Blood Orange (China Bayles Series #24)

by Susan Wittig Albert

Overview

In the newest China Bayles Mystery in the New York Times bestselling series, China comes to the aid of a nurse who ends up in the hospital...
 
It’s mid-April in Pecan Springs, and China is renting her guest cottage to Kelly Kaufman, who needs a temporary place to live as she contends with a very acrimonious divorce from her husband Rich. One nasty point of dispute is her part ownership of the Comanche Creek Brewing Company, which she is refusing to sell.
 
At the same time, as a nurse employed by a local hospice, Kelly has discovered instances of suspicious practices. Even more disturbing, she suspects that a patient was murdered. Kelly’s knowledge could be dangerous, and she wants to get guidance from China on what to do.
 
But on her way to China’s house, Kelly is forced off the road and critically injured, putting her in a medically induced coma. Now it’s up to China to determine who wanted her out of the picture. Was it her soon-to-be ex? His new lover—who happens to be the sister of China’s friend Ruby? Or someone connected with the corruption at the hospice?
 
China owes it to her friend to uncover the truth—but she may be putting her own life at risk...

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780594759256
Publisher:	Penguin Publishing Group
Publication date:	04/05/2016
Series:	China Bayles Series , #24
Pages:	320
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.10(h) x 1.10(d)

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 New York Times bestselling author of the China Bayles Mysteries, the Darling Dahlias Mysteries, and the Cottage Tales of Beatrix Potter. She and her husband, Bill, coauthor a series of Victorian-Edwardian mysteries under the name Robin Paige.

Date of Birth:

1940

Place of Birth:

Danville, Illinois

Education:

Ph.D., University of California at Berkeley

Editorial Reviews

04/11/2016
Once again murder and small-town life go hand in glove in Albert's enchanting 24th China Bayles mystery (after 2015's Bittersweet). Hospice nurse Kelly Kaufman, who has been renting China's guest cottage in Pecan Springs, Tex., while going through a bitter divorce, disappears one day, but she later phones China to say that she needs the herbalist's help with a situation involving murder. While driving to meet China, Kelly has a car accident that leaves her in a coma. Police chief Sheila Dawson suspects it was no accident, and China begins to dig for more information. One obvious suspect is Kelly's husband, Richard, who's involved romantically with the erratic and ebullient sister of China's best friend and business partner, Ruby Wilcox. In addition, rumors about a disagreement between Kelly and hospice owner Marla Blake raise a red flag. China can't resist a mystery, even when it puts her in grave danger. Snippets of plant lore will please botanists. (Apr.)

Publishers Weekly

Praise for Susan Wittig Albert’s
New York Times Bestselling China Bayles Mysteries
 
“Engrossing...China continues to appeal with her herbal information and savvy sleuthing.”—Booklist (starred review)
 
“[China Bayles is] such a joy…An instant friend.”—Carolyn Hart, New York Times bestselling author
 
 “One of the best-written and [most] well-plotted mysteries I’ve read in a long time.”
—Los Angeles Times
 
“[Albert] consistently turns out some of the best-plotted mysteries on the market.”
—Houston Chronicle

From the Publisher