Reviews with content warning for Outing - Mad Honey

I haven’t read a book by Jodi Picoult in a long time (but she was a favorite growing up) and it was incredible to see how her and Jennifer Finney Boylan co-authored a dual POV book that read so seamlessly!

This book gave classic Jodi with mystery/drama, multiple twists, a compelling court case where you feel like a juror, social commentary that feels organic and not “preachy,” ethical dilemmas that cause you to consider things from a new perspective…

There was so much interesting information about bees and honey! I do think the book could have been shorter without some of this (because the book did feel so long, even on audio), and I don’t think all the bee info was strictly necessary, but it was an interesting aspect to the book and Olivia’s character, and the facts brought up tended to connect back to the story.

The dual timeline was a bit out of order in the past, but as long as I was paying attention, this didn’t bother me much. What did both me though was the ending - the last big twist in regards to the case felt rushed and not fully fleshed out, and then I didn’t feel satisfied with the explanation.

Content Warnings

kbweis's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

Content Warnings

melissafirman's review against another edition

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emotional sad

Loveable characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

I have mixed emotions about this book. Let's start with what I liked.

1. I'm a big fan of Jennifer Finney Boylan's writing and a bit less so of Jodi Picoult's. To be honest, I probably wouldn't have picked this up if JFB wasn't a co-author. For those new to her work, I highly recommend her novel Long Black Veil and memoir I'm Looking Through You: Growing Up Haunted. This is the third book of Jodi Picoult's I've read and all have been 3 stars.

2. For most of the first half (perhaps even 3/4) of the book, I was fully invested in the plot, wanting to know what happened. I felt the pacing was excellent, up to a particular point.

3. I loved Lily, felt like I knew her, and was truly sorry she was dead. (Not a spoiler-it's right on the book jacket.)

As we got closer to the end, however, it felt like several key aspects started to unravel. Mostly, I HAVE ISSUES AND LOTS OF QUESTIONS. Rant below:

WTF was that ending with Maya confessing???!! After she outright lied on the stand? Why didn't anyone do any semblance of investigation??!! It was like, oh, there's Asher's fingerprints, his shirt has Lily's blood, he's the spurned boyfriend, must be him! I get that Gina Jewett was trying to make a name for herself as the prosecutor (and I think that, in that regard, her last name is unfortunate at best and stereotypical at worst) but nobody talked to Ava about people Lily had problems with in the past, like HER FATHER who clearly knew where they now live and had a previous violent past in regard to Lily? What about that Jonah asshole, who conveniently pops up at Dartmouth? Why didn't they interrogate Maya more? I just didn't get it.

Some other issues: There's a lot about beekeeping, almost too much. I think those sections could have been greatly condensed. Plus, there are a lot of heavy topics included in this novel (read the trigger warnings) and that felt a bit like trauma p**n at times, not to mention repetitive, particularly regarding Olivia's relationship with her ex-husband. Overall, this could have been much shorter.

3.5 stars.

Content Warnings