"The Music of Bees is a transportive tale to lighten the heart. Eileen Garvin has woven a hypnotic human story of perseverance and second chances with a glittering love letter to our pollinators. It combines a cast of marvelous characters with an utterly exquisite excursion into the buzzy life of bees. Every page hums with hope, gleaming with a message of our inextricable interconnectedness, both within our own species and to our home of the natural world. The Music of Bees is an enchanting book of belonging, overcoming adversity and the journey to find a hive of one's own." —Kira Jane Buxton, author of Hollow Kingdom
"I knew nothing about bees before reading this marvelous book, but now I'm craving honey. Who knew that the intricate miracle that is a beehive can contain such deep, surprising life lessons? This emotionally resonant story strikes to the heart of how grief can crack you open but lead to unexpected new ways to connect." —Judy Blundell, New York Times bestselling author of The High Season
This information about The Music of Bees was first featured
in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.
Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.
Eileen Garvin is a beekeeper and writer living in Hood River, Oregon. Her memoir, How to Be a Sister, was published in 2010. The Music of Bees is her debut novel.
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