Sometimes it seems appropriate to review a book, and sometimes, as in the case of Deadout by Jon McGoran, (Forge 2014), the jacket flap copy just seems to say it all.

“A vacation on Martha’s Vineyard might be just what’s needed to jump-start the stalled relationship between Detective Doyle Carrick and his girlfriend, organic farmer Nola Watkins. But their holiday is interrupted when Nola learns that a mysterious plague is killing the island’s honeybees and decides to help figure out what’s going on.

“Nola takes a job at an organic farm hit hard by the disease and before long is a little too friendly with her boss – the rich, handsome, and annoying Teddy Renfrew – for Doyle’s liking. When Teddy’s estranged father offers Doyle a big payday to keep his son out of trouble until he can close a lucrative government contract – and when Doyle meets Dr. Annalisa Paar, a beautiful researcher studying the bees – Doyle decides to extend his vacation too.

“Without honeybees to pollinate their crops, some of the island’s desperate farmers are thrilled when Stoma Corporation, a giant biotech company, offers to supply genetically modified superbees that supposedly are the answer to the world’s bee crisis. As tensions on the island rise, those who dare to protest the use of the modified bees soon find themselves surrounded by a private army of corporate thugs.

“Annalisa’s coworkers start to go missing, and she and Doyle begin to uncover Stoma Corporation’s deadly and terrifying secrets. As the superbees start to go rogue, things spin violently out of control, and it’s up to Doyle to stop Stoma’s venomous plot before it gets off the island and spreads to the mainland…and the world.”