Customer Reviews

Dead Man's Bones (China Bayles Mystery)

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

14th in the China Bayles series, China and Ruby (China's best friend and business partner) are catering at the opening of a theatre. When China's stepson finds skeleton with its skull bashed in, the duo quietly start investigating without stepping on the toes of their friends - the police chief and the sheriff - who are on the outs with each other. When there is another death in town, China suspects that the two deaths are related. Albert includes - as usual - several interesting recipes and tidbits about herbs, especially the one included in the title. I buy Albert's books in hardback - and continue to enjoy all three of her mystery series.

I really like this book, although I was a little sorry with how some of the characters were left at the end of the book (Brian's professor lady mainly). But the book was fast paced and interesting. I figured out the bones pretty quickly, but still got some surprises in the mix!

This is a long running series and there is a reason for it.. the books/stories are good, well written and just fun to read. I enjoyed this current additon to this already popular. I did not feel it is the best of the bunch, but am not complaining. It was fun to read and left we wanting yet another of the author's offerings. Ms Albert is a good story teller and has developed a very nice group of characters. China Bayles fans will enjoy this work even though it is a bit different. Recommend it highly. Enjoy!

With revenues down at China Bayle's Thyme and Season Herb Shop, Ruby Wilcox's Crystal Cave New Age Store and their joint venture, The Thyme for Tea restaurant, both women are taking on additional jobs. Ruby has started the Party Thyme Catering Service and China is doing more customized garden planning to make ends meet. China also has to balance her personal life which includes a husband, her stepson Brian and assorted pets.

In a cave Brian finds the skulls of two humans, who lived there over ten thousand years ago; the university sponsoring the dig is ecstatic. They are not so happy when Brian finds the body of a man that was murdered in the same location about a quarter of a century ago. The cold case heats up when the town's leading citizen Jane Oberman kills Hank Dixon in self-defense. Hank's father worked for the family for years. The sister state he broke into their home with a knife in his hand. China believes that killing and the discovery of the twenty-five year old skeleton are linked and plans to find what the two cases have in common.

Susan Wittig Albert has written an entertaining and diabolically clever amateur sleuth mystery focusing on a heroine who can't keep away from on ongoing investigation. She is endearing loyal and smart enough to figure out the identity of the victim in the cave. Together with Ruby, there two women make Batman and Robin look like amateurs.

Harriet Klausner

DEAD MAN'S BONES is the thirteenth entry in the popular China Bayles series and in keeping with that unlucky number, Albert delivers a story with a little too much going on; a lot of the subplots interfere with the main mystery and even though Albert's prose and narrative are up to par, the book suffers due to this overstuffing. China's son Brian is on an archaeological dig when they discover some bones that are only about thirty years old and it is soon discovered a murder has been committed. But joining this plot are: a community theatre production written by a local spinster about her wealthy father; the spinster sisters with mysterious behavior; a forensic specialist who isn't what she seems; Ruby's mysterious new boyfriend with a shady past; Blackie and Sylvia's relationship; an illegal immigrant; a new partnership maybe? At any rate, many of the subplots are left unresolved, obviously to be continued in future books. But Albert just gave us too much and the resolution to the mystery is fairly predictable and she resorts to a cop out ending for our villain.

As usual Susan manages to draw us into the world of China Bayles with no effort.
I love how each one of these books can stand alone without you actually having to read the rest of the series- Although who could resist them all??
I must admit a sleepless night and day as I just could not put this book down.
As each book ends I find myself always satisfied but wanting to reach for the next installment.
Lets hope the next book comes soon- a must for all China Bayles fans!

First I love the China Bayles series. I will always read each book that comes out starring China Bayles. This book, however, felt and read more like a transition book for China and some of the main characters. The mystery seemed secondary, which is fine for me, I like to see character development. If this had been the first book in the series I had ever read it may have turned me off from reading any others. So if you have not read any other China Bayles books, please start with the first one.

I always look forward to these books, and this one did not disappoint. China and her friend Ruby are pulled into an old murder that seems to tie up with a new one. Brian, China's fourteen year-old stepson, finds the remains of a skeleton on an archeological dig. This skeleton, though interesting, has no historical significance becasue it had only been in the cave for about thirty years. It turns out that the body found had been shot, and China and Ruby, each being extremely curious, are trying to identify the body. The identification leads them on to a newer, fresh lead and before long they are on the tail of a cold-blooded murderer. I love these books for the characters, and also for the interesting information about herbs that Ms. Albert literally sprinkles in with the book. China never disappoints.

A great fan of Albert and her alter ego China Bayles, I was somewhat disappointed with this entry to the series. I read Albert's books for two major reasons: for the intellectual stimulation of the mystery; and the addition of herbal information/recipes/plantings, etc. provided by the likeable China Bayles. I was not disappointed by the latter. The recipes in particular in this installment of the series were inventive and I might even prepare a few of the dishes. The former, however, left a bit to be desired. There was very little mystery here. Most every tidbit of mystery and suspense was given away shortly after it was revealed. I have to admit, not in an attempt to brag, but in an effort to illustrate, that I was not surprised by any turn of events related to the murder mystery. Indeed, I kept reading because I figured it HAD to be resolved differently than I imagined it would be. And, even though it has been a bit contrived at times in the past when China gets caught in a suspenseful, dangerous situation, the only scene that can pass for it in this book (where China and Ruby search for a piece of evidence in the dark) is mild at best. Spice it up Ms. Albert! Surely there must be a few more "tangy" herbs left in your garden?!

The little Texas town of Cedar Springs is excited to witness the opening of the new theater in town, which has been donated by Jane and Florence Obermann, the last members of a prominent local family. The donation does not come without some stipulations, as the first production is a play written by Jane Obermann, which traces the history of her family. Much to Jane's chagrin, the cast and director take some "poetic license" and the play when produced is a little different from the way it was written. On a more serious note, the sisters hire China's husband Mike McQuaid to protect them from their handyman, Hank, who has been threatening them. Soon Hank breaks into their house and is shot dead by Jane, an obvious case of self-defense. Meanwhile China's stepson, Brian, has become interested in archaology and he discovers an old skeleton in a cave where he is doing some work. These seemingly disparate incidents are brought together as a result of investigation done by China and her friend Sheila who is the town sheriff. This is another interesting mystery written by Susan Wittig Albert who manages to mix in some interesting facts about herbs with her stories about China.