Blood Root

[Redetotry]

I'm listening to this book now and really enjoying it. The author has written many books but this is rather a stand alone from her usual style. She begins each chapter with a narrative about how Indians used herbs for healing, plus a couple of recipes that made me wish I had the hard copy.

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. She is a former professor of English and a university administrator and vice president. In addition to the China Bayles mysteries, she writes a Victorian mystery series along with her husband under the pseudonym of Robin Paige.
Review from Amazon
China Bayles is a self made independent woman who turned her back on her mother's Mississippi family because she refused to conform to the old South's vision of how a woman should behave. She lives in Pecan Springs, Texas with her husband and stepson. She proudly owns the Thyme and Sears herb shop and is co-owner of Thyme for Tea teashop. She has no plans to return to the family plantation of Jordan's Crossing until her mother calls her because she needs her help.

When China arrives at the old homestead, she learns that her great-aunt Tullie, a victim of Huntington's Disease, has struck down the plantation manager in a pique of anger. China's mother argues with her daughter that the irate manager walked out of the house enraged, but he has since disappeared. The police want to question Tullie about the spat. As China struggles to balance family loyalty with her legal responsibilities, she unearths secrets that should stay buried in the land that created them.

This is a different China Bayles unlike the one readers have come to know and love. The audience sees her as a true daughter of the south, fully cognizant of the rules, expectations and ties that bind her to a place she no longer can call home but has a hold on her loyalties. There are mysteries aplenty in BLOODROOT, some of them of the otherworldly kind. The author allows us to see, through the fist person narrative, how a Southern woman copes with her environment.

[kelpie]

sounds good. I'm putting it on my list. Of course, I need to live to 120 to read everything on my list already.