Bleeding Hearts (China Bayles Mystery) [Hardcover]

Susan Wittig Albert (Author)

Book Description

Series: China Bayles Mystery | Publication Date: April 4, 2006

High school football coach Tim Duffy is handsome, charming, and married into a wealthy local family. But now, an anonymous accuser has made shocking allegations of improper behavior-and China Bayles is asked to conduct a discreet investigation.

What she uncovers is a perplexing story of forbidden desire, deception, and questionable circumstances surrounding a young woman's death. And the deeper China digs, the more she fears that the town's beloved coach may be more dangerous than anyone knows.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In Albert's engrossing 15th mystery to star China Bayles, herbalist, erstwhile lawyer and occasional gumshoe (after 2005's Dead Man's Bones), everyone in China's charming hometown of Pecan Springs, Tex., is stunned when the high school football coach, Tim Duffy, is murdered. The good coach, it turns out, had a nasty habit of getting sexually involved with teenage girls, and that criminal predilection led to his death. One of Duffy's victims had died recently, too, supposedly a suicide. Her case is reopened after the coach's predatory ways are discovered. Meanwhile, China stumbles onto a packet of letters written by her father years before, letters that reveal more about his past than she really wants to know. Albert's characterization is strong—China delights as ever, as does her wacky friend, Ruby Wilcox. Descriptions of delectable dishes (recipes included, of course) and tips about herbs add to the fun, but beware the prefatory author's note, which gives too much away. (Apr.)
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Review

An entertaining detective writer. (Dallas Morning News)

One of the most endearing and personable amateur sleuths. (Midwest Book Review)

[A] unique series. (Seattle Post-Intelligencer) --This text refers to the Mass Market Paperback edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 304 pages
• Publisher: Berkley Hardcover; 1ST edition (April 4, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0425207994
• ISBN-13: 978-0425207994
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.2 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (20 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #932,630 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

My husband Bill and I live on 31 acres in the Hill Country of Central Texas, and have longhorn cows, sheep, geese, as well as the wild things that roam the meadows and woods. Our best buddies are our three dogs (Zach, Lady, and Toro) and our cat, Shadow. I'm a passionate gardener and am concerned about issues of global warming and energy depletion. You can find out more about the way I live in my new memoir, Together, Alone: A Memoir of Marriage and Place.

I've been writing professionally for nearly 25 years, after a stint in higher education as a faculty member and administrator. When I first started writing full time, I worked in the Nancy Drew and Hardy Boys series--yep, you got it: I am both Carolyn Keene and Franklin W. Dixon! (How cool is that?) In the years I was writing young adult novels, with Bill or by myself, I wrote over sixty books. In addition, Bill and I wrote a series of Victorian/Edwardian mysteries together, as Robin Paige.

Now, I write three mystery series: the China Bayles herbal mysteries, the Cottage Tales of Beatrix Potter, and a new series (starting in July, 2010) called The Darling Dahlias, about a Southern garden club in the 1930s. Writing is not only my work, but my passion. Truly a right livelihood, and I'm grateful to have found it. I am also a member (and the founder) of the Story Circle Network, a nonprofit organization that supports women who want to write about their lives.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars As familiar and delicious as apple pie, May 1, 2006

By 

Dr Cathy Goodwin (Seattle, WA USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Bleeding Hearts (China Bayles Mystery) (Hardcover)

Bleeding Hearts saved my sanity on a recent uncomfortable plane ride. I was able to get fully absorbed and keep the pages turning, despite cramped conditions and witchy flight attendants.

The plot of Bleeding hearts has been described by editorial and individual reviewers. The book gets us reacquainted with China and lets spend more time with her teenaged stepson and larger-than-life best friend Ruby. The plot hinges on a timely topic: a popular athletic coach has been implicated in serious crimes. The high school principal asks China to investigate discreetly.

Albert writes smoothly and professionally, deftly describing characters in a sentence or two and lovingly creating a sense of place. I caught only a few misses. For example, in one scene, China realizes her "backside" will be covered with orange cat hair...but we're not told what she's wearing! With jeans, who cares?

Fans should be warned, though: If you're looking for surprises and plot twists, you won't find them here. While several recent mysteries have turned up a villain who appears out of nowhere just in time to be properly vilified, Albert does the opposite. If you haven't figured out the coach's heinous crime before you've finished reading the jacket copy, you've been on a news fast for the last five years. And if you can't guess where China discovers a stash of evidence -- the only solid clues -- you're a newbie mystery reader (or easily distracted).

So Bleeding Hearts should be read like a trip along familiar territory -- engrossing, enjoyable but not especially startling. Even the subplots -- a missing quilt, letters from China's dead father -- lead us to a whimper, not a burst of gunfire.

I did get a bit puzzled when the high school principal, briefing China about the case, has to whisper "two words" to describe her concerns. These days it's hard to imagine a principal who'd be surprised, let alone one who couldn't say the words loud and clear.

Regardless, Albert's writing skills allowed me to overlook these flaws. I wasn't a bit tempted to put the book down or peek at the ending (maybe because I sort of knew it all along). And any author who can help me survive 21st century air travel has my undying gratitude forever.

So Bleeding Hearts makes me think of perfectly made apple pie: you've eaten
dozens in your lifetime, this one's way better than average...and you want to prolong the experience and go back for seconds.

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Novel, April 19, 2006

By 

Mackie "mackie3745" (Lancaster, CA USA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Bleeding Hearts (China Bayles Mystery) (Hardcover)

One of the things I like best about this author is her ability to weave several stories together into a cohesive whole. Her characters are wonderful, her writing bright and refreshing, and her mysteries satisfying. I always look forward to a new novel in this series.

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars more herbs, June 24, 2006

By 

Elizabeth Slater (North Florida) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Bleeding Hearts (China Bayles Mystery) (Hardcover)

Another in the China Bayles series, and this time Mac isn't very prominent in the story. China is trying to solve the mystery of the death (suicide?) of a young girl of a friend but without raising a lot of eyebrows. Her investigation leads her to a local minor celebrity - and a history of trouble. While China searches for clues, she and her partners are struggling to handle all their business, having branched out into the tea room and catering, as well as cooking and delivering meals for people to keep in their freezers. The three women manage to "close" their cases amidst a hectic work life, mysteries of the past pushing forward, volunteer work, and their social lives. Albert's bonus of recipes and herbal uses is a pleasant addition to the story. Still like this series. It always makes me want to open an herb shop - and I don't even garden!