Thyme of Death (1992)

Get an editor who can come up with some different ways of presenting the same scene over and over with different characters. "But I know who did the murder!" She and she and she said as they are slamming their fist on the desk.
Boring--wish it weren't since I did like the main character. ( )

First in her series about China Bayles, herb shop owner and amateur detective. I have been following this series for many years and it just gets better. ( )

"Or did he just say to her, 'My dear Ms. Gilbert, I really think it would be extremely helpful if you took these pills so my corporation and I can make a cool five or ten million dollars on this airport deal'?"

You guys! I have a new mystery series! In my usual overenthusiasm about discovering a long series, I have tried to track down the full series - I wanted to get them in audiobook for the gym, but only about half of the China Bayles series has been done in audio, so I'll be switching it up.

Aaaaaaanyhow.

So China Bayles has quit her toxic lawyering in Houston for Mean Nasty Companies and retired to a little place called Pecan Springs (how could anything bad happen in a town called Something Springs? Only good things spring, like winter and bunnies and Slinkies) where she has bought a herb shop called Thyme and Seasons (har har puntastic) and her shop-neighbour is a crazy new Age lady called Ruby, and she has a little cottage behind the shop and thus General Happiness. Except! Drama! Lo, for China's friend Jo has died. Terminally ill already, she seems to have hastened her end with some friendly little white pills and a quarter gallon of Bloody Mary. But that wasn't like Jo. Has there been a Misdeed here? Has there?

I love a single lady investigator (Vic Warshawski, Kinsey Millhone and Amelia Peabody, after a manner, look over my shoulder as I type this). Even better one who's not actually an investigator but gets Caught Up In Things. Throw in the crazy neighbour (Vic and Kinsey each have one of those too) and a smattering of one-liners and puns, and I'm in heaven. It's quite cozy, in that there's only 3 bodies, and while two of them are covered in blood, there aren't any violent knife-wielding men tying our heroine up in a dark room and waiting for the rats... no, China and Ruby solve their mystery over tea and cornbread. There's quite a lot of obvious misdirection, but I didn't guess the baddie, so that's fine with me!

What more do you want? GO BUY THIS SERIES. Now. I'll wait for you to read some and come back and discuss.

Also - what's not to love about that 80's cover? ( )

This mystery series is set in a small suburb in Texas, and the townspeople know one another. But knowing your neighbors does not stop murder, especially when money is involved. The story begins with the death of a woman dying with cancer. But as the story progresses, the suicide develops into murder. But the crazed killer cannot stop at one murder, and before the book is finished more murders litter the herb garden. The story is interesting with the talk of herbs and spices, but the characters are a little flat. I especially liked the ponderings of the mother/daughter relationship, which redeemed the book. ( )

Ex- lawyer, China Bayles open a shop in a small Texas town to get away from the rat race. When one of her good friends is found dead of an apparent suicide she investigates. ( )