Witches' Bane (China Bayles Series #2)

by Susan Wittig Albert

Overview

Herb shop owner China Bayles is shocked when Halloween hijinks take a gruesome turn...

In a small Texas town, what starts as a little festive Halloween fun ends in a brutal murder. And lawyer-turned-herbalist China Bayles is even more shocked when her friend Ruby, a New Age expert in tarot and astrology, becomes the prime suspect after a minister accuses her of witchcraft. Now it’s up to China to unmask the real killer...

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780425144060
Publisher:	Penguin Publishing Group
Publication date:	09/01/1994
Series:	China Bayles Series , #2
Pages:	272
Product dimensions:	4.20(w) x 6.75(h) x 0.70(d)
Age Range:	18 Years

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.

Date of Birth:

1940

Place of Birth:

Danville, Illinois

Education:

Ph.D., University of California at Berkeley

Editorial Reviews

Praise for Witches’ Bane and the China Bayles Mysteries

“[China Bayles is] in a class with lady sleuths V. I. Warshawski and Stephanie Plum.”—Publishers Weekly (starred review)

“Delightful...A refreshing heroine...Entertaining and engaging.”—Booklist

“Albert’s characters are as real and as quirkly as your next-door neighbor.”—The Raleigh News & Observer

“A brilliant [and] entertaining detective writer...Albert artfully [brings] the down-home town of Pecan Springs alive.”—The Dallas Morning News

“A unique series.”—Seattle Post-Intelligencer

From the Publisher

High-powered Houston attorney China Bayles has forsaken big bucks in the big city to become a good ol' gal in tiny Pecan Springs, Texas. She's opened an herb store and now dabbles in New Age arts and crafts, hangs out with the local "single and loving it" ladies, and solves crimes in her spare time. And it's a good thing she does--Pecan Springs is in the throes of a witch hunt. First it was the appearance of sacrificial artifacts. Then it was a Wiccan Night of the Dead celebration. Next someone slit the throats of the town pets. And now the wife of a local developer has been found brutally murdered. Albert dishes up abundant Tex-Mex detail (flora, fauna, lingo), hearty local recipes and cooking tips, herbal wisdom, and lots of female bonding scenarios--a combination ripe with cornball potential. Luckily, Albert also offers a delightful cast of unusual characters, a catchy plot, and a refreshing heroine to balance the often too-hearty folksiness. On the whole, an entertaining and engaging story.

Emily Melton