Lavender Lies: A China Bayles Mystery | Susan Wittig Albert

Lavender Lies: A China Bayles Mystery | Susan Wittig Albert | LAVENDER BLUES

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Lavender Lies: A C...

	Lavender Lies: A China Bayles Mystery Susan Wittig Albert Berkley, 2000 - 320 pages average customer review:based on 13 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

Texas herbalist China Bayles must put her upcoming nuptials on the back burner when a murder investigation entangles her friends and neighbors.

China deals with murder and marriage

China Bayles and her fiance Mike McQuaid have finally set the date for their wedding. McQuaid becomes embroiled in a murder case and China decides that she'd better help him solve it if he is to be at the wedding on time. The victim is Edgar Coleman, a local real estate developer who will stoop to any means to complete a deal. He needed approval from the city council for a new real estate deal to go through, so he methodically gathered incriminating information on each council member and threatened to reveal their secrets if they didn't give him a favorable vote. His other character flaw was a penchant for chasing women other than his wife. These two factors provide a slew of suspects for the murder. Author Albert skillfully weaves a lot of red herrings into the book, along with the frantic preparations for a wedding which is threatened by all sorts of catastrophes. Only China could go through a 2-week pre-wedding period such as the one in this book. This is Albert at her best!

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LAVENDER BLUES

This 8th entry in the popular China Bayles series should please established fans and newcomers. China is preparing for her wedding (finally) to former police chief Michael McQuaid. She is getting assistance of course from best friend Ruby and her estranged mother, Leatha. But of course, a murder of a local real estate scumbag, might interfere with the wedding plans as China becomes embroiled in solving the case.
Albert has an easygoing affability in her stories, and once again gives readers information on the various herbs involved in the story, and even a few recipes. The mystery itself is rather interesting, with a few twists at the end you may not see coming. All in all, a good entry in this entertaining "cozy" series.

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This series is a must read

The China Bayes series is great reading. I read the first one and had to get the rest. Susan Whitig Albert keeps the characters and plot moving at a fast pace and also gives time for humor and characters relationships.

Finally!

All China is trying to do is plan one simple little wedding with a nice
little honeymoon afterwards for her and her long-time beau, Mike McQuaid.
And then the sleaziest real estate shark in Pecan Springs turns up dead in
his own garage, shot through the face at close range with a small caliber
gun. Since McQuaid is acting as the interim police chief while the city
council decides who to hire permanently, the case is squarely in his lap and
he's bound and determined to give it his full attention at the very time
that China would like a little bit of that attention, if you would be so
kind. She decides to start digging on her own with the help of her friends
Ruby and Sheila and it isn't long before she unearths information that the
murdered man was blackmailing nearly the entire city council and the mayor
to boot, to try to force a new zoning ordinance for his latest real estate
venture. With a list of suspects as long as the train on her wedding dress,
they've both got their work cut out for them to try to get this case solved
before the church bells ring. And when another body turns up, so does the
heat. Unless China wants to go on that honeymoon all by her lonesome,
something's got to give.

This was a very satisfying read, which for me was all about the backstory.
I'm glad to see China finally married to McQuaid. Again, another
interesting mystery, skillfully told, with characters I really like coming
back to visit.

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Big mouth China

Don't waste your time. Boy, what a boring mystery. Got tired reading about China's shop and her wedding. Also, if I were McQuaid, the Acting Police Chief, I'd tape China's mouth with some duct tape. Good thing he's not going to stay in that position, for all his police business would be all over Pecan Springs. China is supposedly helping her husband-to-be, McQuaid, with the town's murder mysteries. But she blabs all she knows to all her friends. She surely doesn't know how to keep quiet about evidence or clues. Of course, she solves the mysteries, but the whole town could have done the same for all knew what she knew.

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reviews: page 1, 2, 3

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