Welcome to Cozy Wednesday!
I am happy to feature Kill or Bee Killed by Jennie Marts today!
Kill or Bee Killed (A Bee Keeping Mystery)
by Jennie Marts
About Kill or Bee Killed
Kill or Bee Killed (A Bee Keeping Mystery)
Cozy Mystery
2nd in Series
Setting – Colorado
Publisher : Crooked Lane Books (June 4, 2024)
Hardcover : 336 pages
ISBN-10 : 1639106588
ISBN-13 : 978-1639106585
Digital ASIN : B0CH9HTM1S
Audiobook ASIN B0CVSGYG58
Audio CD ISBN-13 : 979-8874751142
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.
Dollycas’s Thoughts
Bailey’s Granny Bee and the Honeybuzz Mountain Ranch are gearing up for the weeklong annual Bee Festival. The highlight of the event is the local restaurant bake-off, but there are beekeeping demonstrations, a beauty pageant, and a 3K Bear Run too. Several vendor booths are set up on the grounds as well, selling everything from food to hot tubs.
The bake-off has drawn interest all the way from California with Rex Rafferty of the Wake Up With Rex and Rachel show agreeing to be the celebrity host for the event. He has brought a film crew to Humble Hills to film content to use on his show. But the California star is a real creep and isn’t long before the man is found dead. Sadly Bailey’s best friend Evie, a contestant in the bake-off, has a very public squabble with Rex and that lands her on the list of suspects.
Soon Bailey, Granny Bee, and her Hive are working together to save the festival and Evie by catching the real killer and Sheriff Sawyer Dunn is pretty buzzed off about them messing with his case. It would be a honey of a deal if they can pull it off but they may just end up getting stung.
Mystery author Bailey Briggs is back and busy as a bee. Her Granny Bee has her and her 12-year-old daughter, Daisy helping out all over the festival. Granny Bee’s sisters, Aster and Marigold are involved too but they have the most fun being contestants in the beauty pageant. They really impressed me the way they went all in on the experience. Evie is one of 3 final contestants from local restaurants chosen to compete in the 3-day bakeoff event and is working on creating just the right recipes. Romantic tension blooms whenever Bailey gets close to Sheriff Sawyer Dunn and he knows it and doesn’t shy aaway. All the women in this story have a real sassiness about them, including the women of The Hive, Granny Bee’s book club where not much time is focused on books especially when there is a murder afoot. All of Ms. Mart’s core characters feel genuine and their banter is fantastic. It is very easy to feel you are visiting old friends when you open the book.
Humor blooms throughout this story starting from page one as Bailey and Evie, find themselves in a zany situation. And it doesn’t stop there, Bailey sometimes assisted by Evie get into all kinds of hilarious trouble. Granny Bee, Aster, and Marigold bring the funny too.
Amongst all the humor is a very plotted mystery. Bailey worked hard to follow clues while helping out at the festival. I loved the way she said she was “researching for her next book” when she was trying to get the information she needed to try to solve the case. Getting some key info from a surprising source started making the clues start to fall into place. This set up a terrifying showdown that truly had me on the edge of my seat.
The final chapter wrapped everything up nicely and the last few paragraphs were pure honey!
Everyone is going to be buzzing about Kill or Bee Killed! A complicated mystery, delightful characters, a touch of romance, and heaps of humor come together in this captivating cozy mystery. I promise you will be entertained from the first word until the last. I can’t wait for the next Bee Keeping Mystery. Buzz! Buzz!
Recipes are included at the end of the book too!
I voluntarily reviewed an Advance Reader Copy. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review. Thank you to the author, Crooked Lane Books, and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC.
Your Escape Into A Good Book Travel Agent
About Jennie Marts
Jennie Marts is the USA TODAY Best-selling author of award-winning books filled with love, laughter, and always a happily ever after. Readers call her books “laugh out loud” funny and the “perfect mix of romance, humor, and steam.” Fic Central claimed one of her books was “the most fun I’ve had reading in years.”
She is living her own happily ever after in the mountains of Colorado with her husband, two dogs, and a parakeet who loves to tweet to the oldies. She’s addicted to Diet Coke, adores Cheetos, has never missed an episode of Survivor, and believes you can’t have too many books, shoes, or friends.
Her books include the following small-town romance series: Cowboys of Creedence, Creedence Horse Rescue Series, Lassiter Ranch, Hearts of Montana, the Bannister Brothers (hockey romcom), Cotton Creek , and two hilarious cozy mysteries series, The Page Turners and The Bee Keeping Mysteries.
Jennie loves to hear from readers. Follow her on Facebook at Jennie Marts Books, or Instagram or Twitter/X at @JennieMarts. Visit her at www.jenniemarts.com and sign up for her newsletter to keep up with the latest news and releases.
This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase using my links, I will receive a small commission from the sale at no cost to you. Thank you for supporting Escape With Dollycas.
Purchase Links
Amazon Barnes & Noble Apple Kobo Audible
Book 1 in the Series
TOUR PARTICIPANTS – Please visit all the stops.
June 4 – Cinnamon, Sugar, and a Little Bit of Murder – REVIEW, RECIPE
June 4 – Ascroft, eh? – AUTHOR INTERVIEW
June 5 – Escape With Dollycas Into A Good Book – REVIEW
June 5 – StoreyBook Reviews – SPOTLIGHT
June 6 – Mystery, Thrillers, and Suspense – SPOTLIGHT
June 6 – Books, Ramblings, and Tea – SPOTLIGHT
June 7 – Cozy Up With Kathy – REVIEW
June 8 – fundinmental – AUTHOR GUEST POST
June 8 – MJB Reviewers – SPOTLIGHT
June 9 – Celticlady’s Reviews – SPOTLIGHT
June 10 – Read Your Writes Book Reviews – RECIPE
June 10 – FUONLYKNEW – SPOTLIGHT
June 11 – Christy’s Cozy Corners – SPOTLIGHT
June 12 – Sarah Can’t Stop Reading – REVIEW
June 12 – Ruff Drafts – SPOTLIGHT
June 13 – Literary Gold – SPOTLIGHT
June 13 – Baroness Book Trove – SPOTLIGHT
June 14 –Review Thick And Thin – REVIEW
June 15 – Elizabeth McKenna – Author – SPOTLIGHT
June 16 – Maureen’s Musings – SPOTLIGHT
June 17 – Sapphyria’s Book Reviews – SPOTLIGHT
Have you signed up to be a Tour Host?
Click Here to Find Details and Sign Up Today!
Want to Book a Tour?
Click Here
Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. Receiving a complimentary copy in no way reflected my review of this book. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.” “As an Amazon Associate, I earn a commission from qualifying purchases.”
Jennie Marts has set this series off to a fantastic start. With fabulous characters, plenty of humor, and a stirring mystery set in a bee-utiful place, it feeds every cozy craving. With the little bit of a cliffhanger at the end, I feel like this is just the bee-ginning of what I truly hope is a long-running series.
