Date published: April 2007
ISBN: 978-0-42521394-0
Cozy Mystery
Hardcover
Reviewed by Gina
With creative friend Carole Gaye in Pecan Springs for a weekend, including teaching papermaking, China Bayles is set for a good time. Her herb shop is doing well, she has her friends and husband McQuaid in her arms. What more could she want? Well, what she doesn’t want is to have her half brother Mike digging into their father’s death and even more, she doesn’t want to be digging into a murder. She sort of manages to avoid getting into Mike’s delving into the past although McQuaid is intrigued. Besides, the money he’d make as a private investigator is nothing to sneeze at. And although China is holding her friend Ruby’s hand over her break up with her boyfriend Colin, she is almost pleased when he once again disappoints her friend. And then she finds out why Colin didn't quite make it for his date with Ruby. When she is out picking yucca for Carole’s papermaking class they stumble on his body. The mystery deepens when another victim turns up dead and the same big, brawny blond shows up at crime scene after crime scene.
This was my first China Bayles mystery and I’ve made the decision to go back to book one and learn more about the sleuth and her cache of friends. Each is unique and interesting and the town of Pecan Springs is a hot bed of intrigue and entertainment for a reader. I’m not much for cooking and crafts so while the passages about baking, cooking and making paper were interesting, they didn't hold me spell bound. They were entertaining. Someone who enjoys crafts will be totally delighted with them and for cooks in the crowd, some of the dishes that are served sound downright tempting.
Among my favorite characters were Howard Cossell (China’s Basset Hound) and Rambo the Rottweiler. The various behaviors attributed to Rambo given his breed made me smile. Depending on the character’s need he was either a mean, vicious guard dog or a sweet little pussy cat. When the chips were down though, that puppy came through.
What I enjoyed immensely is Ms. Albert’s writing style. She tells her tale in the first person blended with third person so that the reader is part of the action while seeing a good mystery unfold.
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