Witches' Bane

China Bayles and her friends get caught up in a cult scare, and one of her group is murdered. China tracks down the twisted motives and finds herself face to face with the least likely murderer. As always a tightly woven plot with great characters, a bit of herb lore, a bit of wiccan lore, and a painful but interesting scene dealing with China's alcoholic mother and the scars that left behind. Love it.

A fun romp through West Texas hill country, in a small town with all of its challenges, this book is the second in the China Bayles series. The characters are well-drawn and believable, the plot did have me guessing (I suspected, but then decided, "no, it couldn't be!"), and our lawyer-turned-herbalist shopowner China Bayles has her doubts about a permanent relationship with her boyfriend and a realistic dysfunctional relationship with her mother. All while owning her own business and helping get to the bottom of a creepy murder. No, make that two. Was there a third??
A great lunchtime read, or a great read on a lazy weekend. Highly recommend and would love to read more.

"I really enjoyed my first taste of this cozy mystery series. The wait for the first book in the series was too long at my library, so I jumped in with book two. I love the characters, the setting, and most especially the bits of herb lore sprinkled throughout. I did solve the mystery early (rare for me and made me annoyed with the China) which is why I docked half a star from what is otherwise a four-star book for me. Recommended if you like cozies or are at all interested in herbs."

Everybody laughed, me included. But you can't blame the garden club. They are used to seeing red, white, and blue petunias planted in the shape of the American flag, not a collection of plants with enough poison to dispatch half the population of Pecan Springs.

"Speaking of witches," Mary said, "I'm having a women's Halloween party at my place out in Deadwood on Saturday night. Some of my Wiccan friends from Austin are coming. You're all invited. "

Witches' Bane is my second foray into the spicy world of China Bayles, and in this installation the reader glimpses the dysfunctional Bayles family. Halloween enlivens the atmosphere with whisperings of witches, use of magic, and mysterious deaths. As usual, our heroine must risk life and limb in an effort to find truth and justice. Why do female detectives shun relationships and commitment? China Bayles closely parallels Deborah Knotts in the Margaret Maron mystery series in many aspects. Each author follows their own path in presenting a story. Susan Wittig Albert focuses on herbs, flowers, and women. The supporting men characters present a one sided individual, whereas the women grab center stage. Albert gives a fun read.

I really enjoyed my first taste of this cozy mystery series. The wait for the first book in the series was too long at my library, so I jumped in with book two. I love the characters, the setting, and most especially the bits of herb lore sprinkled throughout. I did solve the mystery early (rare for me and made me annoyed with the China) which is why I docked half a star from what is otherwise a four-star book for me. Recommended if you like cozies or are at all interested in herbs.

This is the first book I've read in the China Bayles "herb" series, though
it seems to be the second book in the series. (typical!) China Bayles is a
former attorney who has left the rat race of the big city for a small town
in Texas and opened an herb shop. She rents out the other half of the store
building to her friend Ruby, who runs a crystal and metaphysical New Age
shop. Ruby introduces China to a group of her Wiccan friends for a
Halloween party and the next morning, one of the party guests is found with
her throat slashed in her own living room. Add into this equation the fact
that the local holier-than-thou preacher has begun denouncing Ruby and China
as witches, and the sheriff starts nosing around looking for clues in the show more
murder investigation. All clues seem to lead to Ruby's latest lover, the
new photographer in town, and it seems to be up to China to figure out who
really committed this crime.

This was a very light read, and I'll read more in the series, but the
mystery lacked oomph for me. I had it figured out long before the final
reveal and there were several times when I wanted to reach into the book and
slap some sense into China and tell her, "Look at this! What is the matter
with you?!?" LOL The book held my interest to the end because I was
waiting to see when China would have an epiphany and realize whodunit. I'll
admit that I don't often figure out the mystery before the protagonist does,
so maybe this was a fluke. I'll rate it a 3 and see what the other books in
the series are like. show less