Susan Wittig Albert Books


Lavender Lies : A China Bayles Mystery by Susan Wittig Albert

Texas herbalist China Bayles must put her upcoming nuptials on the back burner when a murder investigation entangles her friends and neighbors.


Mistletoe Man by Susan Wittig Albert

Amazon.com
China Bayles, a lawyer who's dropped out of practice but hasn't yet handed in her bar card, is back in business at Thyme and Season, her herb shop in Pecan Springs, Texas. The shop is so successful that China and Ruby, a friend with another remarkably successful New Age boutique named Crystal Cave, have added a tea room--named, of course, Thyme for Tea. Pecan Springs is getting to sound a lot like Sausalito, but apparently a lot of tourists pass through the west Texas town on their way to or from the Pecan Pageant, the Herb Fair, and, presumably, other unnamed attractions.
This ninth China Bayles mystery is a cozy case of confused property lines that lead a couple of likable people into a confrontation that ends in murder. Unfortunately, the dead man was China's main supplier of the herb of the title, and Christmas is just around the corner. So it behooves China (along with her new husband, a retired police detective, and her close friends, who all seem to be in law enforcement) to straighten things out, nail the culprit, and reestablish the mistletoe supply as soon as possible. Which they do, in a whimsical story that's as much about China's strained relationship with Ruby and her new life as a wife and stepmother as it is about who killed the Mistletoe Man. This all-but-bloodless tale is long on charm and local color and short on action. Susan Wittig Albert's quirky characters and their customs are on display (like the maiden lady who believes she's been abducted by aliens) rather than suspense or plot. But Albert's many fans won't mind a leisurely afternoon with China or the herbal lore that's served up as an appetizer before each chapter.
Book Description
Susan Wittig Albert's "unique" series (Seattle Post-Intelligencer) featuring herbalist China Bayles is infused with the down-home charm of small-town Texas. Compelling, suspenseful, and wholly original, Mistletoe Man tells the story of China's search for a killer, her struggle to support a troubled friend-and of her desperate attempt to reconcile the demands of her new business with the desires of her heart...


Love Lies Bleeding : A China Bayles Mystery by Susan Wittig Albert

Book Description
The newest in the nationally bestselling series--a "fast-paced and absorbing" tale (Midwest Book Review). Ex-lawyer and herb-shop proprietor China Bayles is investigating the mystery of retired Texas Ranger shot dead with his wife's gun...and at the same time trying to sort out some mysteries about her own relationship after she overhears a suspicious phone conversation...
Summary
Ex-lawyer and herb-shop proprietor China Bayles is investigating the mystery of retired Texas Ranger shot dead with his wife's gun, and, at the same time, trying to sort out some mysteries about her own relationship, after she overhears a suspicious phone conversation. and mystery publications.


Chile Death : A China Bayles Mystery by Susan Wittig Albert

Amazon.com
Chile is the pepper; chili (or sometimes chilli) is the spicy stew made with it. That's the first of many lessons about food, love, and death in Susan Wittig Albert's latest mystery about China Bayles, the Texas Hill Country lawyer turned herbalist and crime solver. Although Albert lives in the Texas Hill Country herself, she swears that China's hometown, Pecan Springs (which must have a higher per capita death rate than anyplace outside of Jessica Fletcher's Maine village), is fictional. So we have to believe that nobody really killed one of the judges of the annual Cedar Choppers Chili Cook-off by adding peanuts to his tasting sample and causing a deadly allergic reaction.
But China and her lover, ex-cop Mike McQuaid, believe it--especially after the dead chili judge, Jerry Jeff Cody, turns out to have a swampful of dirty secrets. So Albert begins a clever dance, keeping Bayles and the bedridden McQuaid (shot while working for the Texas Rangers) in just enough danger to maintain an atmosphere of suspense while also slipping in enough chile lore to outfit a chain of Taco Bells. The format may be familiar, but Albert is one of the best in the business at making it look newly hatched. Other Bayles books include Love Lies Bleeding, Thyme of Death, and Rueful Death.
Book Description
She planted the seeds of mystery stardom with her first book, Thyme of Death. She continued growing with such highly-praised follow-ups as Witches' Bane and Love Lies Bleeding. Now Susan Wittig Albert's career blooms with a flourish--with the brand-new offering Chile Death.

An annual chili cookoff, a womanizing judge, and a crisis in China's personal life add up to a novel that will delight fans of this fast-rising author, a nominee for both the Anthony and Agatha Awards--and attract a whole new audience to this "appealing series that just keeps getting better." (Booklist)


Witches' Bane by Susan Wittig Albert


When a holiday prank culminates in a brutal murder, China Bayles's friend Ruby becomes a prime suspect after being accused of practicing witchcraft by a mudslinging minister.


Rosemary Remembered by Susan Wittig Albert

When her accountant, Rosemary, is killed, ex-lawyer and herb-shop proprietor China Bayles finds a host of suspects that includes an abusive ex-husband and several former clients.


Thyme of Death : A Mystery Introducing China Bayles by Susan Wittig Albert


When her friend Jo dies of an apparent suicide, ex-lawyer and herb-shop proprietor China Bayles looks with suspicion upon the friendly faces of quaint Pecan Springs.

 

Rueful Death : A China Bayles Mystery by Susan Wittig Albert

During a supposedly relaxing retreat at a Texas convent, herbalist China Bayles and her friend Maggie, an ex-nun, investigate the seemingly accidental death of the Mother Superior and uncover a deadly conflict within the walls of the cloister.

Hangman's Root by Susan Wittig Albert

When a prominent animal researcher is murdered, the Cat Lady, an aggressive animal rights activist and friend to China Bayles, is held for questioning, and it is up to China to find out who the true killer really is.


About the Author
Susan Wittig Albert grew up on a farm in Illinois and earned her Ph.D. at the University of California at Berkeley. A former professor of English and a university administrator and vice president, she now lives with her husband, Bill, in the country outside of Austin, Texas. In addition to the China Bayles mysteries, she writes a Victorian mystery series, along with her husband, under the pseudonym of Robin Paige.

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