Search - Thyme of Death (China Bayles, Bk 1)

I could not get into this book. Other people have told me that it is really a good series. I guess it is just not for me.

China Bayles, former rat-race lawyer, escapes to small-town Texas to operate an herb shop and enjoy the simple life. Murder interrupts her simple life, however, when a good friend and local protest organizer dies suddenly. Revelatory letters, a crazy-eyed dollmaker, a nationally known TV personality, her ex-cop lover, and a shifty developer complicate matters as China begins her amateurish investigation. Like her pursuit of the murderer, this provides pleasant escape from routine. The first of a series.

If any of you liked the Nancy Drew series when you were kids, you'll love these. Same author too! Susan Albert wrote the Nancy Drew series under her pseudonym Carolyn Keene. She wrote the Hardy boys series under the pseudonym Franklin Dixon. (Amazing what you can learn on Amazon!)

Pretty good mystery! Now that I've read the 1st and 2nd in the China Bayles series, I'll work my way through the rest of them. I think this is a series that is best read all together. The characters and setting aren't (yet) strong enough to be remembered over a long lapse between books. In contrast, Kay Scarpetta, V. I. Warshawsky, Kinsey Millhone, Mary Crow, Deborah Knott, and Benni Harper feel like distant relatives that I'll never forget and will always be glad to hear from/about. I think this series has the potential to create that kind of attachment; that's why I'll continue to read them.

A Susan Wittig Albert novel featuring ex-lawyer and herb shop proprietor China Bayles have won acclaim for their rich characterization and witty, suspenseful stories of crime and passion in small-town Texas. Now when China's friend Jo dies of an apparent suicide, China looks behind the quaint facade of Pecan Springs and takes a suspicious look at everyone. And though she finds lots of friendly faces, China is sure that one of them hides the heart of a killer.

First one of her books I have read, but I will read more of them. I really enjoyed the book and look forward to the next one I read.

Interesting twisty story line. Can't wait to read the next one

The first China Bayles' mystery in which the ex-power lawyer turned herbalist searches for her friend's killer.