Murder with a Side of Shrimp and Grits by Skylar Warren Narrator: Megan Gage
Series: The Honeybee Diner Mysteries #1
Published by Bookouture Audio on May 13, 2026
Source: NetGalley
Genres: Cozy Mystery
Length: 12 hrs 19 mins
Pages: 368
Format: Audiobook
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Welcome to Honeybee’s diner, where the scent of butter and garlic wraps itself around you, thick and comforting. Jessie Haynes’ homestyle cooking feeds the hearts and souls of the good people of Willow Bluff. Until someone puts murder on the menu!
Y’all are invited to dig into a steamin’ plate of meatloaf. The diner’s well-worn red chairs have cradled folks from every corner of Willow Bluff—Jessie’s podcasting bestie, Tee, Old Mr Higgins, two mighty mischievous kittens, Biscuits and Gravy, and every tattling townsperson in between—so when the mayor turns blue after a bite of Jessie’s famous shrimp and grits, she finds herself in seriously hot water…
Suddenly, all eyes are swivelled toward Jessie. For fifty years her family has fed Willow Bluff, and Jessie won’t let one mouthful shatter the legacy of her grandmother’s secret recipes. The mayor’s peanut allergy was the talk of the town, so when traces are found in his food, Jessie must fight to clear her name.
An empty peanut packet in the diner’s pantry has Jessie and Tee hot on the heels of the murderer when another case of food tampering occurs at a nearby bakery. Someone is dishing out delicious death sentences—but how many locals will get served before Jessie can crack the case? Her investigation must be a recipe for success or Honeybee’s will be toast…
I almost quit reading Murder with a Side of Shrimp and Grits during the first chapter. The Mayor comes into the Honeybee Cafe during their anniversary celebration, has a couple bites of his usual shrimp and grits and dies of an allergic reaction. This book is nothing if not overly descriptive, which was a bit much for me with a death from anaphylactic shock immediately followed by glares of suspicion directed towards Jessie, cook/owner of Honeybees, from the rest of the customers, many of whom had known her since she was a child. And Jessie immediately begins to catastrophize the situation. Turns out she wasn’t too far off, but the immediate overreactions all around didn’t make sense to me. I mean reacting to the death makes sense, it’s the immediate suspicion and “they’re all going to hate me” that didn’t.
As I mentioned, we get log details descriptions of everything, which sometimes worked and sometimes felt like the author threw every metaphor she could think of into the book. It’s rather wordy and repetitive. While I like Jessie and her crew, I wish they had more personality. Tee, Jessie’s best friend, seems awesome and confident, but we don’t need to hear about her bracelets and braids every time she’s mentioned. Jessie’s love interest, whose name I forget, is a nice guy, but he was instantly smitten with Jessie and willing to join her investigation, which seemed a little hasty for a therapist.
The mystery itself was secondary to the characters and the small town. The solution was fairly obvious since there just weren’t that many suspects and most people that Jessie and her friends question don’t feature in any scenes except that one.
I will say the narrator did a good job. She brought the Southern flavor to life without overdoing each. Each character had a distinct voice and she kept the pace moving along well.
It looks like the second in the series, Murder with a Side of Red Velvet, will be published later this year. I may pick it up. I think the series has potential if she tightens up the writing a bit.
About Skylar Warren
Skylar Warren is a Chicago native and a graduate of Chicago State University, where she earned a Bachelor of Arts in Communications, Media Arts and Theatre. She now lives in New York City and works as a claims adjuster. In her spare time, she enjoys watching mysteries and solving puzzles.
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