A Plain Vanilla Murder

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Being called plain vanilla, might be a negative term, but real vanilla harvested in the lush tropical forests of the Americas is a crop highly prized. In Susan Wittig Albert's A PlainVanilla Murder, there is nothing ordinary about vanilla. (A Plain Vanilla Murder will be published by Persevero Press on June 4.)

China Bayles and her business partner Ruby Wilcox are presenting their very popular workshop entitled "Not Just Plain Vanilla." They describe how the plant is grown, how it is harvested and cured and why it is so valuable today. The vanilla orchid, yes vanilla starts its life as a orchid, twines itself around a tree and when the yellow orchid-like flower is pollinated, a ripe vanilla pod is created.

When a botany professor is found dead in his greenhouse on the campus, the campus police call in Pecan Springs Chief Sheila Dawson to investigate. At first glance, it seems like a suicide, but after careful investigation, it turns into a murder made to look like a suicide.

Dr. Carl Fairlee was not much loved by his colleagues at the university. He used grant money to build himself a rooftop greenhouse without the university's permission, her divorced his wife and forced her to sell their house and their collection of orchids to divide in the settlement and he was a known womanizer, so there were plenty of suspects. As the very pregnant Chief Dawson investigates, she learns Dr. Fairlee registered a lucrative vanilla patent and left out his graduate assistant who was closely involved. Logan Gardner becomes a suspect.

Fairlee's ex-wife Maggie, a mercurial greenhouse owner, makes herself the prime suspect, but China knows Maggie's moods and doesn't think she would kill him. But when it is discovered that Maggie broke into the greenhouse and stole a rare orchid, Chief Dawson refocuses her efforts on those closest to Fairlee.

An excellent mystery tightly woven with the lethal history of vanilla grown in the jungles of Mexico. You will not look at plain vanilla in the same way again.

Queen Anne's Lace

A beautifully woven tale from two eras in the life of Pecan Springs.  In Queen Anne's Lace by Susan Wittig Albert, China Bayles discovers here shop Thyme and Seasons was the home to the Duncan Family in the late 1880s. Without any advance warning, odd things begin to happen around the shop and China thinks she sees a ghost.

Usually it is her partner Ruby who is in touch with the spirits, but it seems this ghost wants China to discover something that might impact someone today. The bell over the door rings occasionally, photos appear on the bulletin board and China dreams about the woman.

Looking through old photos she found in the attic, China tries to piece together the relationship of the people in them. The house was called the Duncan Family home, and she learns a young woman named Annie Laura lived in the house with her husband. When her husband was killed in a train accident, Annie went into premature labor and lost her baby that same day.

The story goes back in time to tell Annie's tale, how she made lace and sold it to the fine dress shops in Austin, then branched out to San Antonio. She hired local women to help her with the work. Annie lives as a widow for three years when her next door neighbor Adam, himself a married man, seems to take an interest in her. His wife Delia is away frequently and he soon discovers she has been using Queen Anne's Lace seeds to prevent pregnancy.

A lovely book, beautifully written.

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Bittersweet in Texas

Agatha Christie has always been my favorite author; I've read every book she has written more than once. When I gravitated to more contemporary cozy settings, I found Susan Wittig Albert. Her books are right in my sweet spot - herbs, a fun small business and strong women.

As the series begins China Bayles leaves her criminal law practice in Houston and settles into Pecan Springs, Texas. She opens an herb store called Thyme and Seasons Herb Shop where she sells fresh herbs, herbal products and herbal remedies. In Bittersweet (you'll notice all titles are herbs. She joins forces with her eccentric friend Ruby Wilcox proprietor of the only New Age shop in Pecan Springs, the Crystal Cave. They have parlayed their success into Thyme for Tea, a tearoom located in the rear of their shops.

In Bittersweet China's long-time estranged, but now reconnected mother Leatha calls to say her husband Sam is in the hospital because of his heart. China and family

were planning to spend Thanksgiving at their Bittersweet Nature Sanctuary. Now she is unsure whether they should attend, but she is worried that her mother cannot handle the ranch herself.
Fortunately Leatha has a helper Sue Ellen Krause. Unfortunately Sue Ellen reveals she is in serious trouble and wants help from China when she arrives at the ranch. By the time China reaches the

ranch, Sue Ellen is dead in a car crash - accident or more?

When a local veterinarian is shot during an apparent robbery, China thinks there might be more to Sue Ellen's death than a car accident. Her quest leads her through the world of big-time wild game hunting and the complex world of stolen exotic animals.

As I said in the beginning of this review, I enjoy this series for several reasons: the characters are drawn well, the herb section is always interesting, I learn something from every book, and the plots are tight.

The first book in the series is Thyme of Death.