Dead Man's Bones: A China Bayles Mystery FROM OUR EDITORS
The Barnes & Noble Review
When herb shop owner China Bayles thinks of Dead Man's Bones, she pictures the lovely shade plant of that name. But bones of a different sort underpin Susan Wittig Albert's exciting mystery featuring the sleuthing herbalist.
The land around Pecan Springs, Texas, is riddled with caves, some large, others small. But one local cave has recently become big news. First a cache of stolen loot was found there; then an ancient burial site was discovered in another chamber. But the most recent surprise comes when China Bayles's teenage stepson, Brian, unearths some not-so-ancent remains while helping to map the cave system. The official investigation soon reveals that the jeans-clad skeleton with the shattered skull died from anything-but-natural causes.
Meanwhile, China's friend Ruby is working hard on her new role in the community theater's upcoming debut of a play about a local philanthropist -- a play written by the dead man's demanding and heartily disliked daughter. Drama builds, as a local handyman joins the body count on the much-disputed play's opening nightﾽand the seeds of doubt China harbors about all these deaths soon blossom into a complex potpourri of deceit and deadly danger. Sue Stone
FROM THE PUBLISHER
Texas ex-lawyer and herbalist China Bayles digs into murders past and present, as a dead man's bones are uncovered-and a community gathering is interrupted by murder...
China Bayles already has her hands full balancing her job, her family, and her friends' romantic entanglements. Then her teenage son finds some skeletal remains during a local cave dig-remains from a not-so-distant, not-so-accidental death.
Author Biography: 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 addition to the China Bayles mysteries, she writes the new Beatrix Potter series as well as a mystery series set in the Victorian/Edwardian era, along with her husband, under the pseudonym of Robin Paige.
FROM THE CRITICS
Kirkus Reviews
The latest interruption in the lives of China Bayles, Esq., her best bud Ruby Wilcox, her husband, college teacher/private eye Mike McQuaid, and his son Brian, 14, is . . . Brian's discovery of skeletal remains at an archaeological site. More complications await the friends of China's herb shop, tearoom and catering business. Ruby, the queen of bad relationships, falls for newcomer Colin Fowler. China's friends Sheriff Blackie Blackwell and Chief of Police fiancee Sheila Dawson, aka "Smart Cookie," break up. And forensic specialist Alana Montoya starts hitting the bottle. The gravest consequences attend the grand opening of the new Merrill Obermann Community Theater, financed by the Misses Obermann. Jane, who's written the opening play in her father's honor, is an autocrat tolerated for the sake of her charitable donations. Her sister Florence lives quietly in Jane's shadow. On the night of the grand opening, Jane kills local carpenter Hank Dixon, who'd allegedly broken into her house and threatened the sisters with a knife. When Florence dies, apparently poisoned, China has to pull together the threads that connect the shooting, the poisoning and that skeleton. Devotees of China's adventures (Indigo Dying, 2003, etc.) will enjoy more quality time with the denizens of Pecan Springs. Even newcomers who don't get into the Texas Hill Country spirit will pick up some recipes and a lot of herbal lore.
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