Synopses & Reviews
New from the author of Death Come Quickly and Widow's Tears This Thanksgiving, be grateful for China Bayleswho teams up with an old friend to solve a complex case of theft and murder in a South Texas ranching community
Its Thanksgiving in Pecan Springs, and China is planning to visit her mother, Leatha, and her mothers husband, Sam, who are enthusiastically embarking on a new enterpriseturning their former game ranch into a vacation retreat for birders. Shes also looking forward to catching up with her friend, game warden Mackenzie Mack” Chambers, who was recently transferred to the area. But Leatha calls with bad news: Sam has had a heart attack.
How will Leatha manage if Sam cant carry his share? She does have a helper, Sue Ellen Krause. But China discovers that Sue Ellen, who is in the process of leaving her marriage to the assistant foreman at a large trophy game ranch, is in some serious trouble. Before Sue Ellen can tell China the full story, her car veers off a deserted road and she is killed.
Meanwhile, when a local veterinarian is shot in what appears to be a burglary at his clinic, Mack Chambers believes his murder could be related to fawns stolen from a nearby ranch. As Mack follows the trail, China begins to wonder if Sue Ellens death may not have been an accident, and if theres a connection to the stolen animals. But their search for the truth may put their own lives in danger
Review
Review
Praise for Susan Wittig Alberts China Bayles Mysteries “One of the best-written and [most] well-plotted mysteries Ive read in a long time.”—Los Angeles Times “Such a joy… An instant friend.”—Carolyn Hart, New York Times bestselling author “Alberts dialogue and characterizations put her in a class with lady sleuths V. I. Warshawski and Stephanie Plum.”—Publishers Weekly “[Albert] consistently turns out some of the best-plotted mysteries on the market.” —Houston Chronicle
Review
Praise for New York Times Bestselling Author Carolyn Hart “Carolyn Harts work is both utterly reliable and utterly unpredictable.”—Charlaine Harris, #1 New York Times bestselling author
“One of the most popular practitioners of the traditional mystery.”—The Cleveland Plain Dealer
“Engaging…Understated local color and a charming cast of supporting characters will keep Annies fans glued to the page.”—Publishers Weekly
“A perfect balance between a puzzle mystery that keeps a reader happily turning pages, and well-drawn characters that are as full of surprises as the people in our own lives.”—Connecticut Post
“Hart, who has won numerous awards and accolades for her mysteries, has developed an interesting and amusing cast of characters and a surefire formula for the success of her mysteries.”—The Oklahoman
Review
Praise for the China Bayles Series:
"[Albert] consistently turns out some of the best-plotted mysteries on the market."--Houston Chronicle
“One of the best-written and [most] well-plotted mysteries Ive read in a long time.”--Los Angeles Times
“Alberts dialogue and characterizations put her in a class with lady sleuths V. I. Warshawski and Stephanie Plum.”--Publishers Weekly
“Display[s] a deep sense of the Texas hill country and [makes] good use of the strong, likable cast. Details of herbs and herbal remedies continue to flavor the always intriguing plots.”--Booklist
"Engrossing.”--Times-Picayune
Synopsis
One of the most endearing and personable amateur sleuths (Midwest Book Review), herbalist and ex-lawyer China Bayles is back. In Death Come Quickly, a friend s murder may be the key to solving a fifteen-year-old cold case
When China s and Ruby s friend Karen Prior is mugged in a mall parking lot and dies a few days later, China begins to suspect that her friend s death was not a random assault. Karen was a filmmaker supervising a student documentary about the fifteen-year-old murder of a woman named Christine Morris and the acquittal of the man accused of the crime. Is it possible that the same person who killed Christine Morris targeted Karen?
Delving into the cold case, China learns the motive for the first murder may be related to a valuable collection of Mexican art. Enlisting the help of her San Antonio lawyer friend Justine Wyzinski aka the Whiz China is determined to track down the murderer. But is she painting herself into a corner from which there s no escape?"
Synopsis
"In a class with...sleuths V.I. Warshawski and Stephanie Plum," China Bayles deals with a most unwelcome guest... China Bayles is fit to spit when her husband's troubled ex-wife, Sally, shows up at her herb shop, claiming to be broke with nowhere else to turn. China isn't sure if it's the goodness of her heart or the scent of Christmas wreaths, but she invites Sally to stay.
Then China starts receiving menacing calls from an "ex" of Sally's, who seems to have a connection to the murder of her parents nearly a decade ago. With her P.I. husband out of town, it's up to China to weed out the truth behind whatever it is Sally's running from before danger catches up to all of them....
Synopsis
Herbalist and ex-lawyer China Bayles is back in New York Times bestselling author Susan Wittig Albert's Death Come Quickly. This time a friends murder may be the key to solving a nearly fifteen-year-old cold case
When China and Rubys friend Karen Prior is mugged in a mall parking lot and dies a few days later, China begins to suspect that her friends death was not a random assault. Karen was a filmmaker supervising a student documentary about the almost fifteen-year-old murder of a woman named Christine Morris and the acquittal of the man accused of the crime. Is it possible that the same person who killed Christine Morris targeted Karen?
Delving into the cold case, China learns the motive for the first murder may be related to a valuable collection of Mexican art. Enlisting the help of her San Antonio lawyer friend Justine Wyzinskiaka the WhizChina is determined to track down the murderer. But is she painting herself into a corner from which theres no escape?
Synopsis
More information to be announced soon on this forthcoming title from Penguin USA.
Synopsis
Annie Darling, owner of the Death on Demand mystery bookstore, is hosting a party to celebrate successful Southern literary iconand former Browards Rock residentAlex Griffith and his bestselling new novel,
Dont Go Home. But after the local paper announces that Griffith aims to reveal the real-life inspirations behind his characters, perhaps the author should take his own advice. Not everyone in town is ready to give him a glowing review.
As Annie attempts damage control, her friend Marian Kenyon gets in a heated argument with Griffith. Its a fight Annie wont soon forgetespecially after the author turns up dead.
Despite an array of suspects to match Griffiths cast of charactersand a promise to her husband, Max, to steer clear of sleuthingAnnies not about to let the police throw the book at her friend when the real killer remains at large
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 is the author of the China Bayles Mysteries, the Darling Dahlias Mysteries, and the Cottage Tales of Beatrix Potter. Some of her recent titles include Widow���s Tears, Cat���s Claw, The Darling Dahlias and the Confederate Rose, and The Tale of Castle Cottage. She and her husband, Bill, coauthor a series of Victorian-Edwardian mysteries under the name Robin Paige, which includes such titles as Death at Glamis Castle and Death at Whitechapel.