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Dead Man's Bones (China Bayles Series #13) by Susan Wittig Albert

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(Hardcover - 1st Edition)

Pub. Date: April 2005
336pp

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Product Details

Pub. Date: April 2005
Publisher: Penguin Group (USA)
Format: Hardcover, 336pp

Series: China Bayles Series, #13
ISBN-13: 9780425200179
ISBN: 0425200175
Edition Description: 1st Edition

Synopsis

New York Times best-selling author of A Dilly of a Death, Susan Wittig Albert adds Dead Man's Bones to her widely acclaimed China Bayles mystery series. Publishers Weekly says China is "in a class with lady sleuths V. I. Warshawski and Stephanie Plum." Deep in Texas hill country, ex-lawyer China thinks life is hectic enough already, and then her teenage son unearths human remains while digging in a nearby cave.

Kirkus Reviews

The latest interruption in the lives of China Bayles, Esq., her best bud Ruby Wilcox, her husband, college teacher/private eye Mike McQuaid, and his son Brian, 14, is . . . Brian's discovery of skeletal remains at an archaeological site. More complications await the friends of China's herb shop, tearoom and catering business. Ruby, the queen of bad relationships, falls for newcomer Colin Fowler. China's friends Sheriff Blackie Blackwell and Chief of Police fiancee Sheila Dawson, aka "Smart Cookie," break up. And forensic specialist Alana Montoya starts hitting the bottle. The gravest consequences attend the grand opening of the new Merrill Obermann Community Theater, financed by the Misses Obermann. Jane, who's written the opening play in her father's honor, is an autocrat tolerated for the sake of her charitable donations. Her sister Florence lives quietly in Jane's shadow. On the night of the grand opening, Jane kills local carpenter Hank Dixon, who'd allegedly broken into her house and threatened the sisters with a knife. When Florence dies, apparently poisoned, China has to pull together the threads that connect the shooting, the poisoning and that skeleton. Devotees of China's adventures (Indigo Dying, 2003, etc.) will enjoy more quality time with the denizens of Pecan Springs. Even newcomers who don't get into the Texas Hill Country spirit will pick up some recipes and a lot of herbal lore.

More Reviews and Recommendations

Biography

One of the book world's most respected authorities on herbs and their uses, Susan Wittig Albert is beloved by fans the world over for her mystery series starring herb-growing sleuth China Bayles -- as well as the Victorian Mysteries series she coauthors with husband Bill, under the pen name Robin Paige.

More About the Author

Customer Reviews

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i liked this oneby Angel_bookchick

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April 20, 2009: wow i really liked this one but then again ived liked almost everything shes written

Entertaining and informationalby Anonymous

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October 14, 2005: I love this series, not only for the good mystery plots, but also for the wonderful herbal lore. Every time I read one of these books, I want to go out and start an herbal garden, or make potpourri. Good stuff! But the best part is the really good writing - characters are well developed, but not heavily so. I care about these characters - not something I do easily. Ms. Albert has me hooked - and I love it!

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Fact File

Name:
Susan Wittig Albert

Also Known As:
Robin Paige

Date of Birth:
1940

Place of Birth:
Danville, Illinois

Education:
Ph.D., University of California at Berkeley

Biography

Susan Wittig Albert grew up on a farm in Illinois and earned her Ph.D. at the University of California at Berkeley. A former professor of English and a university administrator and vice president, she now lives with her husband, Bill, in the country outside of Austin, Texas. In addition to the China Bayles mysteries, she writes the Victorian Mysteries series, along with her husband, under the pseudonym of Robin Paige.

Author biography courtesy of Penguin Books, LTD.

Good to Know

In our exclusive interview with Albert, she revealed some fun facts about herself:

"My first job was selling ladies' undies at Woolworth's for 35 cents an hour in Danville, Illinois."

I learned to garden from my mother, who thought that the most important thing you did every spring was to plant the potatoes. I learned to read from my father, who never planted a potato in his life. Somehow, I managed to create a life and make a living between these two extremes. Happily, I haven't had to go back to selling undies. Not yet, anyway."

"I love living in the country with Bill, two black Labs, and a black cat. I'd rather read a book or write one than do just about anything else in the world, except maybe for gardening and sitting in a bathtub full of hot, hot water and bubbles. Or knitting, spinning, weaving, dyeing -- I'm a fiber-arts fanatic."

"You can find out what I'm doing today (or what I did yesterday) by checking out my web log, at susanalbert.typepad.com/lifescapes (but there's no web cam, so don't look for me in the bathtub)."

Feature Interview

In the summer of 2004, we asked authors featured in Meet the Writers to give us a list of their all-time favorite summer reads, and tell us what makes them just right for the season. Here's what Susan Wittig Albert had to say:

What makes a good summer read? For most of us, summer is time for a vacation, time to take off for the beach or head to the mountains, and summer reading is traditionally light and fun. So what better reading than books set in places you'd like to visit -- especially when they have a woman's touch? All in paperback, of course, so you won't have to weep if you accidentally drop your book into the pool.

Alaska: Death Trap by Sue Henry

Arkansas: Arkansas Traveler by Earlene Fowler

Colorado: The Grilling Season by Diane Mott Davidson

Florida: Flashback by Nevada Barr

Georgia: To Live and Die in Dixie by Kathy Hogan Trocheck

Nevada (Las Vegas, of course!) Cat with an Emerald Eye by Carole Nelson Douglas

North Carolina: Slow Dollar by Margaret Maron

South Caroline: Engaged to Die by Carolyn Hart

Virginia: The Tail of the Tip-Off by Rita Mae Brown

Wyoming: The Shadow Dancer by Margaret Coel

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In the fall of 2003, Susan Wittig Albert took some time to talk with us about some of her favorite books, authors, and interests:

What was the book that most influenced your life or your career as a writer -- and why?
Oh, golly. I started reading when I was 4, and you expect me to remember one? Well, Nancy Drew mysteries, maybe? When I was 12, if you'd asked me who I'd like to be when I grew up, I would've said Carolyn Keene. But hey, it happened! It took a while (ran into some detours along the way), but I in 1985, I was invited to join the Nancy stable and become one of the Carolyn Keenes. I thought the heavens had opened and all the writing gods were smiling down on me.

What are your favorite books and authors, and what makes them special to you?

Stephen King's Salem's Lot, because it showed me how to shift points of view from one character to another, seamlessly, effectively, and suspensefully. I admire the deft way in which King turns ordinary life into something extraordinarily other, astonishingly evil. What a talent.

Sue Grafton's mysteries, because they demonstrate that it is possible (although definitely not easy, and not necessarily recommended) to write a long-running series in first person.

Rex Stout's mysteries (when I was a kid), because I loved smart-mouth Archie Goodwin and went around trying to mimic him, to my mother's dismay. She was trying to teach me to be a lady.

John D. McDonald, because I was smitten with Travis McGee in 1964, when Deep Blue Goodbye appeared (in �64, I was smitten with life and living). I also admire the first-person narration, very wryly self-ironic, and the great use of dialogue. Never could figure out why Robert Redford didn't make a Trav movie. Wouldn't that have been something?

The Nine Tailors, by Dorothy L. Sayers, because of her skill in managing setting and mood, color and emotion. (I read this at least once a year, just to taste it again.)

The Franchise Affair, by Josephine Tey, because of the book's taut suspense. Classic, magnificent -- I wouldn't change a word of it.

I devoured John le Carr�'s work in the �70s: Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy is still a favorite, for its complex intrigue.

I admire Elizabeth George's American grasp of Brit language and culture -- love her smooth style, too. A writer's writer, in my opinion.

I enjoy Sheila Radley's British village mysteries -- quirky characters, strong settings.

What are some of your favorite films, and what makes them unforgettable to you? ?
I adore any film with Robert Redford in it. Otherwise, I don't bother.

What types of music do you like? Is there any particular kind you like to listen to when you're writing?
I like classical music because there aren't any lyrics to distract me.

What are your favorite kinds of books to give -- and get -- as gifts?
If I'm on the receiving end, please send me Stephen King's latest.

Do you have any special writing rituals? For example, what do you have on your desk when you're writing?
No rituals, I just write. On my desk? Post-its, used dental floss, nail clippers, a broken pencil, yesterday's crackers, this morning's coffee, and the cat.

Many writers are hardly "overnight success" stories. How long did it take for you to get where you are today? Any rejection-slip horror stories or inspirational anecdotes?
I started out in 1984 writing young adult books -- romances, mysteries -- some of them with my husband. I did that through 1990, when I wrote (and sold) a nonfiction book about women's work lives. Started the China Bayles series that same year, and was lucky enough to sell a three-book contract right away. Bill wanted to continue to write together, so we started the Robin Paige series in 1994. I've always felt that you have to bring some talent, a lot of work, and a pot-load of stubborn determination to the table -- then you have to wait for luck to strike. In my case, I found a wonderful editor (Natalee Rosenstein at Berkley).

What tips or advice do you have for writers still looking to be discovered? ?
Read, read, read. Write, write, write. Then hope for luck.

From Barnes & Noble

The Barnes & Noble Review
When herb shop owner China Bayles thinks of Dead Man's Bones, she pictures the lovely shade plant of that name. But bones of a different sort underpin Susan Wittig Albert's exciting mystery featuring the sleuthing herbalist.

The land around Pecan Springs, Texas, is riddled with caves, some large, others small. But one local cave has recently become big news. First a cache of stolen loot was found there; then an ancient burial site was discovered in another chamber. But the most recent surprise comes when China Bayles's teenage stepson, Brian, unearths some not-so-ancent remains while helping to map the cave system. The official investigation soon reveals that the jeans-clad skeleton with the shattered skull died from anything-but-natural causes.

Meanwhile, China's friend Ruby is working hard on her new role in the community theater's upcoming debut of a play about a local philanthropist -- a play written by the dead man's demanding and heartily disliked daughter. Drama builds, as a local handyman joins the body count on the much-disputed play's opening night�and the seeds of doubt China harbors about all these deaths soon blossom into a complex potpourri of deceit and deadly danger. Sue Stone

From the Publisher

When her teenage son discovers some skeletal remains of the suspicious kind, lawyer-turned-herbalist China Bayles finds herself hunting a killer from the past--who is about to strike in the present.

Dead Man's Bones (China Bayles Series #13) by Susan Wittig Albert

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Entertaining and informationalby Anonymous

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Dead Man's Bones (China Bayles Series #13) by Susan Wittig Albert

BUY IT NEW

BUY IT USED

Customers who bought this also bought

Product Details

Synopsis

Kirkus Reviews

Biography

Customer Reviews

i liked this oneby Angel_bookchick

Entertaining and informationalby Anonymous

Fact File

Biography

Good to Know

Feature Interview

From Barnes & Noble

From the Publisher

Kirkus Reviews

Product Details

Table of Contents

Related Subjects

More by This Author

Related Authors

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