Nightshade (China Bayles Series #16) » (Reprint)

One of the book world's most respected authorities on herbs and their uses, Susan Wittig Albert is beloved by fans the world over for her mystery series starring herb-growing sleuth China Bayles -- as well as the Victorian Mysteries series she coauthors with husband Bill, under the pen name Robin Paige.

China's still reeling from her father's death and has no interest in her halfbrother Miles's investigation. But when fate forces her to get involved, China realizes it's time to bring the past to light—or else it will haunt her forever. Then she discovers that Miles may be keeping secrets himself. How deep do the layers of secrecy go? And who has a stake in concealing a long-buried truth? Now, one fresh murder and several cold cases will force China Bayles to face her dark past.

Publishers Weekly

Former attorney China Bayles, now the proprietor of a small herb shop in Pecan Springs, Tex., finally gets some answers to her questions about the death of her cold, distant father, who perished in a fiery car accident 16 years earlier, in the satisfying conclusion to a trilogy that began with Bleeding Hearts and Spanish Dagger, the preceding two books within Albert's long-running cozy series. When China's half-brother, Miles, hires China's husband, Mike McQuaid, a former homicide officer struggling to establish himself as a PI, to investigate the fatal crash, China isn't sure this is a good idea. Her reservations prove well founded after the secretive Miles turns out to have his own agenda. Fans will be pleased that by supplementing China's usual first-person narration with McQuaid's third-person perspective, Albert casts fresh light on his character and his relationship with China. Snippets of plant lore, mostly to do with the nightshade family, add spice. (Apr.)

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