The Beekeeper's Bad Day: A Ben Perkins Novel

by Michael Cardwell

223 pages, Kindle Edition

Published July 1, 2026

About the author

Small towns. Big country. Stubborn lawmen. The West may be modern, but its problems are as old as dirt roads and bad decisions.

After thirty-two years of service in the United States Army, I traded the discipline of military life for the craft of storytelling. I studied creative writing at Indiana University, where I began publishing poetry, short fiction, and novellas in literary journals and magazines.

Today I write full-time from Indiana, where my days revolve around strong coffee, enthusiastic dogs, and keeping up with eight energetic grandchildren. My stories are rooted in the landscapes, communities, and characters of rural America.

I am the author of the popular Frontier Series, including Frontier Justice, Frontier Outlaws, Frontier Marshal, Frontier Vengeance, and Frontier Bounty. Blending Western grit with modern crime and mystery, the series has earned strong reader ratings and a growing audience of fans who enjoy the work of Craig Johnson, C. J. Box, and other writers of rural suspense.

The sixth novel, Frontier Ghosts, will be released by the end of 2026, and Frontier Treasure is scheduled for 2027.

If you enjoy stories about determined lawmen, dangerous frontiers, and the fight for justice in the wide-open American West, start with Frontier Justice and join thousands of readers already riding along.

Reviews

[Matt Egan]

A Great, Character Driven Thriller!

The Beekeeper's Bad Day is the first book in the Ben Perkins series (❤👍) and introduces us to Ben Perkins whose simple life following his wife's death gets complicated very fast. The characters have motivations and are dynamic and surprising, especially as Ben figures out who the person responsible for sending a man to kill him. If you like intriguing stories, laconic dialog and sardonic dialogue, and if you enjoy the Danny Coogan "Frontier" series, you will love The Beekeeper's Bad Day! Anyone interested in a high quality thriller will love it too. Overall, 5/5 stars, I sincerely hope we get to learn more of Ben Perkins' world!

[Jackie Martello]

A zany, well written book with a lot of twists. The book is very fast-paced and comes at the reader in one big wave with no time to breathe. It’s not really my kind of reading, with the outrageous and almost absurd humor being at the forefront of the story, but I believe the author accomplished what he intended.

[john h irish]

I'm only on page 9

I'm only on page 9 and shot to the end to give the book a 5 star rating. Why, when you read as many books as I do, you can just tell. If you don't agree, ok by me but sometimes you just know you'll like the authors writing. So read the book and you can then argue about it with me....I think you'll enjoy the story, but that's just my opinion.

[Timothy M. McCann]

This story was quite lame.

First of all it was written in the first person.

Second of all - the hero who is a former combat Marine - couldn't
find soup with a spoon.

Third of all - the plot doesn't make any sense to a sane person. I mean how can
your crippled father - who has been crippled for years - not be crippled?
No sane person would believe that.

The Beekeeper Movie is much better - as the hero is decisive.

[Mary]

The title lured me in. It was a wild ride. The humor was spot on, had plenty of twists to keep you engaged. This is the second novel for me from Michael Cardwell, and I find his writing style enjoyable. I hope more with Ben Perkin's is in the foreseeable future. A good start to a series.

[Vicky]

Wasn’t sure at first

Plenty of short, choppy sentences. Not my favorite style, but as it turns out they are necessary and actually suck you in until you can’t let go. More twists and turns than a formula1 racetrack, so buckle up and hang on tight. You’re going for a wild ride.

[Marguerite Goodwin]

WOW

So many twists and turns. I don’t know how the author kept track of each character. Kept me on my toes and constantly reevaluating the situation. Excellent writing, great characters and great storytelling.

[Hugh Goldie]

Danger in Indiana

Turns out a Marine with PTSD makes a perfect bad guy...if you believe the "evidence". A missing or dead wife brings unwanted attention to a farmer that's struggling to survive day to day. Good Action and dialog as more people enter the game.

[T.L.]

I absolutely loved this book! I hope and pray the story continues. I stumbled across this very well written and hilarious book just looking for something different. Also, I love that the author is from my home state! Great read!

[terrell roberts]

A very good story and hard to put down

Great characters. Enough excitement and suspense. Humor where you didn’t expect it. Great ending. And here is six more words so they can post it

[Lane Ennis]

So close

I wanted to like this one, but Ben is just not a likable character. Now had the story been about Jane I think it’s different.

[Roger]

good read

[Barnhart]

Bee Careful!

Much enjoyed this initial offering from Michael Cardsell a new author for me. Looking forward to the next novel. Highly recommended.

[John Davis]

The book started out good but farther into it the writing style started to bug me.

[Bonny Bowens]

Way too much general dialogue. I quit reading this.