Hi all, I’m Wren, Wren Johnson, and I own Let It Bee, a honey store with a living bee hive displayed on one wall. I am nuts about bees. Living on the Oregon coast, I know how important bees are for the farmers, vineyards, and orchards. As far as I’m concerned, bees are the most important beings on the planet. Showcasing products made from honey, beeswax, and honeycomb is my way of building awareness of how important these insects are to the planet.
A day in my life starts with my cat, Everett. He’s a lovely Havana Brown cat with green eyes and a huge personality. We usually get breakfast and then go for a walk. Yes, I said walk. Everett loves to put on his leash and we walk down Main Street to the ocean. Everett loves the sand and all the sights and scents of the beach and tides.
After our walk, we usually pick up a coffee and go straight to open the shop. My shop is just off of Main Street and that’s fine during the tourist season, but in the off-times we need to put out a sign on the corner letting everyone know we’re a few blocks down.
My store is small, but I have help. My friend Porsche works with me. It’s just the two of us, but I hope to make enough to hire a third person and maybe even a fourth next year. I usually spend my days at the store and my nights making products from locally sourced bees. I love it!
I moved a lot as a kid, but I had fallen in love with the Oregon coast when my mom died and I stayed with my Aunt Eloise. The Oregon coast is so cool between the ocean, the haystack rocks, and the wooded mountains. I also love the quirky people here, including my aunt who’s a champion crafter and ex-breeder of Havana Browns. Now she leads a Havana Brown rescue group and keeps up her part in a stiff competition with Agnes Snow, her arch rival in all things, but especially crafts.
Today isn’t a normal day, though. No, today Elliot and I found Agnes Snow dead on the beach. She was clutching a label from one of my handmade lip balms. Which means that Officer Jim Hampton, a Paul Newman lookalike, has labeled me suspect number one. Now I have to worry about more than running my honey shop, I have to find a killer to clear my name.
Giveaway: What would you do to clear your name? Answer the question in the comment box below for your chance to win a print copy of Death Bee Comes Her. The giveaway ends January 2, 2020 and is limited to U.S. residents. Good luck everyone!
You can read more about Wren in Death Bee Comes Her, the first book in the NEW “Honeycomb” cozy mystery series, released December 31, 2019.
Meet Wren Johnson, owner of Let It Bee – a shop that sells all things honey, from candy to lip balm to candles. Wren lives and works in the small town of Oceanview along the Oregon coast. Her pet cat, Everett is a constant companion. He is a talkative Havana Brown cat who loves to go for walks on a leash.
One day when Wren is walking Everett on the beach, the kitty points Wren to the prone body of Agnes Snow among the dunes. Agnes is the arch-rival of Wren’s Aunt Eloise, and she is definitely dead. The only clue is a label from one of Wren’s handmade lip balms clutched in Agnes’s right hand.
Wren calls 9-1-1 and meets Office Jim Hampton, a Paul Newman lookalike who is suspicious of Wren from the start. Wren is suspect number one in his eyes – and her Aunt Eloise is suspect number two. Wren, along with Everett, must follow the clues to catch the real killer and clear their names.
This Barnes & Noble Exclusive Edition is available only at Barnes & Noble through December 31, 2020.
Purchase Link
# # # # # # # # # # #
About the author
Nancy J Parra AKA Nancy Coco AKA Nell Hampton is the author of over 29 published novels which include five mystery series: The Oregon Honey-comb Mystery Series (Kensington), The Candy-Coated Mysteries (Kensington), The Kensington Palace Mystery Series (Crooked Lane), The Wine Country Tours Mystery Series (Crooked Lane) The Gluten-free Baker’s Treat Mysteries (Berkley Prime Crime), and The Perfect Proposal Mysteries (Berkley Prime Crime). Her writing has been called witty and her protagonists plucky by reviewers around the world. Nancy is a member of Sisters in Crime, and writes for the Killer Character Blog on the 8th of every month. Nancy loves to hear from readers.
To learn more about x, visit her website at nancyjcoco.com.
All comments are welcomed.
Sounds like a fun read, Happy New Year!
If I were an amateur sleuth, I’d go around and ask questions, maybe at all the local stores.
I’d go out of my way to do whatever it takes to clear my name. I’d hire the best lawyer I could afford and do whatever he advised me to do. I have no idea what that would be because, thankfully, I’ve never been in a position that required me to clear my name. Thank you for this chance. Wishing you the happiest of New years.
What a fun series! I would look for people willing to vouch for me. From there maybe ask advice from a trusted source.
I would do all I can to clear my name…..
Thank you for the giveaway…..
I would hire an attorney to help me clear my name.
I’d get a lawyer & pay the fine to clear my name! Thanks for the chance!
I would do anything within legal boundaries to clear my name. I’d hire a good lawyer if I could afford one, have good reputable friends stand up for me, and I would pray and have faith that my name would be cleared.
I I would find partner up with friend Porsche and start looking for clues on how to find the culprit. Looking forward to starting the new series!
I would do everything legal to clear my name. I would hope others who I trust would help me.
Happy New Year!
I would start investigating, with the help of my friends!
I’d establish a good alibi and do some sleuthing to find other suspects.
I’d get a good lawyer and start trying to find an alibi or a better suspect than me.
So excited for this book! Can’t wait for what I hope will be a long series.
Ordered this honey of a book from Nancy J. Parra/Coco as a New Year’s gift to myself and cannot wait to read it! Thank you for all the intriguing recommendations you share here, Dru! Your emails are most welcome!
I’d try and prove that I had an alibi
Lots of investigating,probably advice from a lawyer.
If I needed to clear my name for any reason? I’d use every one of the lawyers, cops and Fed’s in my family to do the job.. Each to their specialty. Oh, and I’d also drag the medical types in also … I have at least 4 of those.
I wouldn’t know where to start!
Find out whether she died from something in the balm, or if she died from bee stings, or something else, and go from there–did she have any enemies and who benefited from her death.
I would hire the best and most experienced attorneys to clear my name and trust them.
I would find witnesses who could verify where I was during the (likely) time of the murder. I would also do some “snooping” on my own and find some evidence that points away from me. Thanks so much for the giveaway!
I’d hire a really good lawyer, first thing.
I would hire a good lawyer. Hmmm, I really don’t think I know of one right off. Maybe, do some sleuthing myself.
I think I’d have to find someone to alibi me!
I would do whatever it takes to clear my name.
I would do pretty much anything (legal!) that I had to do.
I would do whatever it takes to clear my name. I would be checking around to find out what happened. Establish an alibi and find myself a lawyer.
I would do whatever it takes to clear my name. I would look for other suspects, digging into who would have wanted the victim dead. I’d make sure I had a good alibi and a good lawyer. Thanks for a chance to win!
I would nose around, like any good amateur sleuth! At least until the bad guy tips their hand.
I’d do everything possible to clear my name.
I would do whatever it takes to clear my name.
I would hire a great lawyer and also investigate the situation myself to clear my name.
I would hire a good lawyer!!!
**** WINNER ****
Death Bee Comes Her is Cherisse
Congratulations!