Love Lies Bleeding: A China Bayles Mystery

Rating:
Summary: Good Mystery but...
Review: This may be the last China Bayles for me. I love the series but I had a real hard time with the personal side of China's life. I can understand McQuaid's temptation, I can even understand his circumstances (although why it had to be that severe is questionable), but what I can't understand is how China befriended Margaret. She's a better woman than me. I enjoyed the plot of the mystery and visiting with old friends. I'll need to read the synopsis of Chile Death before I'll invest my reading time with China again

Rating:
Summary: Texan who dunnit
Review: This was my first China Bayles mystery...I enjoyed it, reading about China and the town of Pecan Springs was a hoot. Having gardening plans and ideas strewn throughout the book was fun. Being in the legal field, I can relate to the idea of leaving it all behind and running from the city to a quiet remote little town. But somehow I think the town of Pean Springs has a lot more danger lurking around than one would think. China's friends are quirky and add spice to the background. They mystery itself kept me quessing...I will hunt up the previous China stories as well as the more current ones. Great reading for an rainy afternoon or relaxing on the beach...

Rating:
Summary: Texan who dunnit
Review: This was my first China Bayles mystery...I enjoyed it, reading about China and the town of Pecan Springs was a hoot. Having gardening plans and ideas strewn throughout the book was fun. Being in the legal field, I can relate to the idea of leaving it all behind and running from the city to a quiet remote little town. But somehow I think the town of Pean Springs has a lot more danger lurking around than one would think. China's friends are quirky and add spice to the background. They mystery itself kept me quessing...I will hunt up the previous China stories as well as the more current ones. Great reading for an rainy afternoon or relaxing on the beach...

Rating:
Summary: Wonderful book!
Review: This was the first China Bayles mystery I read and it has made me want to read others. I found the heroine very likeable and easy to identify with. She is strong and smart but also makes deep personal attachments. As a gardener myself, I was particularly drawn to the herb shop and China's own gardening experiences that pepper the text.

Rating:
Summary: This book is about heroes.
Review: To readers who have questions about China's choices in Love Lies Bleeding: When I was writing Nancy Drew books, I once created a scene in which Nancy bursts into tears. The editor sent it back with the remark, "Our Nancy never cries!" With that, I quit the series. I didn't want to continue to work with a female character who was so unassailable that she couldn't be hurt, so tough that she couldn't show the softer, more caring side of herself. In Love Lies Bleeding, China's stubborn wilfulness is certainly tempered by hard lessons. But it's a mistake to confuse softness with "wimpiness" or to believe that tough gals don't cry! As I see it, this book is about heroes--a failed hero, a flawed hero, and a vitally strong heroine who discovers what she values most and is willing to set aside anger and jealousy to go for it. (Try Chile Death, coming in October, to see how she uses what she has learned.)