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mrslaww612's review against another edition
5.0
A bit complicated, so far as the family bit went, but overall, a great book!
wildflowerz76's review against another edition
3.0
Sometimes I'm in the mood for a regency-type romance. Sometimes it's a good scifi. Or maybe an epic fantasy. Or some standard fiction. And then, sometimes I'm in the mood for a nice, popcorn, cozy mystery. This is the 10th is such a series. So imagine my surprise, when I don't get a cozy mystery with all it's quirky characters, but some sort of generational family drama. With ghosts. Um, what?
The story here was okay, but it doesn't fit into the rest of this series AT ALL. I mean, there are ghosts for god's sake! What the heck? This is the second of this series to uproot the main character from her home town and take her somewhere else. And I appreciate that...because how many times have you read a long series of mysteries set in the same small town and thought, "Why aren't these people concerned that so many people are being murdered in their town??" And I appreciated that, unlike the last of this series where they uprooted, there wasn't a giant cast of characters to keep up with.
Yeah, this was okay, but it wasn't what I wanted to read.
The story here was okay, but it doesn't fit into the rest of this series AT ALL. I mean, there are ghosts for god's sake! What the heck? This is the second of this series to uproot the main character from her home town and take her somewhere else. And I appreciate that...because how many times have you read a long series of mysteries set in the same small town and thought, "Why aren't these people concerned that so many people are being murdered in their town??" And I appreciated that, unlike the last of this series where they uprooted, there wasn't a giant cast of characters to keep up with.
Yeah, this was okay, but it wasn't what I wanted to read.
sssnoo's review against another edition
4.0
This was the perfect book to listen to while I explored the Mississippi Delta in my van. I loved the sense of place and listening to the voices while I drove. I haven’t read the previous books in the series and that didn’t detract from my enjoyment of this mystery.
There were some factual errors that I found irritating, but they were incidental to the story so I didn’t down rate the book as much as others - there should have been better fact checking by the editorial team, though.
There were some factual errors that I found irritating, but they were incidental to the story so I didn’t down rate the book as much as others - there should have been better fact checking by the editorial team, though.
summer70reader's review against another edition
5.0
This was one of the best of Susan Wittig Albert’s China Bayles series so far. I’m reading them in order. Her change of setting and bringing in the ancestry, childhood friends, medical issues, legal issues, herbs of course, and murder made for a multilayered story with lots of twists and turns.
nonna7's review against another edition
3.0
I needed something light after two dark books back to back. I got it in this fun romp in the Mississippi Delta. China's mother has been caring for her Aunt Tulie who has run the family plantation for years. She asks China to come for a visit because there are problems & she needs her expertise as an attorney. China reluctantly agrees. It soon becomes obvious there are big problems. Aunt Tulie is suffering from Huntington's Disease which has made unpleasant changes in her personality and made her movements very erratic. China learns that the plantation manager had visited them with a deed that would give him claim of their home as well as the best parts of the plantation. Aunt Tulie had hit him on the side of the head with her cane when this happened. At the same time, China has a dream that she hadn't had since she was a child - where she saw a body being dug up and Aunt Tulie sobbing. However, she begins to think that it's just her vivid imagination. Then the pajamas she wore that night appear in her bureau drawer, washed and neatly pressed, and her great grandmother's journal appears on her desk in her room. She had put it where she found it in the library but not before smelling lily of the valley. Now it is suddenly on her desk. Nobody will admit to doing that. This book isn't hard to figure out as you read it. The only surprise was one that came out of the blue more or less relating to the death of the plantation manager. It's in there more as an afterthought in many ways. Still this was a fun and relaxing quick read. You also learn a LOT about herbs including some really interesting ones in this book.
kketcham327's review
dark
emotional
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.75
A lot more Southern Gothic horror feel than the other China Bayles books. Very family centered, but not in a good happy way. Dark and mysterious.
michkabibbles's review against another edition
3.0
decent addition to the series; i enjoy the herbal information as much or more than the mystery.
rebeccasreadingrambles's review against another edition
4.0
I was a little unsure of jumping into this series midway, but I'm so glad I gave it a try. This book seems like it's a little unique because instead of being based at China's store and town, she goes back to her family's land and unearth's so many secrets it's almost hard to keep track. However, I really liked China and was quickly sucked into her hunt for answers in her family's history. I was surprised by all the complicated bloodlines that were involved (her family and others'). I was barely interested in who killed Wiley, and must more intrigued by everything else going on. I will definitely continue this series and can hopefully start closer to the beginning.