Nightshade

February 18, 2008
Former attorney China Bayles, now the proprietor of a small herb shop in Pecan Springs, Tex., finally gets some answers to her questions about the death of her cold, distant father, who perished in a fiery car accident 16 years earlier, in the satisfying conclusion to a trilogy that began with Bleeding Hearts
and Spanish Dagger
, the preceding two books within Albert's long-running cozy series. When China's half-brother, Miles, hires China's husband, Mike McQuaid, a former homicide officer struggling to establish himself as a PI, to investigate the fatal crash, China isn't sure this is a good idea. Her reservations prove well founded after the secretive Miles turns out to have his own agenda. Fans will be pleased that by supplementing China's usual first-person narration with McQuaid's third-person perspective, Albert casts fresh light on his character and his relationship with China. Snippets of plant lore, mostly to do with the nightshade family, add spice.

April 1, 2008
Still angry after finding out about her fathers secret second family, herbalist China Bayles is uninterested in her half-brother Miles desire to investigate their fathers accidental automobile death 16 years ago to see if it was really murder. However, Miles hires Chinas husband, McQuaid, a private investigator, to look into the case, and China becomes involved despite herself after another unexpected death occurs. Using old files of Miles mother, and evidence from her fathers burned-out car, she and McQuaid uncover long-ago corruption in Texas government and business. China must also come to terms with her jealousy over her fathers interest in Miles life and career despite having been distant toward her when she was growing up. In a departure for the long-running series, China only tells part of the story in the first person, with the narrative shifting to third person for McQuaids investigation. This seventeenth entry in the series continues to display a deep sense of the Texas hill country and to make good use of the strong, likable cast. Details of herbs and herbal remedies continue to flavor the always intriguing plots.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2008, American Library Association.)