Kill or Bee Killed (A Bee Keeping Mystery, #2)

by Jennie Marts

Perfect for fans of Laura Childs and Amanda Flower, this second Bee Keeping mystery takes Bailey Briggs to the brink as murders threaten the future of her granny’s Bee Festival.

The small town of Humble Hills, Colorado, is abuzz with excitement over the upcoming annual Bee Festival, sponsored by Bailey’s Granny Bee and the Honeybuzz Mountain Ranch. The long weekend of festivities includes a beauty pageant, beekeeping demonstrations, a local restaurant bake-off, and a 3K Bear Run where all the participants are dressed as bears. The bake-off brings in a television crew from California to film, so it’s the most drama-filled part of the weekend, especially when the famous celebrity host winds up dead.

Because the celebrity was holding her bracelet and had been witnessed having an altercation with Bailey’s best friend Evie shortly before his death, everyone suspects Evie of the murder—and Bailey is quickly on the hunt for clues to clear Evie’s name, alongside Granny Bee and her bunch of geriatric misfit friends. Bailey’s potential new honey, Sheriff Sawyer Dunn, is none too pleased to have Bailey buzzing around the investigation, but Bailey’s determined to uncover the truth, rescue her grannie’s beloved Bee Festival, and save her bestie.

They say you get more flies with honey, but in this case, more honey may mean you end up dead. And a little competition never hurt anyone—unless it ends up killing you.

• ISBN10: 1639106588
• ISBN13: 9781639106585
• Publish Date: 4 June 2024
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: US
• Imprint: Crooked Lane Books
• Format: Hardcover
• Pages: 336
• Language: English
• URL: https://penguinrandomhouse.com/books/isbn/9781639106585

Reviews

[annieb123]

Originally posted on my blog Nonstop Reader.

Kill or Bee Killed is the second bee keeping cozy by Jennie Marts. Released 4th June 2024 by Crooked Lane Books, it's 336 pages and is available in hardcover, audio, and ebook formats. It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links and references throughout.

It's always fun to watch a new series develop. This is the second installment of this small town cozy featuring a family friendly cast of characters and an appealing, honest, and engaging young female amateur sleuth whose day job is writing cozy mysteries. It also includes an eccentric collection of small town characters, a handsome sheriff with whom the MC has some history, some snark, and the requisite honey themed recipes at the back of the book as a bonus. 

Although it's not at all derivative, fans of Nancy Coco and Amanda Flower will likely find a lot to like here. There's a lot of humor, small town atmosphere, a well constructed mystery (featuring a repulsive unlamented murder victim), and sympathetic characters. The bonus recipes at the back of the book are offered as written by characters appearing in the book. They're not overly fussy or complicated, and all seem appetizing. They include recipes for French toast, baked vanilla pears, honey latte, pecan praline honey butter, and a couple more.

Four stars. The denouement and resolution were a trifle outlandish, but not overly so for the subgenre. It's a simple clean read without bad language or on page violence. It would make a lovely summer beach or mini binge/buddy read.
Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.