My Literary Travels

Albert, Susan Wittig
Mystery

How do you solve the murder of a woman who kept so much to herself that all you have to rely on are the skewed memories of the people who knew her?  People, of course, who had every motive to kill her and every opportunity…people whose memories are shaded by the pain her actions, intentionally or otherwise, caused.  China Bayles confronts that problem in this installation of Albert’s wonderful cozy mystery series set in the heart of Hill Country Texas.  Though her own life is full of excitement at the moment, including the lurking danger of a released convict out to take his revenge on her lover and new “roommate” McQuaid, as well as a busy herb shop and her own continued struggles as she learns to cohabitate with McQuaid and his son, China is determined to uncover the true identity of her murdered accountant and determine, once and for all, who hated her enough to kill her.  Was it her jealous ex-husband or an embittered client whose shady money dealings she uncovered?  Will China get to the root of the mystery before she – or the adopted son she’s growing fond of – finds herself in danger, too?

Once again, Albert writes a very satisfying mystery, full of red herrings and wonderful characters that nicely round out the intricate plot.  Though it’s a bit easy to solve the mystery from the beginning, the storyline remains very interesting and is nicely fleshed out by the subplot revolving around China’s personal relationships with McQuaid and Brian and her own personal growth and metamorphosis, which come to a very satisfying conclusion at the end.  All in all, a great addition to the series!