“One of the best-written and [most] well-plotted mysteries I’ve read in a long time.”
Los Angeles Times

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 that once belonged to Sunny Carswell, a reclusive heiress. But the most valuable book—A Curious Herbal, created by Elizabeth Blackwell in the 1730s—is  missing and Dorothea is under suspicion.

China’s search for the thief takes on a new urgency when she discovers Miss Carswell’s bookseller, the victim of an attempted murder. Is his shooting connected with the theft? And there are other urgent questions: What is the Hemlock Guild? Who owns Socrates.com? Did Sunny Carswell really kill herself, or does her ghost have a different story to tell? And what is the real story behind the many tantalizing mysteries of A Curious Herbal?

Like other books in the China Bayles series, Hemlock is a compelling mix of mystery and herb lore, past secrets and present sins, and characters who are as real as your friends and neighbors—in an absorbing novel that only Susan Wittig Albert could create.

Praise for The China Bayles Herbal Mysteries

“Another truly riveting read for dedicated mystery buffs by a true master of the genre.”
—Midwest Book Review

“Susan Wittig Albert’s spectacular mystery series has it all: engaging and intelligent characters, a solid mystery, and the kind of setting that makes you want to climb inside the pages of her books.”
—Fresh Fiction

“[Albert] consistently turns out some of the best-plotted mysteries on the market.”
—Houston Chronicle

“Engrossing…China continues to appeal with her herbal information and savvy sleuthing.”
—Booklist (starred review of Bloodroot)

“[China Bayles is] such a joy… An instant friend.”
—Carolyn Hart, New York Times bestselling author

“One of the best-written and [most] well-plotted mysteries I’ve read in a long time.”
Los Angeles Times

“Albert’s dialogue and characterizations put her in a class with lady sleuths V. I. Warshawski and Stephanie Plum.”
—Publishers Weekly