Fans of husband-and-wife author team Cleo Coyle will be pleased with the nineteenth installment in their popular Coffeehouse Mysteries series featuring beloved manager of the Village Blend coffee shop and amateur sleuth Clare Cosi. Honey Roasted finds Clare newly married to Lieutenant Mike Quinn and planning their honeymoon when the producer of their newest and most delicious-flavored honey, elite beekeeper Bea Hastings, is attacked and left for dead. When Bea’s greenhouse goes missing, it’s clear her passion for producing the gourmet condiment has something to do with the crime. As Clare works with her business partner and ex-husband Matt Allegro to figure out who wanted Bea, also a friend of Matt’s mother, out of the way, they uncover information regarding the woman’s history of questionable investment practices and the list of suspects grows. Meanwhile, Clare confides in Matt that all is not well in her marriage as Quinn shuts her out of his life. She fears he is working too hard trying to solve a case of multiple deaths involving a new designer drug. Soon, they find evidence indicating the two crimes could be connected, but how and why remain a mystery. Red herrings pop up at every turn and relationships are not what they seem in this winding and complex tale. While the authors clearly did their research when it comes to the beekeeping industry, much of the educational detail would have been better presented in the appendix, if at all. The number of characters also becomes cumbersome. This being said, the witty banter, likeable characters, and well-plotted story will please lovers of this genre. Appendices on types of honey and recipes are treats that will give the work additional appeal. [Jan 2022]