Entertaining mystery about smuggling in beehives. Learned more about beekeeping and looking forward to the next book as well as trying out some of the recipes. ( )

A Matter Of Hive And Death is the second book of the An Oregon Honeycomb Mystery series by Nancy Coco.

Wren Johnson owns Let It Bee, a shop that carries fruit-flavored honey and bee-related products, such as lip balms and hand creams. Let It Bee’s second anniversary is a few days away. She plans to have a big sale; there’s a UFO festival in a nearby community, so she needs plenty of inventory. Wren needs to visit her mentor Elias. Elias also designed the beehive on her store wall with a glass window so everyone could watch the activity in the hive. Wren arrives at Elias’s home to pick up more of his honey, and she gets no response when she knocks on the door. Wren heads for the back yard figuring he is caring for his hives. Instead, she finds Elias’ prostate body and thousands of bees swarming around it. Wren notices that the majority of Elias’ hives have been damaged. Wren first calls a bee wrangler, Klaus, and asks if he can come and try to contain the swarming bees, knowing that recovering his body can’t be done until the bees calm down. Shortly after arriving at the hospital, Elias passes away, having been severely beaten about the head.

Wren feels the need to investigate Elias’ murder and begins asking questions. She soon learns that several beekeepers in the area have experienced having had their hive sabotaged. Shortly after, Wren questions a neighbor of Elias if he had seen anything the day Elias was killed, and the next day the neighbor is assaulted, requiring hospitalization. As Wren visits Paul, another beekeeper she gets beeswax from, shots ring out, and a bullet hits Paul, and another grazes Wren. Wren now knows that she is getting close to learning the killer's identity and hopes that she will learn the identity before anyone else is injured or killed.

Wren is also surprised when her ex-boyfriend arrives in town and seems to want to rekindle their relationship. He looks mysterious about why he wants to pick up where their relationship ended suddenly.

This book is a wonderful addition to this fascinating new series. The book is well-written, plotted, and flows at a good pace. I found the characters to be well-developed and very believable. The book had enough red herrings and twists and turns that I was kept guessing until the end as to who the killer was. The book also contains delicious-sounding recipes, interesting facts, and beneficial uses of honey.

I am looking forward to reading the next book in this exciting series. ( )

A Matter of Hive and Death by Nancy Coco is the second An Oregon Honeycomb Mystery. It can be read as a standalone if you are new to the series. I enjoyed my visit to Oceanview, Oregon where it is time for the annual UFO Festival. Wren Johnson is gearing up for the second anniversary of her shop Let It Bee. Wren is off to meet Elias Brentwood, a bee wrangler. She arrives to find Elias dead with bee’s swarming around him because someone destroyed his hives. It is not a cut and dried case. Someone bludgeoned Elias and then tossed his house. When Officer Jim Hampton zeroes in on Klaus, another bee wrangler, as the prime suspect, Wren digs out the murder board. She knows that Klaus did not harm Elias and she intends to prove it. Someone, though, is not happy with her snooping and attempts to warn her off. Wren sets up a sting to catch the killer. She needs to be careful, or she could end up the one being stung. Nancy Coco has an engaging writing style. It makes for an entertaining and enjoyable book. I like Wren, Aunt Eloise, Porsche, Jim Hampton, and the sweet Everett. I even like the grumpy Mr. McGregor. There are great characters in this series. The author made them friendly, realistic, and relatable. I like the descriptions of Let It Bee with its various honey related products and an active beehive. It was interesting learning about bees and their habits. I was unaware of the various products that can be made from honey and the wax. The dialogue is realistic and engaging. The mystery was a fun one to solve. There are different layers to the whodunit. It is a well-plotted mystery. There are good clues to help readers solve the mystery before the reveal. I enjoyed the reveal and the wrap up. I was, though, left with a couple of unanswered questions at the end (I would say what they are, but they are spoilers). There is humor sprinkled throughout the book. We also get to learn about Havana Brown cats, and I loved Everett, Wren’s cat (I love how he answers her when she talks to him). There is some romance in the story. I like that it is not at the forefront of the story and that it is progressing slowly. There is information on honey as well as honey related recipes before or after different chapters. I can tell the author has done her research on bees and related products. A Matter of Hive and Death had me longing for the Oregon coast. I wanted to stop by and visit Let It Bee where I could have tea with Wren. I am looking forward to the next An Oregon Honeycomb Mystery. A Matter of Hive and Death is the bee’s knees with a bludgeoned bee wrangler, a swarm of suspects, shattered hives, buzzing bees, a special sale, a perplexing puzzle, a concerned officer, and a nosy store owner. ( )

Wren Johnson lives in Oceanview, Oregon and owns Let It Bee, a shop dedicated to all things made by bees and bee-oriented. She even has her own hive for customers to see how bees work. Her Aunt Eloise is excited to see the UFO festival in a nearby town, and is trying to convince Wren to go and bring her Havana Brown cat, Everett. Wren has misgivings, but finally agrees. But this day she needs to see her bee wrangler, Elias, who provides her with beeswax and other needed supplies.

When she arrives at Elias's home, no one appears to be there. But she finds him in the backyard, wearing his bee suit, with bees from his hives everywhere. The only way for anyone to get to him is to call another wrangler, and Wren does this, along with calling 911. When Elias is finally removed, it turns out he's been murdered, and the suspect is the wrangler Wren called. Knowing he's innocent, Wren and her employee Porche Allen are out to find a killer -- under the radar of Officer Jim Hampton, who wants her to stay out of it.

Confusing things is finding her old boyfriend Travis is in town, and he wants to buy a Havana Brown of his own, along with taking Wren out to dinner. Will she succumb to Travis's charms again? Will she be able to find a killer? And last but not least, will she be able to figure it all out before a killer finds her?

This is the second book in the series, and I do think I enjoyed it more than the first. The characters are getting some fleshing out, and we see that Wren can hold her own. She does share what information she finds with the police -- although some it might be later than they want -- and she's not running scared, nor breaking into houses or doing other illegal things (things that irritate me in cozies). Wren is a decent person, generous to her employees and her aunt, and smart enough to figure out when she needs to take care of her own. She also has a great love for her cat, which I can empathize with, owning my own and loving it just as much, if not more. I would never put my cats in danger (and they're only indoor cats, so there's that!)

When Wren starts trying to look at who wanted to kill Elias -- by all accounts a nice man who had no enemies and helped others -- she doesn't believe he was killed by another wrangler. She can't believe anyone in the bee community would do such a thing, but who else is a suspect? When it appears that the killer is watching her every move, she wonders if she's putting others in danger. That's when she realizes that drastic measures must be taken, and Wren tries to formulate a plan to catch a murderer.

It's watching her put the clues together, and figure things out that is so interesting. I never saw the killer coming, and the reasons for the murder seemed so insane; but you never can look into the mind nor eyes of a killer and tell what they are thinking. It was all put together nicely, and the motive was indeed unique; and I truly enjoyed reading this book and look forward to the next in the series.

I was given an advance copy from the publisher and NetGalley but this in no way influenced my review. ( )

I received an advance copy through NetGalley.

A Matter of Hive and Death is the second book in the Oregon Honeycomb mystery series. I hadn't read the first book but I found this easy-breezy to get into, and a delight all the way through! This is really the epitome of a cozy mystery. Wren runs a honey-themed shop in downtown Oceanview along the Oregon coast. When she finds a mentor dead, his hives vandalized, suspicion falls on another member of the local bee community. Wren is certain of his innocence and starts investigating on her own despite the disapproval of the handsome local cop who was certain of her guilt during a previous incident. Meanwhile, an old flame has wandered into town and takes an interest in the beloved Havana brown cats of her family--and in Wren. She might develop a new romance--if she can stay alive.

This book was sheer fun. I don't know a lot about beekeeping, but it really felt like the author did her research and the information throughout the book was fascinating. Plus, every chapter began and ended with info on using honey and included recipes--I'm all about that! The mystery packs in danger and plentiful twists and turns, and the ending contained some nice surprises. The whole thing also left me yearning for the Oregon coast. This is a setting and series I would gladly read more of--you could say that I'm sweet on it! ( )