Review of Honey by Imani Thompson audiobook – dark school thriller | Audio books

Yrsa is a Black undergraduate curator studying for a PhD in sociology at Cambridge. She is tired of the annoying men in her way: the ones she works with, the ones she sleeps with and the ones who undermine her trust and that of her friends. He is also very sick of the students he studies with and the “confusion, doubt, arrogance that stares at him. Brown hair, Macs covered in stickers, nonsensical notes (while) explaining – as not all teachers here can do – how the world works.”

Early in Honey, we find Yrsa counseling her distraught friend, Nina, who has been sleeping with her married professor, Richardson. Not only has he reneged on his promise to leave his wife, but he has been using Nina’s research and passing it off as his own.

Later, when Yrsa runs into Richardson and sees a bee crawling around the edge of his lemonade can, she puts it in the drink. As a result the sting causes the death of the body. As he lies dead on the ground, Yrsa refuses to help and instead tastes the death penalty.

It’s shades of The Promising Girl and My Sister, the Serial KillerImani Thompson’s debut is a fun-filled thriller that’s well-crafted with feminist theory and race. Brilliantly narrated by Chloë Sommer, Honey takes a bold look at what happens when a woman on the side loses her moral compass and takes drastic action. “Kill and escape,” Yrsa recalls. “There’s something wonderful about it.”

Available via The Borough Press, 10hr 55 min

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