The Colonel and the Bee by Patrick Canning

The Colonel and the Bee by Patrick Canning
Publisher: Evolved Publishing
Genre: Action/Adventure, Historical, Sci-Fi/Fantasy, Suspense/Mystery, YA
Length: Full Length (279 pgs)
Age Recommendation: 12+
Rating: 5 stars
Reviewed by Aloe

A peculiar explorer and downtrodden acrobat span the globe on a building-sized hot air balloon, in search of a precious artifact and the murderous treasure hunter who seeks it.

WINNER: Pinnacle Book Achievement Award – Summer 2018 – Best Adventure

Beatrix, a spirited but abused acrobat in a traveling circus, seeks more than her prison-like employment offers. More than anything, she wants to know her place in the world of the halcyon 19th century, a time when the last dark corners of the map were being sketched out and travel still possessed a kind of magic.

One night in Switzerland, the mysterious Colonel James Bacchus attends Beatrix’s show. This larger-than-life English gentleman, reputed to have a voracious appetite for female conquests, is most notable for traveling the world in a four-story hot air balloon called The Ox.
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Beatrix flees that night to join the Colonel, and the two of them make a narrow escape—Beatrix from her abusive ringleader, the Colonel from a freshly-made cuckold. Beatrix, feeling the Colonel may have the answers to her problems, pledges to help him catch the criminal he seeks in exchange for passage on his magnificent balloon.

The criminal seeks a precious figurine, The Blue Star Sphinx, but he’s not alone. The Sphinx’s immense value has also drawn the attention of the world’s most deadly treasure hunters. A murder in Antwerp begins a path of mystery that leads all the way to the most isolated island on Earth.

What dangers await the Colonel and the acrobat?

Beatrix is an orphan who works as a trapeze artist in the circus. She performs over bare ground to make it more dangerous. Her boss uses a whip to punish any employee that acts out or gets mouthy. She gets her fair share of correction because she talks back to him. But one night she sees an Englishman at the show and finds out he rides around in a hot air balloon. She likes the trapeze because it reminds her of flying. Imagine what it would be like to ride in a hot air balloon!

Beatrix begs to ride on the hot air balloon. She wants to escape the circus. The Colonel refuses but when she offers to help him find the criminal he’s hunting he finally decides he’ll take her. He doesn’t intend to keep her long.

It’s a four-story hot air balloon. He soon teaches her how to fly and manipulate the balloon. She’s not real good at it, but she learns to stay afloat. The only thing she doesn’t like about the Colonel is that he’s a womanizer. Every time they stop somewhere he’s out looking for a woman.

She meets the other members of his team and they all become friends. They’re looking for the mysterious Christopher and he’s hard to find. Bee doesn’t know but the Colonel has more secrets. It’s a good thing she had acrobat training. It’s the only thing that keeps her alive…

Mr. Canning writes a very good story. It starts with a fast pace and that lasts the whole story. There’s plenty of danger, lots of excitement, and two unlikely characters become a team. There’s not a boring part in this story. The story flows well and you almost think you’re losing a character or two but not to worry. It ends unusually but happily.