Susan Wittig Albert – Death come quickly

Book 22 in the China Bayles series, published April 1, 2014.
Genre: cozy mystery with recipes
Cover: fits the series



“One of the most endearing and personable amateur sleuths" (Midwest Book Review), herbalist and ex-lawyer China Bayles is back. In Death Come Quickly, a friend's murder may be the key to solving a fifteen-year-old cold case…
When China's and Ruby's friend Karen Prior is mugged in a mall parking lot and dies a few days later, China begins to suspect that her friend's death was not a random assault. Karen was a filmmaker supervising a student documentary about the fifteen-year-old murder of a woman named Christine Morris and the acquittal of the man accused of the crime. Is it possible that the same person who killed Christine Morris targeted Karen?
Delving into the cold case, China learns the motive for the first murder may be related to a valuable collection of Mexican art. Enlisting the help of her San Antonio lawyer friend Justine Wyzinski—aka the Whiz—China is determined to track down the murderer. But is she painting herself into a corner from which there's no escape?


I can’t believe this is book 22 already. I remember finding those books in my late teens in a Dutch bookshop. The first 6 were translated into Dutch, and I read those over and over. A lawyer changing her life completely, and starting a herb shop, with a friend with a new age kind of shop next door. And then the possible love interest in the form of a local cop, it was just so good. I was thrilled when I found out there were more in English, and even now the author is still writing these books, one per year. I do look forward to each new one eagerly.

But this one, was not as good as I like them. The plot was revealed on the very first page, while the murder victim is thinking about what she is doing there. In the dark and deserted employee parking lot of a big shopping mall. So I kept thinking: China, figure it out already! The why behind it all.
Still you read a cozy mystery series not only for the murder mystery part, but also for the developments in the main characters lives. What are they up to, what good and bad things are happening to them and their friends and all those secondary characters you have come to know so well over the years.
And that is why I kept reading, and why this series is so entertaining. Yes, this series will stay on my autobuy reading list for many more years to come.

Susan writes very vividly, you can feel the hot Texas sun shining on your back while reading about it, and I do wish I could taste some of those food stuffs they are eating. Of course they fry everything, but they also invent some tasty healthy dishes.
I like China’s little adopted daughter, and how much she loves her chickens, and wants to expand her little enterprise. She sells the eggs to the household and to the neighbours, as she is saving money for something important. She also helps China at the Sunday morning Farmer’s market, selling their vegetables and herbs. They still suffer from the loss of heir beloved bassett hound, Howard Costell, and all that is being described beautifully and true.

It is a good series, and if you are a fan of Texas based books, this is a series for you.

8 stars.

© 2015 Reviews by Aurian