Helpful Score: 1
I've read a few of Susan Wittig Albert's China Bayles mysteries, but I enjoyed this one so much that I'm collecting the rest of the series. I especially liked the information about different herbs and their uses in this mystery about the finding of a body in a cave at the site of an archeological dig. China has so much to deal with that she has enough real headaches, but the two eccentric sisters who write a play to be the first performed in the building-turned-theater that they've donated keeps China and her friends so busy that they aren't prepared for a few more bodies that start piling up. This is a really enjoyable book if you like mysteries and herbs combined into a cozy.
Helpful Score: 1
Excellent continuation of the series!!
Kathie S. (CraftyKat) - , reviewed Dead Man's Bones (China Bayles, Bk 13) on + 404 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1
Very fun mystery. Loved the new characters we met and am looking forward to solving the mystery of the old friends we met in earlier books.
China's teenaged son Brian has taken to archaeology, and finds a skeleton during a local cave dig. As with all the China Bayles stories, this book is well-written and offers herbal facts as well as some tempting recipes.
From Publishers Weekly: "In Albert's assured 14th outing for China Bayles, the herbalist and ex-lawyer is worried about the effect of the poor tourist trade on her Pecan Springs, Tex., herb shop, tea room and New Age store owned jointly with her best friend, Ruby Wilcox, when her 14-year-old stepson, Brian, announces a disturbing discovery: while on an archeological dig in a cave, he found a skeleton with its skull bashed in. Analysis later shows that the bones are about 30 years old. After a leading citizen shoots dead an apparent intruder in self-defense, China begins to suspect there's a link between this incident and the past murder. In her own quiet way, China pursues the truth. China's warmth and sensitivity toward Ruby's new boyfriend, the new professor at the local university and others will endear her to readers, while her investigative skills make her a leader among female sleuths. Fascinating information about herbs and tempting recipes round out this leisurely cozy with a Southwestern flair." Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc.
A dead man's bones are uncovered and Texas ex-lawyer and herbalist China Bayles must dig into a pair of murders separated by time but connected by motive
In this gently narrated cozy, a skeleton in a cave allows China to think about archaeology, forensics, love affairs, immigration, and secrets from the past. Meanwhile, two elderly and reclusive sisters, one imperious and the other frail, the last of their family, donate a building, the funds for its renovation, and property for a community theater, with the stipulation that a play written about their father must be the first production. These events turn out to be intimately connected to the body in the cave, and it makes for an enjoyable journey as China makes the necessary connections one by one. GraceAnne DeCandido
An "herbal mystery"!
Wonderful story, that just keeps moving along, which what I like. I have read all the "China Bayles" mysteries and have loved every one. I feel like China in a friend of mine. I even named my cat "khat" after China's Khat.
Great read; highly recommend.
