The Beekeeper’s War

By: Deborah Carr

Narrated by: Kitty Kelly

Length: 9 hrs and 43 mins

Publisher's summary

Two women. Two wars. A secret that threatens to tear them apart.

1916

At the onset of war, Nurse Pru le Cuirot left her home in Jersey to care for injured soldiers at Ashbury Manor, Dorset. She wanted to do her bit but she never expected to meet Canadian pilot, Jack Garland, so unlike any man she has ever met.

When Jack is sent on a dangerous mission and vanishes, Pru is forced to make an agonising decision…one that will haunt them both forever.

1940

Another lifetime, but another war and Pru’s daughter Emma comes to Ashbury Manor. As Jersey falls to the Germans, Emma is fearful for her mother back home. And when she meets the mysterious beekeeper who lives in the grounds of the manor, she finds herself caught up in a web of lies. As past and present collide, will the secrets of her mother’s life finally be resolved?

©2022 Deborah Carr (P)2022 HarperCollins Publishers Limited

The Beekeeper's War.

WOW!! A well written story about 2 couples in WW1 and the feeling at the start of WWII. Good Characters set in a temporary hospital in an old large house.
Almost want a book 2 to have children's story.

The Beekeeper's War needs more stars.

I had already read the book twice and didn't think it could get any better. I was so wrong. The narrator brought the story even more to life because of her accent.

The Beekeeper's War has left of lasting impression. It is a fantastic story that begins in World War One and ends as the Germans are invading the Island of Jersey in World War Two. Grab the tissues you are going to need them as you travel back in time to the horrors of war.

Part One takes place during World War One. I admit I have not read near as many books about that war as I have World War Two. I need to rectify that error. The atrocities that the British soldiers endured were heart wrenching. The struggles of those in England were extreme. The Ashburys putting up their home as a place to recover was inspirational. I never realized until I was checking facts that hundreds of Britain's stately homes were turned into makeshift hospitals during World War I.

Pru and Jean were nurses that worked in the makeshift hospital on the Ashbury estate. They were on their feet, working their fingers to the bone yet still found an escape--love. The author was brilliant in using their budding romances as a way to tie in the pilots fighting for Britain and what they went through. The reader experiences the torture inflicted on British soldiers and the strength of those like Pru and Jean that accepted them as they were.

In today's society, illegitimate children are not Shunned. Unwed mothers are not cast out into the unknown. During WW1 things were different. The Beekeeper's War illustrated one solution. I am not sure I would have the strength that Pru, Monty, Jean and Jack had to keep a secret for over 22 years. As the world faces another war; truths are exposed.

When I started Part Two I had to stop and look at the clock. I needed to know that I had enough time to read it straight through without interruptions. The suspense was killing me. There were so many ways that the story could have gone.

Truths were about to be brought into the light. The horrors of the Great War linger. As England prepares for invasion, bringing Pru to safety is all that matters. Promises had been kept but now it is time to tell a story that will change everything.

The Beekeeper's War was a very emotional read. The story grabbed my interest and didn't let go. Any book that makes me think is fantastic, but this book was phenomenal.

Terrible book awful narrator!!!

I couldn’t even listen to this ! Character developed none! Because of the narration I was unable to take more than an hour
NEVER get anything by that person again.
I read a lot of books and one of my favorite eras is WW2 this book was a joke.
If I could give it no stars I would