China Bayles/Pecan Springs Mysteries

The China Bayles Herbal Mysteries feature herbalist China Bayles, who abandoned her career as a hot-shot Houston criminal attorney to open an herb shop in Pecan Springs, a small Texas town located half-way between Austin and San Antonio.

China wants the things that many contemporary women seek: a quieter life, rewarding work, a close relationship, friends, and community.

Each of her mysteries has a signature herb that is connected to a major theme, and each is liberally sprinkled with information on growing and using herbs. The China Bayles novels have been praised for their intelligent plots, quirky and appealing characters, interesting settings, and strong writing.

Hemlock – Book 28

China Bayles’ latest adventure takes her to the mountains of North Carolina, where her friend Dorothea Harper serves as the director and curator of the Hemlock House Library, a priceless collection of rare gardening books housed in a haunted mountainside mansion.

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Bittersweet – Book 23

This Thanksgiving, be grateful for China Bayles—who teams up with a game warden friend to solve a complex case of theft and murder.

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Wormwood – Book 17

China and her friend Martha Edmond visit a Kentucky Shaker village and are pulled into a deadly crime and a bitter history of loss.

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Indigo Dying – Book 11

Colors to Dye For, a deep-dyed mystery, and a true-blue China & Ruby collaboration that helps to save historic Indigo from destruction.

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Bloodroot – Book 10

Bloodroot takes China on a difficult journey into her past, and into the bloody roots of her family’s Southern history.

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Rueful Death – Book 5

China learns about forgiveness and discovers some hard truths about her own limitations. Grace, forgiveness, and the mystery of community.

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An Unthymely Death

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!

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