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The Last Beekeeper
Julie Carrick Dalton's The Last Beekeeper is a celebration of found family, an exploration of truth versus power, and the triumph of hope in the face of despair.
It’s been more than a decade since the world has come undone, and Sasha Severn has returned to her childhood home with one goal in mind—find the mythic research her father, the infamous Last Beekeeper, hid before he was incarcerated.
There, Sasha is confronted with a group of squatters who have claimed the quiet, idyllic farm as a way to escape the horrific conditions of state housing. While she feels threatened by their presence at first, the friends soon become her newfound family, offering what she hasn’t felt since her father was imprisoned: security and hope. Maybe it’s time to forget the family secrets buried on the farm and focus on her future.
But just as she settles into her new life, Sasha witnesses the impossible. She sees a honeybee, presumed extinct. People who claim to see bees are ridiculed and silenced for reasons Sasha doesn’t understand, but she can’t shake the feeling that this impossible bee is connected to her father’s missing research. Fighting to uncover the truth could shatter Sasha’s fragile security and threaten the lives of her new-found family—or it could save them all.
Sasha’s journey is a meditation on forgiveness and redemption and a reminder to cherish the beauty that still exists in this fragile world.
Praise
“Julie Carrick Dalton’s second novel, THE LAST BEEKEEPER, buzzes with as much emotion and urgency as her debut, WAITING FOR THE NIGHT SONG … The significance of this story cannot be overstated. It is so much more than a tale about bees: it’s a story about humanity, determination, and honoring the delicate world in which we all live.”
—Sarah Penner, NYT bestselling author of The Lost Apothecary
“Julie’s passion and love for the natural world vibrates gloriously off every page… The Last Beekeeper is not only an intriguing mystery but an important reminder of what we stand to lose.”
—Charlotte McConaghy, NYT bestselling author of Once There Were Wolves
“Filled with meditations on the fragile beauty of nature and the power of hope and resilience, this heartfelt novel will keep readers turning the pages late into the night.”
—Angie Kim, internationally bestselling author of Miracle Creek
“Dalton weaves an intricate story of friendships carefully made and tended when mere survival would seem to make such bonds impossible. The Last Beekeeper is ingeniously plotted, both clever and tender on every page. I couldn’t put it down.”
—Rebecca Scherm, author of A House Between Earth and the Moon
“The Last Beekeeper is a moving novel about how radical hope can be kept alive in the face of personal grief and global loss.”
—Matt Bell, author of Appleseed
“The Last Beekeeper portrays an ecologically-impoverished future, with loving and resplendent attention to detail. Dalton’s nature writing is immersive, lush, and closely observed as ever, inviting you to experience afresh the humming of bees, the smell of lavender, and the taste of honey. Readers will revel in the warm embrace of a supportive, found family while dreading what may come if we don’t protect our pollinators.”
—Sim Kern, author of Real Sugar is Hard to Find
“Dalton writes with tension and sincerity that will thrill your soul. This wrenching story of the fate of the bees, and of humanity, reads like a thriller; but has the scholarly chops that set it alongside the finest of literary fiction. The Last Beekeeper set my mind buzzing and my heart rending as I tore through the pages to find a flight of hope.”
—Pamela Klinger-Horn, Valley Bookseller
“The Last Beekeeper is at once a soaring celebration of resilience and friendship, a lyrical exploration of familial ties, and a heartfelt ode to a quickly disappearing natural world. Gorgeous and urgent. I couldn’t put it down.”
—Dr. Amy Brady, Executive Director, Orion Magazine
“Told with beautiful rhythmic prose, The Last Beekeeper is an edge-of-your-seat thrill ride, and a reminder of the natural beauty we are surrounded by. A hugely satisfying and gorgeously written read sure to be a book club favorite.”
—Ron Block, host of Friends & Fiction’s Writer’s Block podcast
“Dalton’s prose is gorgeously sublime, magical, and compelling. Luckily for all of us she brings that and so much more to this novel about the extinction of honeybees, family heartbreak, and how these families make their way in the new world. Don’t miss it.”
—Carol Ann Tack, Merrick Library and host of Top Shelf podcast.