Wormwood (China Bayles Series #17)

by Susan Wittig Albert

Overview

Evil can worm its way into the purest of hearts...

China Bayles needs rest, and a historic Shaker village in Kentucky seems the ideal place for it. There she can learn about the intriguing, dwindling Shaker culture and its medicinal herbs. Unfortunately, the village is plagued with misfortune and strife. China wonders if, with the help of some age-old journals full of scandal, she can get to the bottom of it. But after a shocking death occurs during her stay, China will plunge into the archives of another time to connect the sins of the past with a modern-day murder.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781101032473
Publisher:	Penguin Publishing Group
Publication date:	04/07/2009
Series:	China Bayles Series , #17
Sold by:	Penguin Group
Format:	eBook
Pages:	304
Sales rank:	255,643
File size:	375 KB
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

Susan Wittig Albert grew up on a farm in Illinois and earned her Ph.D. at the University of California at Berkeley. A former professor of English and a university administrator and vice president, she is the author of the China Bayles Mysteries, the Darling Dahlias Mysteries, and the Cottage Tales of Beatrix Potter. Some of her recent titles include Widow’s Tears, Cat’s Claw, The Darling Dahlias and the Confederate Rose, and The Tale of Castle Cottage. She and her husband, Bill, coauthor a series of Victorian-Edwardian mysteries under the name Robin Paige, which includes such titles as Death at Glamis Castle and Death at Whitechapel.

Date of Birth:

1940

Place of Birth:

Danville, Illinois

Education:

Ph.D., University of California at Berkeley

Editorial Reviews

Murders past and present with a Shaker link intersect in alarming ways in Albert's engaging 17th China Bayles puzzler (after 2008's Nightshade). Recent painful events help prompt China, who runs an herb shop and tearoom in Pecan Springs, Tex., to visit her herbalist friend Martha Edmond at Kentucky's Mount Zion Shaker Village, whose board president, Rachel Hart, wants to turn the quaint Shaker museum center into an upscale spa, contrary to the spirit of the original believers. Martha asks China to investigate recent disturbing events, including vandalism, the suicide of a thieving gift shop manager and, according to financial director Allie Chatham, Rachel's embezzlement of funds. When Allie's later found dead in Zion's pool, where a Shaker woman drowned in 1912, Martha and China suspect murder. Shaker-inspired recipes, excerpts from a fictional Shaker journal, insights into the Shaker religion and plenty of herbal lore enhance another winner from this dependable veteran. Author tour. (Apr.)

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Publishers Weekly

Martha, a trustee of Kentucky's Mount Zion Shaker Village, is concerned about a series of dirty tricks (freezer failure, theft, vandalism, and arson) that are plaguing the village. She convinces her friend China Bayles to leave her Pecan Springs, Texas, herb shop and tearoom and accompany her to investigate. Amid the charming Shaker surroundings, the two encounter embezzlement and murder. Albert’s seventeenth China Bayles mystery includes fascinating herbal lore plus insights into early Shaker life via historical notes and a fictional Shaker journal chronicling everything from shocking scandals to furniture-making. Julia Gibson’s warm tones and superb accents are terrific. Linda Stephens and Ed Sala add credibility to Albert’s impeccable historical research. A must listen for China Bayles fans. S.J.H. © AudioFile 2010, Portland, Maine

JUNE 2010 - AudioFile