Thyme of Death
I have recently gotten into books by Susan Wittig Albert. They are the "China Bayles mysteries." If there is any such thing as a lighthearted murder mystery, without the campiness of a Clue movie, these books have it by the bushell.
China, once a high-powered and successful criminal attorney in Houston, decides that the rat race needed one less rat. Tired of the stress, the constant adrenelain rush, and being paid to get the obviously guilty a slap on the wrist, she cashes in her retirement, chucks the whole career and life in the city, moves to a small Texas town, and buys a small herbal shop called Thyme and Seasons.
All she wants is the quiet life. A simple life. Dealing with herbs, having fun with friends, and dating the hunky cop-turned-law-professor. The LAST thing she wants is for various people to keep turning up dead under suspicious circumstances, and having everybody point the finger at her and say, "Ya know, YOU were once a criminal attorney. You'd be the PERFECT person to figure this out."
Yet, it keeps happening. Of course, she solves the case and catched the fiend.
What I like about her is that she's chocked full of flaws and indecisions. Her wonderful boyfriend is dying to make an honest woman out of her, but she's dragging her heels about losing her independence and having to make a committment. Her estranged mother keeps turning up, uninvited, trying too hard to win her daughter's graces and make up for a lousy childhood. Her best friend is her exact opposite, giving her the best and sometimes worst advice. She has baggage and issues and pet peeves. A real person.
I am just churning through these books as fast as I take them home from the library.
The only thing I don't like about them is that, after reading #6 in the series, I'm beginning to see the author's pattern of writing. I can recognize a type of formula she's using while creating the plots. So much so that I actually guessed at the killer's identity in chapter three, and was very disappointed when I was proven right at the end of the book "Lavender Lies." I LIKE being surprised at the end. I like thinking that I've got the killer pegged, only to find out it was somebody WAY out in left field.
I'm off to get more in the series, but I'm sincerely hoping that the next books don't follow this obvious pattern. I love getting my claws into a good series of books, and I don't want to wind up disappointed.
The first book in the series is "Thyme of Death." Matt and I read it when we rode up to Wisconsin last year. It is a very cool read.
China, once a high-powered and successful criminal attorney in Houston, decides that the rat race needed one less rat. Tired of the stress, the constant adrenelain rush, and being paid to get the obviously guilty a slap on the wrist, she cashes in her retirement, chucks the whole career and life in the city, moves to a small Texas town, and buys a small herbal shop called Thyme and Seasons.
All she wants is the quiet life. A simple life. Dealing with herbs, having fun with friends, and dating the hunky cop-turned-law-professor. The LAST thing she wants is for various people to keep turning up dead under suspicious circumstances, and having everybody point the finger at her and say, "Ya know, YOU were once a criminal attorney. You'd be the PERFECT person to figure this out."
Yet, it keeps happening. Of course, she solves the case and catched the fiend.
What I like about her is that she's chocked full of flaws and indecisions. Her wonderful boyfriend is dying to make an honest woman out of her, but she's dragging her heels about losing her independence and having to make a committment. Her estranged mother keeps turning up, uninvited, trying too hard to win her daughter's graces and make up for a lousy childhood. Her best friend is her exact opposite, giving her the best and sometimes worst advice. She has baggage and issues and pet peeves. A real person.
I am just churning through these books as fast as I take them home from the library.
The only thing I don't like about them is that, after reading #6 in the series, I'm beginning to see the author's pattern of writing. I can recognize a type of formula she's using while creating the plots. So much so that I actually guessed at the killer's identity in chapter three, and was very disappointed when I was proven right at the end of the book "Lavender Lies." I LIKE being surprised at the end. I like thinking that I've got the killer pegged, only to find out it was somebody WAY out in left field.
I'm off to get more in the series, but I'm sincerely hoping that the next books don't follow this obvious pattern. I love getting my claws into a good series of books, and I don't want to wind up disappointed.
The first book in the series is "Thyme of Death." Matt and I read it when we rode up to Wisconsin last year. It is a very cool read.