Miss Potter is shocked to discover that her new home at Hill Top Farm is overrun with rats, while in nearby Far Sawrey, mild-mannered vicar Samuel Sackett also finds himself plagued with unwanted visitors: a cousin and his wife who have long overstayed their welcome. Rats, cats, fairies, and a lady with a mysterious past.
The bones in a cave have a story to tell, and hold a clue from the past that could help China solve an urgent mystery in the present.
Kate and Charles visit the Duke and Duchess of Marlborough at Blenheim Palace. But all is not well, for the guest list includes the exotic, erotic Gladys Deacon, the Duke’s lover, and the party ends in an apparent kidnapping and murder. Featured: the Duke’s cousin, Winston Churchill, and a young Ned Lawrence, later known as Lawrence of Arabia.
Everyone in Sawrey likes Ben Hornby. So when Beatrix finds the shepherd dead in the meadow and suspects foul play, while the village animals are deeply concerned about the fate of Old Ben’s missing sheep. Although she’s distracted by duties at the farm and the sad plight of the young girl who lives at Tidmarsh Manor, Miss Potter must get to the bottom of this.
A dilly of a mystery, especially if you like pickles. And even if you don’t, you’re sure to smile (and maybe hiss) at China’s pickle jokes.
A bomb meant for England’s new King Edward and Queen Alexandra reveals a terrorist plot and raises the urgent question: in a world of spies and counter-spies, who are the real terrorists? When Jack London, American author and known Socialist, is drawn into this multi-layered plot, Kate and Charles have plenty of untangling to do.
Spiced with gentle mystery and peopled with earthy and endearing villagers, The Tale of Hill Top Farm introduces Miss Beatrix Potter at a time of crisis, just after the death of her fiancé, Norman Warne. With help from her little family of animal friends, Beatrix sets out to win the human hearts of the village she plans to make her home.
Colors to Dye For, a deep-dyed mystery, and a true-blue China & Ruby collaboration that helps to save historic Indigo from destruction.
When Kate and Charles journey to legendary Glamis Castle in Scotland to rescue a Royal who has been thought dead for nearly ten years, they find themselves in the middle of a murder investigation and a plot to topple the monarchy. Their inquiry takes place amid rising British tensions with imperial Germany, adding an espionage angle to the murder.
Dartmoor, 1901. Lord Charles is conducting a fingerprint project at the prison and Kate is finding inspiration for her new Gothic novel. Arthur Conan Doyle is there, too, working on his soon-to-be famous thriller, The Hound of the Baskervilles. The Sheridans team up with Doyle to stymie a prison escape and solve a murder of supernatural proportions.
Bloodroot takes China on a difficult journey into her past, and into the bloody roots of her family’s Southern history.
Lord Charles Sheridan has launched an investigation into a jockey’s recent (and mysterious) death, while his wife, Kate, puzzles over the long-ago theft of Lillie Langtry’s jewels. But soon the Sheridans can’t help wondering if the two events are connected. Horse-doping, theft, and murder among the Fast Set.
What’s Christmas without mistletoe? What’s life without Ruby? Join China as she faces both of these difficult questions.
Kathryn Ardleigh Sheridan and her husband, Lord Charles, are called on when scandal threatens Jennie Jerome Churchill. Her son Winston’s political future is jeopardized by a blackmailer who claims that his father Randolph was the notorious Jack the Ripper–and that the Royal Family was behind the crimes.
China and McQuaid are finally getting married. Or are they? Mystery, murder, and a wet ‘n’ wild wedding.
Kate Ardleigh Sheridan and her newly-titled husband Charles are seeking the calm of a seaside holiday in Rottingdean. But when a coast guardsman’s body is found on the beach, the town is suspected of plying its ancient trade of contraband smuggling. A writer named Rudyard Kipling helps them discover a more dangerous contemporary truth.
A chile cookoff in Pecan Springs–the perfect setup for a murder. A firecracker of a mystery. Hot stuff, folks!
Newlyweds Charles and Kate Sheridan host an auto exhibition at Kate’s ancestral home, attended by Europe’s foremost investors and inventors. But competition, speed, and money prove more explosive than gasoline for one auto builder. Now the Sheridans must unravel the mystery before the carnage spreads.
China discovers that the roots of avarice, ambition, and desire run deep. When even good cops go bad, it’s time to learn a tough lesson in love.
The Countess of Warwick, known as Daisy, is the subject of endless rumors about her unladylike ways and temperament. But what happens during a weekend party at her Easton estate is uglier than any rumor. Two bloody murders prompt the Prince of Wales, Daisy’s lover, to tell Charles Sheridan to discover the truth–quickly.
From the book: “Our stories must be told, so that the women who come after us will know that their foremothers were more than just the characters in men’s tales, that we are dimensional, intentional beings with minds of our own, wills of our own, dreams of our own. Our stories must be told. My story, your story, women’s stories. And you and I are the only ones who can tell them, because we are the only ones who have lived them.”
China learns about forgiveness and discovers some hard truths about her own limitations. Grace, forgiveness, and the mystery of community.
Something about the murder of an accountant just doesn’t add up for China Bayles.
The death of a constable and the disappearance of a child set Kate Ardleigh and Sir Charles Sheridan onto the trail of deadly greed and criminal mischief. And with the help of a shy young woman named Beatrix Potter, Kate and Charles aim to uncover the dark secrets of Gallows Green.
A mystery with an attitude. Animal rights, academic politics, and murder—a potent mix that’s sure to brew up a pot of trouble.
Kate Ardleigh–an outspoken, free-thinking, Irish-American writer of penny-dreadfuls–has inherited the family estate: Bishop’s Keep, in Essex, England. Soon after her arrival, a recently-dead body is unearthed in a nearby archaeological dig, giving Kate an idea for a novel–and an introduction to amateur detective Sir Charles Sheridan.
China and Ruby discover that the supernatural isn’t funny, and that Halloween can call up a terrifying brand of evil.
China Bayles has fulfilled her dream of having her own herb shop. Will murder be her first customer?
Herbal recipes, crafts, gardening tips, remedies, and more. Make this special volume your very own personal calendar.
These are the China Bayles short mysteries originally written for the Country Living Gardener web site, complete with recipes, crafts, herb lore, and other herbal goodies!
15 new stories of criminal handiwork, featuring 14 popular sleuths and a China Bayles short story, “The Collage to Kill For.” With craft instructions for every crime!
