Rating: 
Summary: Excellent.
Review: I believe MISTLETOE MAN is the 9th in the China Bayles series that began with THYME OF DEATH. This is one of my favorite mystery authors -- she always creates strong charcterization and a good sense of place. By now each visit to Pecan Springs is a real treat for me, like visiting old, loving friends. And loving is really the theme of this tightly woven story. Loving sisters, loving an old "crazy" woman, loving spouses, loving children, loving pets, loving friends, loving life. This is one of the best examples of how the mystery itself is not the most important part of the book. It's the development of the ongoing story of the characters that keeps the series fresh and alive. In this case, a life-threatening illness brings out new feelings and responses in our familiar charcters. A lovely ending. One of the best books in the series so far.
Rating:
Summary: China Bayles mysteries are the best!
Review: I have had the pleasure to read the China Bayles' books from the first one through Misletoe Man. They just keep getting better! I haven't been this exited about any series of books ever. China and her friend, Ruby, are so real, they seem like old friends. I can't wait to read the newest in the series, Bloodroot. Besides being entertained by great mysteries, I'm also learning alot about herbs and their uses. Please, Ms. Albert, don't stop writing about China and her friends!!
Rating:
Summary: ENJOYABLE READ
Review: I have not been reading this series in order, probably a mistake, but have found the author makes it quite easy to follow the overall story line, nevertheless. This is an enjoyable read of the "cozy" sort and was simply fun. Ms Albert is a wonderful story teller. Her books, including this one, are filled with interesting facts, plants, cooking, etc. Overall, recommend this one highly and am looking forward to more. Thank you Ms. Albert!
Rating: 
Summary: Enjoyable, but Predictable
Review: I have read all the books in this mystery series. I did find Mistletoe Man an enjoyable read; however, the events occurring in the book were very predictable. I guessed what Ruby's problem was before she announced it to China in the storyline. I also had the murderer picked out in advance. I do not believe this book will turn me away from the series because the series has been enjoyable as a whole. However, the author needs to direct her storyline towards a more intelligent audience...because we are more intelligent than she gives us credit for being.
Rating: 
Summary: An Enjoyable China!
Review: I have read all the books in this series, in order, and that's the way I would recommend the series to anyone. I really like China and her friends. They seem like good old friends to me now after nine books. This is a really good example of a "cozy". Most of Ms. Albert's books in the series have had a lot more murder and mayhem with people getting shot and killed everywhere. That makes this one quite enjoyable. China can concentrate on solving the mystery, and not trying to dodge killers. I liked this book, but just the same, it is predictable. An astute reader will be able to pick up on Ruby's problem right away and maybe on the murderer too. Still I recommend this series. The characters that people these books are so very real, and I love them all.
Rating:
Summary: Enough Red Herrings To Decorate A Christmas Tree
Review: It's Christmas time in Pecan Springs, and at China Bayles' Herb Shop and the new joint venture tea room, business could not be better. A heaven sent cook, The Duchess, brings success and culture to the tearoom, but Ruby's acting a little odd. Could it be the ex-husband or her latest beau? China's house will be on the homes tour, and she needs more wreaths, more mistletoe, more murder. Well, perhaps not the latter? Klingons, body painting, historic Bank booty, and alien abductions aside, this is a fun filled frolic of a Texas cozy, with enough red herrings to decorate a Christmas tree. The drug bust run amok left me crying I was laughing so hard! Lot of characters - and I do mean characters, lots of action, and some TLC thrown in too. China and Ruby will quickly become old friends.
Rating:
Summary: China Bayles series is becoming a favorite
Review: Mistletoe Man, the latest in the China Bayles series of mysteries, was an enjoyable, quick read. The series is quickly becoming one of my favorites; China is in a class with V.I. Warshawski, Kinsey Millhone, Sharon McCone and Deborah Knott. Mistletoe Man featured not only an intriguing mystery, but was a warm and human story. China's and Ruby's friendship is an integral part of the series, and Mistletoe Man features an important chapter in the story of that friendship. Ms. Wittig Albert, please write faster! I can hardly wait for the next installment! China and Ruby feel like friends of mine, and I'm eager to see how their lives progress.
Rating:
Summary: An excellent mystery with something for everyone.
Review: The China Bayles series offers the best of all worlds for mystery fans. China herself is no nonsense and tough talking (she calls her husband by his last name), with a background in criminal law and a circle of friends that include police chiefs, sheriffs, and Texas Rangers. But she's put the dog-eat-dog business world behind her to run an herb shop in the small Texas town of Pecan Springs, and she's just recently opened a tearoom with her best friend, Ruby.With Christmas approaching, business is booming, but then things start to go awry. China's mistletoe supplier, Carl Swenson, turns up dead by the side of the road, the victim of an apparent hit-and-run. The main suspects are Carl's next-door neighbors, the two Fletcher sisters, who happen to be China's good friends. And on top of all that, China's friendship with Ruby is suddenly strained by Ruby's odd behavior and insistence that nothing is wrong. This is an interesting mystery, with ample subplots and characters to keep a reader on her toes. China is a complicated character, and her life in Pecan Springs is fun to read about. This is the ninth book in the series (preceded by Lavender Lies), but Albert does an excellent job of making China's recurring involvement with mystery solving plausible. (It's difficult for long-running series to keep their amateur sleuths stumbling over crime in a realistic manner. Most authors don't manage it very well.) A thoroughly enjoyable Christmas mystery.
Rating:
Summary: Layers of intrigue...
Review: The further journey into the world of China Bayles in this continuation of her series involves the murder of the Mistletoe Man, Carl Swenson. He is found dead in the ditch from a hit and run, in an effort to solve the mystery, China helps the Fletcher Sisters and their beloved Aunt (who believes she was taken aboard a Klingon ship years ago and expects their return shortly) from being sent to prison for something they didn't do, or did they? While China is putting together the clues leading to the murderer, she also is trying to understand why her best friend Ruby has become distant and remote. One of the things I liked best about this book was not the actual murder story (which was very good) but the subplot of Ruby's story. The life of China is rich with multiple layers and the characters continue to grow and have added depth with each story. I think that is what I like best about the China Bayles series, the characters continue to change and grow like all of us.
Rating:
Summary: Layers of intrigue...
Review: The further journey into the world of China Bayles in this continuation of her series involves the murder of the Mistletoe Man, Carl Swenson. He is found dead in the ditch from a hit and run, in an effort to solve the mystery, China helps the Fletcher Sisters and their beloved Aunt (who believes she was taken aboard a Klingon ship years ago and expects their return shortly) from being sent to prison for something they didn't do, or did they? While China is putting together the clues leading to the murderer, she also is trying to understand why her best friend Ruby has become distant and remote. One of the things I liked best about this book was not the actual murder story (which was very good) but the subplot of Ruby's story. The life of China is rich with multiple layers and the characters continue to grow and have added depth with each story. I think that is what I like best about the China Bayles series, the characters continue to change and grow like all of us.
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