Entertaining mystery about illegal smuggling in beehives. Learned about bees and beekeeping. Looking forward to the next book as well as trying some of the recipes. ( )

Very good book. Love the setting and plot. Always love a book that keeps you guessing and this one does. Can't wait to read the next one ( )

I enjoyed this opening story to begin a series but was disappointed in editing errors. I'll focus first on the delights...
• I'm always very excited when I discover a new series in a setting I've never read before so I welcomed reading this cozy in the setting of Oceanview, a small town on the Oregon coast.
• At the beginning of many of the chapters there is an interesting fact about the benefits of honey and scattered throughout the cozy are also some recipes from tasty treats to creating soothing honey-based skin care products. In 2 instances, facts at the introduction of a chapter are about Havana Brown cats, also known as "Chocolate Delights."
• Regardless of the length of romantic interests in a cozy, it was a joy to have the main character Wren Johnson enjoy the company of someone other than associated with law enforcement which is beginning to be an ad nauseam element of cozy mysteries. Kudos to the author for a different diversion.
• I was not familiar with the Disney movies “Halloweentown” with the 1st film released in 1998, as filmed in St. Helens, Oregon, where every year the town celebrates the season by hosting the Spirit of "Halloweentown" Festival from mid-September through October 31. For those familiar with the film series and/or for all who love the Halloween holiday I’m sure those readers will be charmed by the week-long celebration in Oceanview in honor of the movies in the week leading up to Halloween.
o Halloweentown (1998)
o Halloweentown II: Kalabar’s Revenge (2001)
o Halloweentown High (2004)
o Return to Halloweentown (2006)

The most perplexing error is in one of the last paragraphs of the last chapter as the main character states the number of deaths in this storyline. How does an author and/or editor of a major publishing house of cozy mysteries let that error slide through to publication? I found that to be perplexing and a major disappointment.

As the positives outweighed my disappointment in the spelling and the last perplexing error I am going to give the next book in the series a chance. ( )

Death Bee Comes Her by Nancy Coco is the debut of An Oregon Honeycomb Mystery series. I enjoyed this delightful new cozy from beginning to end. Wren Johnson has a unique honey boutique called Let It Bee in Oceanview, Oregon. There is an actual beehive in her store behind glass. Wren has a variety of products in her shop from candy to lip balm to lotions. I loved the description of her shop and could envision it in my mind. I like Wren who owns (well, as much as you can “own” a cat) Everett, a Havana Brown cat. She walks him about town on a leash and harness. Wren talks to Everett and he seems to understand what Wren is saying with appropriate responses (a clever kitty). It is adorable. Oceanview has a weeklong festival called Halloweentown. It is an extravaganza with everyone dressing up and handing out candy to the kids. I enjoyed Wren’s clever costumes. I happen to be a fan of the Halloweentown movies. The author took the time to set the stage for this book and the series with her descriptions of the town and its residents. The mystery was interesting, and I liked following Wren as she combed for clues. There is plenty of action and good clues. I like how the mystery was laid out. While I was able to identify the evil doer easily, it did not take away from my enjoyment of this honey of a whodunit. There is an excerpt for Have Yourself a Fudgy Little Christmas from Nancy Coco’s A Candy Coated Mystery series. Death Bee Comes Her is a charming cozy mystery with a chatty cat, healthy honey, a pestilent poison, scrumptious candy, and creative crafts. ( )

Wren Johnson owns Let It Bee, a boutique shop that sells all things honey and beeswax - candles, skin care, etc. She even makes honey candy for Halloween. But one morning, while she's walking her Havana Brown cat, Everett, he stumbles across a dead body -- Agnes Snow, who also happened to be a rival of her Aunt Eloise, in all things crafty. When one of Wren's labels is found with the body, she becomes the main (and only) suspect. Now it's up to her and her friend/employee Porsche to try and figure out who's framing her -- and why they killed Agnes...

This is the first in a new series by Nancy Coco. Since I've read her other series, I wanted to give this one a chance. I always give the first in a series a bit of a pass, since the author is trying to figure out the characters and how everything "works." Saying that, I found a few scenes unbelievable, and there's a big error at the last of the book.

But I also wondered why an officer was investigating a murder. Since it wasn't stated that Jim Hampton was a detective, wouldn't the case have been handed off to the homicide department? A street officer wouldn't handle it. So that was a big question for me. There were a few other things that bothered me, but I'm not going to mention them here.

I understand that the characters are going through their development stage, and that's fine. Wren can turn out to be interesting, but I'm not especially fond of her aunt. I also wonder if we're going to have the dreaded "evil nemesis" show up in the next book (not needed to make a good book) or a love triangle. I really didn't understand what a certain character was doing there; it was as if the author were trying out boyfriends for Wren and just couldn't make up her mind.

Yes, I know I'm going on a rant, but I like to read books that are smooth in their transition, even for first in a series. This one, while it has an interesting plot, has a bit of a problem. However, I do like the fact that Wren cares for the environment, that she's basically a small-scale beekeeper, and knows her subject well. This bodes well for the continuation of the series.

I do like Everett, but I'm a cat lover at heart. I have a Russian Blue, and he has a very definite personality also. (For instance, Blues do not like change. If they have their resting places in a certain area, you can't move things around. They get upset. He's also very vocal, like Havanas). So I love books with cats, obviously.

In the end, I did like the plot quite a bit, so that's a plus in itself; and aside from the huge gaffe at the end (which one might forgive), it ended on a nice note and I look forward to the next in the series. Recommended. ( )