Wormwood
China Bayles series, No. 17

by Susan Wittig Albert

Chiina Bayles leaves her herb shop in the Texas Hill country to accompany her friend, Martha Edmonds, to Mount Zion Shaker Village in northern Kentucky. Martha is to offer a workshop on Shaker herbs, and this will be an opportunity for China to find a respite after the murder of her half-brother and the addition to her family of his teenage daughter.

At the restored village, China becomes engrossed in the history of the village and the Shaker culture. When she reads the old journals, she discovers a long ago mystery and murder. Then there is a death in the current day village which seems to connect with the mystery in the journals.

In addition to the fascinating portrait of the Shaker way of life depicted in the excerpts from the fictional Shaker journals, the reader is given a well-written present-day mystery. We are given an insight into China's present day problems. We are also given an account of the Shaker religion. There are a number of Shaker inspired recipes. As usual in a China Bayles novel there is plenty of herbal lore for those interested and for those to be educated.

China Bayles' Book of Days (NonFiction)

Reviews of other titles in this series

Mistletoe Man #9
Dilly of a Death #12
Dead Mans Bones #13
Bleeding Hearts #14
Spanish Dagger #15
Nightshade #16
Wormwood #17 [review 1] [review 2]
Mourning Gloria #19
Cat's Claw #20
Widow's Tears #21
Death Come Quickly #22
Bittersweet #23
Blood Orange #24
The Last Chance Olive Ranch #25 [review 1] [review 2]
Queen Anne's Lace #26