Take the Honey and Run by Jennie Marts

The town is all abuzz when a murder occurs in Jennie Marts’ debut cozy mystery, perfect for fans of Jenn McKinlay and Amanda Flower.

Welcome to one of the many stops on the book blitz for Take the Honey and Run by Jennie Marts with Xpresso Book Tours. Look for others participating in this blitz across social media and on your favourite blogs July 18-22, and don’t forget to enter the giveaway! More on that at the end of this post.

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About the Book

Take the Honey and Run
A Bee Keeping Mystery
by Jennie Marts

Published 18 July 2023
Crooked Lane Books

Genre: Comedy, Mystery
Page Count: 336
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As a successful mystery author, Bailey Briggs writes about murder, but nothing prepares her for actually discovering the dead body of the founder of her hometown of Humble Hills, Colorado. Bailey grew up at Honeybuzz Mountain Ranch and was raised by her beekeeping grandmother, Blossom Briggs, aka Granny Bee, and her two eccentric sisters, Aster and Marigold—which is why she drops everything to come home and help Granny Bee after a bad fall.

A broken foot doesn’t stop her grandmother from ruling The Hive, her granny’s book club, or continuing to prepare and package her bee-inspired products. But when Bailey’s grandmother’s infamous “Honey I’m Home” hot spiced honey turns out to “bee” the murder weapon and her granny is now the prime suspect, Bailey has no choice but to use her fictional detective skills to help solve the murder and “smoke out” the real culprit.

With the help of Bailey’s witty bestie, a pair of meddling aunts, the feisty members of The Hive, and her computer-savvy daughter, this amateur sleuth is determined to solve the case. A malicious attack and an ominous threat reveal that someone wants Bailey to butt out of the investigation, but there’s no way she’s backing down. She must use her skills to uncover the truth and catch the clever culprit before her grandmother ends up bee-hind bars.

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Excerpt

“Hmm. That does sound bad for Bee,” Marigold said, pat- ting her sister’s good leg. “But only because she threatened him. Otherwise, anyone could have gotten ahold of a jar of her honey. They sell it in half the stores in town for goodness sakes.”

“Getting the honey would be easy,” Granny Bee agreed, “But the hard part would be getting him to eat it. The man was ridiculously careful about avoiding any kind of exposure to bees or honey. Frankly, I’m surprised he even came out to the ranch yesterday since he knows there are numerous hives here.”

“That is a mystery,” Rosa said.

“A mystery that I plan to solve,” Bailey said.

Granny jerked her head toward her granddaughter. “You? No way. The police think Werner was murdered. Which means there is a murderer out there. Someone who murders people. Which means I don’t want you anywhere near this business.”

“Gran, murder is my business. That’s how I make my living.”

“You make your living off fictional murders. This is for real, Bailey. A man is dead.”

Bailey nodded. “Yes, I know. I saw him this morning. And the police think you had something to do with it. So, if I can figure out who the real killer is, then you’ll be off the hook.”

“Makes sense to me,” Evie said, having her back, like always. “What can I do to help?”

“I want to help as well,” Marigold said, putting her knitting to the side and leaning forward.

“Me too,” Dottie said.

Aster raised her hand. “Me three.”

Granny smacked her forehead. “Now look what you’ve done. You’ve got half The Hive thinking they’re private detectives. What do any of you know about solving a crime or finding a murderer?”

“Excuse me,” Bailey said. “Solving crimes is what I do.”

“And we watch a lot of murder mysteries,” Aster said, pointing to herself and Marigold. “And we almost always guess the killer correctly.”

“You solve mysteries that you create,” Granny told Bailey, then turned to her sisters. “And this isn’t like on television. This is dangerous. And I’ve watched mysteries with you all and saying you almost always guess correctly is a gross overstatement. The only reason you ever get the identity of the killer right is because you’ve guessed half the suspects before the show is over.”

Aster lifted her chin. “Doesn’t mean we couldn’t get it right this time.”

About the Author

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 that loves to tweet to the oldies. She’s addicted to Diet Coke, adores Cheetos, and believes you can’t have too many books, shoes, or friends.

Her books include the contemporary western romance Hearts of Montana series, the romantic comedy/ cozy mysteries of The Page Turners series, the hunky hockey-playing men in the Bannister family in the Bannister Brothers Books, and the small-town romantic comedies in the Lovestruck series of Cotton Creek Romances.

Jennie loves to hear from readers. Follow her on Facebook at Jennie Marts Books, or Twitter at @JennieMarts. Visit her at www.jenniemarts.com and sign up for her newsletter to keep up with the latest news and releases.

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