China Bayles mysteries

A prominent animal researcher has been hanged. And suspicion has fallen on the Cat Lady--a local biology professor whose obsession with rescuing strays makes her, in some people's minds, capable of murder in defense of the animals. But China is a friend of the Cat Lady, and she doesn't agree. This may have been an act of pure human aggression ...

On a retreat in St. Theresa's, a convent in Texas, sleuth China Bayles observes nuns fighting over a legacy worth millions of dollars. One lot wants the money for more contemplation, the other for commerce.

An annual chili cookoff, a womanizing judge, and a crisis in China Bayle's personal life add up to a novel that will delight fans of this fast-rising author, a nominee for both the Anthony and Agatha Awards.

As the Christmas decorating season approaches, Thyme & Seasons propietor China Bayles is feeling overwealmed. While she tries to balance her new roles of wife and step-mom with the demands of her thriving herbal shop, her business partner--and best friend--Ruby mysteriously disappears. Soon China's cantankerous mistletoe supplier Carl turns up dead. With Ruby missing and her friends suspected of murder, China must investigate before tragedy occurs....

Deep in Texas hill country, ex-lawyer China thinks life is hectic enough already, and then her teenaged son unearths human remains while digging in a nearby cave. The bones indicate foul play--and are much too recent to be an archeological find. Despite the unexpected turn of events, China keeps her cool and attends the opening of the new community theater. But the party abruptly ends when the elderly Jane Obermann shoots a local handyman in the name...

Between the herb shop, the catering business, and a weekend paper-making class, China Bayles has her work cut out for her. And now China's half-brother is opening up old wounds, trying to investigate their father's supposedly accidental death, and her husband is taking on the case-meaning she's just bound to get involved.

While getting some much needed rest and assisting with some herbal workshops, China Bayles stumbles over old secrets in a Kentucky Shaker village after a shocking death occurs during her stay.

China Bayles searches for a missing intern reporter at the local Pecan Springs paper who had been covering the story of a suspicious house trailer fire that took the life of another woman.

Herbalist ex-lawyer China Bayles investigates the murder of a teller at the Pecan Springs bank and follows the clues to a haunted bed and breakfast.

"This Thanksgiving, be grateful for China Bayles who teams up with an old friend to solve a complex case of theft and murder in a South Texas ranching community. It's Thanksgiving in Pecan Springs, and China is planning to visit her mother, Leatha, and her mother's husband, Sam, who are enthusiastically embarking on a new enterprise turning their former game ranch into a vacation retreat for birders. She's also looking forward to catching up with...

"Max Mantel, the killer McQuaid put away years ago, has busted out of Huntsville Prison and appears to be headed for Pecan Springs. McQuaid knows there's only one way to stop the vengeful convict--set a trap with himself as bait. China wants to stay by her husband's side and keep him from harm. But McQuaid insists that she get out of town and go to the Last Chance Olive Ranch, where she's agreed to teach a workshop on herbs. When China and her best...

From Susan Wittig Albert, the New York Times best-selling author of Queen Anne's Lace, comes an intriguing new addition to her widely-acclaimed China Bayles Mysteries. China and Ruby Wilcox are presenting their annual "Not Just Plain Vanilla Workshop," always a huge hit with customers at Thyme & Seasons Herb Shop. But someone involved with the workshop is driven by a deadly motive, and China soon finds herself teaming up with the very pregnant Pecan...