Reviewed by Sadonna
TITLE: Honey Bee Murder
SERIES: Honey Bear Cosy Mysteries
AUTHOR: Dahlia Donovan
PUBLISHER: Tangled Tree Publishing
LENGTH: 125 pages
RELEASE DATE: November 23, 2023
BLURB:
George Bernard Sheth plans to spend July in the garden with his beloved pug, Bumble. He’s tending to his bees when a neighbour harasses him quite vocally. When the man winds up dead, all eyes are immediately on George and the many hives in his garden.
Murphy Baird knows without a doubt George wouldn’t harm a fly or a bee or an obnoxious rich businessman. He balances keeping his brewery going with trying to help solve the murder and preparing for the upcoming Highland Games. It’s not made any easier by the impending visit from his father.
As the mystery deepens, they find themselves not knowing quite who to trust.
Can they find the killer before George winds up arrested for murder?
REVIEW:
This is another adorable tale of George Sheth and Murphy Baird, aka Paddy, aka Paddington Baird 😉 This time it’s George’s confrontational neighbor who ends up dead and George is one of the last people to see him alive. So of course George is considered a suspect since his neighbor Hector ends up dead from what at first appears to be an allergic reaction to a bee sting. Of course anyone who knows George knows he would have nothing to do with this man’s death. His cousin Margo, his boyfriend Murphy, his solicitor Evan, their friends – nobody believes George capable of murder – even the constables don’t believe he’s to blame. That doesn’t stop them from having to interrogate George though.
Given George’s difficult with reading people and questions though, he’s not going to do anything without his solicitor present. Poor Evan is really earning his money getting numerous calls from George and Murphy at very inopportune hours to come round while the DCIs are there. Taking him in for questioning at the station really is hard on George’s nerves. He and Murphy may never get their date night!
When the deceased sister, business partner and then the boyfriend show up, well Murphy and George aren’t sure what is going on. Certainly George has no motive to murder Hector. He’d rather not have had anything to do with him the first place! And Evan is none too happy with George that he keeps letting these strangers into his house!
One top of all that Murphy and George’s fathers arrive for the weekend Highland Games. There is no stopping these two once they get going! And of course they are quite interested in the goings on with the murder. Trying to keep them interfering is like trying to stop a runaway freight train. Murphy and Teagan are already butting in to try to reveal who the real murderer is! Luckily due to Murphy’s intuition, everyone manages to be in the right place at the right time to save the day.
This is an easy and fun low angst cozy mystery that kept me interested from the first page. First, I just love George in all his neurodivergent glory. I love his rescue pug Bumble and his lovely cottage and garden. Murphy is a wonderful boyfriend and it’s lovely to see these two settling into their relationship. Murphy looks out for George, his friend turned lover after years of secret crushing and pining. They work together so well and move their relationship along to the next level in this one after all is said and done. There isn’t a lot in the way of romance on page, but it’s clear these two are meant to be 🙂 I can’t wait to see what’s next for this lovely couple. As usual the secondary characters and the friends and family were a delightful quirky addition to the story. Recommended.
RATING: 
BUY LINK: