Take the Honey and Run is the first book in a new cozy series by Jennie Marts. Released 18th July 2023 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.

The author is an experienced and prolific writer with a number of series, and this is a promising start to a new one. It's firmly in the cozy subgenre, and includes an amateur sleuth (whose day job is writing mysteries) trying to keep an innocent family member from being unfairly jailed (her grandmother, no less), 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, 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 cookies, cheesy puff pastry, cake, banana bread, ricotta cheese dip, and flavored honey.

Four stars. The denouement and resolution were a trifle outlandish, but not overly so for the subgenre. There is no currently publicly available information about a release date for the second book, but the author has several ongoing series, so it could be a while. Happily, this book doesn't end on a cliffhanger, so it works well as a standalone read.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.

I thoroughly enjoyed this well plotted and entertaining cozy mystery. It kept me guessing, I liked the well developed characters and the setting.
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this ARC, all opinions are mine

I enjoyed this one. Bailey's a mystery writer who finds herself back home at her grandma's ranch and bee farm with her daughter Daisy. When her granny is accused of murder. Bailey is determined to clear her granny's name even when it means stepping on the toes of the Sheriff who just happens to be Sawyer Dunn Bailey's high school friend. I enjoyed the mystery and the characters in this one. As Bailey has a tough as nails granny and interesting great aunts. And for once I did not guess who done it. I'm looking forward to the next book in the series because I have to find out if we find out who Daisy's father is. That mystery is bugging me. As the author left no clue anywhere in the book.

This is such a fun start to a new cozy series! I love our protagonist and her friends and family. This book had me laughing out loud at some of their antics. They mystery was so fun. I cannot wait for the next one!

This is a fantastic start to a dynamic new cozy series. It's filled with small town characters and some extremely creative world building. I thought the plot was great and I really liked the way the author sprinkled in the clues here and there. I thought it was a dynamite read.

Take The Honey And Run
A Bee Keeping Mystery, Book #1
Jennie Marts
5 Stars

Synopsis:

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

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. (Amazon)

Review:

I really enjoyed getting to meet Bailey, her grandmother and more of her family and friends. When someone is found dead due to a bee incident, they will have to figure out the real killer before her grandmother is put away for life. After all, Bailey deals with death all the time in her books, how hard can it be?

The author is very talented in her descriptive writing and these descriptions allowed me to enjoy the book even more. The writing style flows smoothly and it defines the characters very clearly by their actions and words. The mystery was well plotted and not easily solved.

I would highly recommend the book to anyone who enjoys a well written cozy mystery. I enjoyed this book quite a bit and I cannot wait for the next one.

I voluntarily reviewed an ARC of this book provided by the publisher, Crooked Lane Books, and NetGalley, which I greatly appreciate.

I found this to be a cute first cozy in a new series. The main character is a mystery writer who needs to use their skills to solve a real murder. Can she solve the real life mystery? Cozy novels are like comfort food. I really enjoy their beautiful setting, the lovable pets, always the food and sometimes quirky characters. This cozy is no different and I will look for Jennie Marts in the future.
Thank you to Crooked Lane Books and NetGalley for this copy.

Fun debut, and interesting start to the Bee Keeping Mystery series.

The characters were charming, the mystery was intriguing enough, and it took me a while to figure it out.

The granny and aunts had me laughing, but also wondering. Wondering who, wondering why, wondering if it was them.

Love the setting, the town, the secondary characters, and can't wait to return to the Ranch.

Best book I’ve read in a long time! Funny, serious, dramatic, mysterious, romantic, it had it all. I laughed out loud so many times! Bailey and the Hive had a beautiful relationship, and Sawyer, Mateo, and Griff were swoon worthy. The mayor (the murder victim) was a despicable man, one who made you be on the side of the murderer. Marts seemlessly wove the town of Humble Hills into the story, making it a place I want to visit. Can’t wait to read the next book and will definitely read some of her others in the meantime.

Bailey Briggs grew up in Humble Hills, Colorado. She lived at Honeybuzz Mountain Ranch and was raised by her beekeeping grandmother, Blossom Briggs, aka Granny Bee.

Bailey is now a successful mystery writer and lives with her daughter. She visits her grandmother occasionally, but hasn't been home in a while. She drops everything to come home when Granny Bee calls to say she has fallen and needs some help. When she gets home, she's shocked to find that her high school boyfriend has returned home, too.

After visiting with Granny Bee, Aunt Aster and Aunt Marigold, along with several members of Granny Bee's book club (The Hive), Bailey decides it's time to pay a visit to the founder of Humble Hills. Nobody is answering his door so she looks in the window only to see his dead body laying on the floor. Apparently the cause of death was an allergic reaction to eating honey.... and it happened to be the honey that Gramma Bee sells.

Unfortunately, Granny Bee is the prime suspect so Bailey uses her fictional detective skills to help solve the murder.

This was a delightful book with well-developed characters. I really enjoyed it and look forward to reading the next in this series

#TaketheHoneyandRun

I enjoyed this story. There were a lot of characters to keep track of but I think the main ones, Granny Bee’s friends from the book club, should be recurring characters so they will be easier to keep straight in later books. The mystery was intriguing and while I was a little sad about who the guilty party was, it kept me guessing until the very end. There were a few things that I don’t like, the worst of which is the amateur sleuth breaking in to get clues, but other than that, I thought this was a good start to a new series. I will continue with the series.

After learning her beloved Granny Bee has broken her foot, Bailey Briggs and her 12-year old daughter, Daisy, return home. Granny Bee is a beekeeper and maker of various and sundry bee related products. When the town's mayor is found dead, it's quickly determined to be due to his bee allergy.As Granny Bee has threatened his life the previous day, she quickly rose to suspect Number 1. Bailey, a mystery author by profession rises to the challenge to save Granny Bee. The characters in this debut cozy offer plenty of potential for further stories, as well as they did in this well paced mystery.

I really enjoyed this Take the Honey and Run. I am new to Jennie Marts, and I am now a fan. I can't wait for book 2 in this series.

Unfortunately I didn't download this book to my kindle. I will be getting it from the library now. I hope to get thr next in the series also

Dollycas's Thoughts

Bailey Briggs writes murder mysteries so she should be able to solve one, right?

Bailey, her 12-year-old daughter, Daisy, and their golden retriever Cooper have come home to the Honeybuzz Mountain Ranch to help her Granny Bee with the ranch when a fall leaves her with a broken foot. Her grandmother raised her and she has so many great memories of her time there. Her grandmother has her "hive" of friends and her sisters, Aster and Marigold but Bailey is happy to do whatever she can to help her granny never expecting that would entail keeping her out of jail for murder.

Werner Humble, the town's founder is dead and Bailey was the first on the scene followed quickly by a man she has a lot of history with Sawyer Dunn who now happens to be the sheriff. It is the jar of "Honey I'm Home" hot spiced honey made by Grandma Bee and some threatening words by her at him that land her at the top of the suspect list for Wener's murder though.

Much to the frustration of Sheriff Dunn, Bailey has decided to solve the murder herself with the help of her BFF, her social media maven daughter Daisy, and the ladies of the Hive. She is going to have to "bee" careful. Can she spread enough honey around to catch a killer or will she get permanently stung?

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This story grabbed me from page 1! I love that the author had me giggling right away and it continued throughout the whole story.

Mystery author Bailey Briggs is a wonderful protagonist. She and her best friend Evie had what Sheriff Sawyer Dunn called a Lucy and Ethel moment and that is truly what they felt like, a modern-day Lucy and Ethel. I enjoyed the banter between Sawyer and Bailey and their interesting history. Granny Bee was a hoot and her sisters and friends were hilarious. For being the first book in the series, the characters were fleshed out pretty well but there is plenty of room for growth and an important secret yet to be revealed. I do love that all the women in the Briggs family are named after flowers. Bailey's is named after one of her mother's favorite roses, the Bailey Red.

The mystery was very well-plotted. The deceased fancied himself to be quite a lady's man and had dated or was dating several women from the Humble Hills area which means there was a large suspect pool. Their motives become clear when we learn why he was dating such an assortment of women. I was kept guessing the entire way and a little saddened when all was revealed as were Sawyer, Bailey, and others.

Honeybuzz Mountain Ranch sounds like a delightful place. It is easy to see why Bailey loves it there and now wants to share that life with her daughter.

The recipes at the end of the book, from the kitchens of Blossom Briggs (Granny Bee), her sister Aster and Rosa Delgado are so tempting too. I can't wait to try them.

With Take the Honey and Run 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.

I thought this would be a fun cozy mystery, and it might be for others but I found it too corny. The main character just seemed silly to me. I just couldn't get on board with the "bee hive".

Take the Honey and Run is the first book in Jennie Marts’ Bee Keeper Mystery series. Set in the small northern Colorado town of Humble Hills, this new series features thriller author Bailey Briggs, her family and friends as she embarks on her first visit in awhile with her Granny Bee at Honeybuzz Mountain Ranch, the Land of Milk and Honey as the sign proclaims. Her primary purpose for the visit is to help her grandmother while her broken foot heals, but second to that Bailey is looking to move back home when her lease expires soon.

What Bailey does not expect to do on this visit is run into her high school love, Sawyer Dunn, to learn he is now the town’s sheriff, or to discover a dead body with Sawyer. Neither did Bailey expect to be drawn into the murder investigation when her own Granny Bee becomes a prime person of interest in the crime.

This is a wonderfully plotted mystery told with humor and heart. The characters are well drawn and the small town so well described you feel as though you’re there. I very much enjoyed this book and look forward to the books in this series yet to come. I do recommend it!

Bailey became anxious and afraid when she found the Mayor dead mere hours after her gran threatened to kill him. She needed to help find the killer before her granny got arrested for a crime she didn’t commit. Regardless of what her former boyfriend, the Sheriff says, she had no intention of staying out of the investigations. I do not appreciate the way you left such crucial details as to who was Daisy’s father out. Now, I have to wait for the next in the series to get that low down, not kosher, I tell you, not kosher. Putting that aside, Bailey’s Grandmother and the Hives were an exciting and hilarious group of mature women who kickass. It was an immensely engaging and delightful read that was captivating and intriguing.

Take the Honey and Run is the first in a new series by Jennie Marts. It is about an author who comes home to help her injured grandmother, only to find out her teenage boyfriend has moved back and is the sheriff now. The two of them stumble across a body and quickly discover that it was murder. To make matters worse her granny quickly becomes a suspect and in order to clear her name she launches her own investigation to uncover the real killer.
This story quickly grabbed me, but then it lost me around the middle. It did have some entertaining moments that had me laughing out loud, but I wish there were more of them. If you are looking for a cozy mystery with some interesting characters who will have you laughing out loud, then Take the Honey and Run might just be for you.

My first novel from this author and it didn’t quite work for me. There is a huge cast of characters and I though the final denouement was coming twice before it actually did! I could have used it dialling back all the bee references as well. But it is the first in a series though so it had some setting up to do as well as the murder mystery and it has left some questions hanging for a sequel. I might check in again in a few books time and see how it’s going.