Rating: 
Summary: Interesting characters, good page turning fun/mystery
Review: As a UT alum (go Horns!), I think that Albert does a good job in defining the atmosphere of the Hill Country in Texas. The characters are likeable and her writing style is easy-to-read, whether it's a long summer day by the beach or a cold winter's day in front of the fireplace. I picked up a few of her books and have just finished the first...and am looking forward to getting to know China Bayles and the other "regulars" better.If you're seeking Hemingway or Poe, you won't get it here. But the whodunnit aspect and the few soft twists makes this a very enjoyable read.
Rating:
Summary: Interesting characters, good page turning fun/mystery
Review: As a UT alum (go Horns!), I think that Albert does a good job in defining the atmosphere of the Hill Country in Texas. The characters are likeable and her writing style is easy-to-read, whether it's a long summer day by the beach or a cold winter's day in front of the fireplace. I picked up a few of her books and have just finished the first...and am looking forward to getting to know China Bayles and the other "regulars" better. If you're seeking Hemingway or Poe, you won't get it here. But the whodunnit aspect and the few soft twists makes this a very enjoyable read.
Rating:
Summary: A tightly-written small town American whodunit
Review: China Bayles is a former lawyer who burned out on both the stress and the questionable ethics of big city corporate law and decided to open an herb shop in a small town in central Texas (yeah, right - but you have to suspend your cynicism to enjoy almost any mystery, including this one!). When her terminally ill best friend dies of an apparent suicide, the circumstances smell fishy to more than one observer. The suspects all gather for the funeral, the local police chief is unmoved in his belief that this was a simple suicide, and the predictable complications ensue. One noticeable divergence from the norm is that every major character except the police chief and Bayles's lover is a woman. Based on the bare outlines of the story, this is just a standard run-of-the-mill mystery novel. But the plot has just the right degree of plausible complexity, with just the right number of plausible suspects; the characters are believable, vivid, and appealing, and the writing is very good. The only annoyance was that every time a character enters the scene, Albert feels called upon to describe every item of her clothing in excruciating detail. I liked this book just as well as those who gave it five stars, but I think 5 stars should be reserved for books of much greater depth and artistic quality than a 245-page genre novel. Thyme of Death was, I believe, the first book in Albert's China Bayles series. It established plenty of atmosphere and personality on which to base more books, and I look forward to reading those.
Rating: 
Summary: Fun and Cozy Mystery
Review: China Bayles is the kind of woman you would like to be friends with. A smart, self sufficient, high powered attorney, who has decided to give it all up for a quiet life. Opening an herb shop in the small town of Pecan Springs seems to be her perfect idyll. Unfortunately murder comes visiting, and China, along with her friend,Roz, can't resist the scent of a crime. While not a very difficult mystery, there was much to enjoy in this book. Sharply written characters, a tightly woven plot and lots of chemistry between China and her quirky friends. There were just enough red herrings to make you play along with solving the case, and the outcome was quite believable. I plan to visit with China Bayles again soon.
Rating: 
Summary: A Thymely Review
Review: Do you like pointers on growing herbs,animals underfoot,and a strong independant lady or two,in a savouy series? Thyme of Death is the perfect introduction. The China Bayles series is intelligently written,spiced with wit,and served up with delicious plot twists that will make you clammor for a second helping.
Rating:
Summary: Texas China worth collecting
Review: I first met Susan Wittig Albert at a Houston women writers workshop about the time she started her China Bayles series. She was also writing the Robin Paige Victorian mysteries with hubby Bill. I bought all the books she had out at the time and carried them home aflush with the joy of personally autographed copies. Then, finally, this winter I began to enjoy China Bayles, even out of sequence. But this first volume in the set, Thyme of Death, certainly is one to make a reader want to read the rest of the books. China, named after her grandmother, is a strong woman, an ex-Houston-tough attorney in retreat to a quieter life as herb store owner. Her fictional location in Pecan Springs is wonderfully familiar to any Hill Country Texan. Albert worked as Dean of Women at South West Texas State University in San Marcos and knows the country intimately. Fictional China just can't get away from the crime scenes that she thought she left behind in Houston, however. And before long she is enlisted in solving a crime with her outrageous New Age fellow shop owner and friend Ruby in tow. China's herb shop ownership lends itself to rich teachings about herbs, and a clever tie in to the crime in each novel. Dealing with the small town John law and the county mountie sheriff requires extra savvy from Ms. Bayles. She is plenty capable of handling crime, customers, and hot, spicy, chile-flavored dishes which she comfortably washes down with Texas brew in the local country western juke joint. If you like smart females who are in charge of their own lives, you will like China Bayles. Even when she unwillingly softens to the courtship of an ex-Houston cop turn criminology professor, she remains fiercely independent and of the '90's, headed for the 21st century. To read one of Albert's China Bayles' mysteries is to set yourself up to read another and another and another.
Rating:
Summary: Refreshing!!!
Review: I have loved all of the Susan Wittig Albert books in the China Bayles series: strong women characters, mystery and wonderful sensory experience of description of herbs throughout the book. Another strong focus of the books for me is demonstrating how there could be a peaceful life outside of the chaos of corporate America---something many people dream of!
Rating:
Summary: Excellent, well-written mystery!
Review: I have to disagree with the fella's review down below me who said that genre novels do not deserve five stars! Hogwash! Shoot, I only review books that deserve five stars. If it's not a good book, why read OR review it? Which leads me to declare my life's motto: So Many Books, So Little Time! This first book in the China Bayles series is excellent. I read "Lavender Lies" first and thought I might be disappointed in the first book of the series, but I was proven wrong! We're introduced to all of China's cohorts in Pecan Springs, Texas and get the dirt on everyone. Ms. Albert immediately draws us into solving the murder of China's friend (who has terminal breast cancer) who appears to have comitted suicide. It's a wild plot with suspects galore, but I was totally surprised when the murderer was finally brought to justice by China and Ruby. Good, fast-paced read. I highly recommend it to mystery lovers.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent, well-written mystery!
Review: I have to disagree with the fella's review down below me who said that genre novels do not deserve five stars! Hogwash! Shoot, I only review books that deserve five stars. If it's not a good book, why read OR review it? Which leads me to declare my life's motto: So Many Books, So Little Time! This first book in the China Bayles series is excellent. I read "Lavender Lies" first and thought I might be disappointed in the first book of the series, but I was proven wrong! We're introduced to all of China's cohorts in Pecan Springs, Texas and get the dirt on everyone. Ms. Albert immediately draws us into solving the murder of China's friend (who has terminal breast cancer) who appears to have comitted suicide. It's a wild plot with suspects galore, but I was totally surprised when the murderer was finally brought to justice by China and Ruby. Good, fast-paced read. I highly recommend it to mystery lovers.
Rating:
Summary: A Mystery To Savor
Review: I picked this book up for a little summer reading. It's important to mention I'm quite picky about novels; if my interest isn't held from the first page--or I'm tempted to skip dull sections--I won't buy another in a series. Susan Wittig Albert won me over in the opening paragraph when, speaking as main character, China Bayles, she baldly states, "If I'd known how the week was going to turn out I would have sent it back first thing Monday and asked for a refund."
How is that for a killer hook? Gotta love it!
You may be thinking that many books start out strong and lose steam somewhere near chapter three or four. Not so with Thyme of Death. This wildly entertaining novel maintains pace until the end. The characters are vividly written, the narrative-style superb. Albert does a remarkable job of describing Pecan Springs in such a way that you'll believe it's real (you might even be tempted to vacation there).
As soon as I finished Thyme of Death, I bought two more books in the series. Devouring those with relish, I ordered several others; they've been shipped, and I can't wait to get them. I even passed on the free shipping so they'll arrive sooner.
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