Mistletoe Man

China Bayles #9

by Susan Wittig Albert

Business is booming at China Bayles' newest venture, Thyme for Tea -- but she's too distracted to revel in her latest entrepreneurial triumph. When the former big-city lawyer isn't trying to spend more time with her new husband and stepson, she's worrying about Ruby, who just hasn't been herself lately. To further complicate matters, China has to round up a supply of mistletoe, the season's most popular herb. It seems an easy enough task -- until her chief supplier turns up dead. . . .

Genres: Mystery, Cozy Mystery, Fiction, Cozy, Christmas, Mystery Thriller, Audiobook

320 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published October 1, 2000

About the author

Susan is the author/co-author of biographical/historical fiction, mysteries, and nonfiction. Now in her 80s and continuing to write, she says that retirement is not (yet) an option. She publishes under her own imprint. Here are her latest books.

A PLAIN VANILLA MURDER, #27 in the long-running China Bayles/Pecan Springs series.

Two Pecan Springs novella trilogies: The Crystal Cave Trilogy (featuring Ruby Wilcox): noBODY, SomeBODY Else, and Out of BODY; and The Enterprise Trilogy (featuring Jessica Nelson): DEADLINES, FAULTLINES, and FIRELINES.

THE DARLING DAHLIAS AND THE POINSETTIA PUZZLE #8 in the Darling Dahlias series, set in the early 1930s in fictional Darling AL

THE GENERAL'S WOMEN. Kay, Mamie, and Ike--the wartime romance that won a war but could have derailed a presidency.

LOVING ELEANOR: A novel about the intimate 30-year friendship of Eleanor Roosevelt and Lorena Hickok, based on their letters

A WILDER ROSE: the true story of Rose Wilder Lane, who transformed her mother from a farm wife and occasional writer to a literary icon

THE TALE OF CASTLE COTTAGE, #8 in the Cottage Tales of Beatrix Potter

DEATH ON THE LIZARD, the 12th and last (2006) of the Robin Paige series, by Susan and Bill Albert

TOGETHER, ALONE: A MEMOIR OF MARRIAGE AND PLACE

AN EXTRAORDINARY YEAR OF ORDINARY DAYS

WORK OF HER OWN: A WOMAN'S GUIDE TO RIGHT LIVELIHOOD

WRITING FROM LIFE: TELLING YOUR SOUL'S STORY

Reviews

[Paul Weiss · Rating 5 out of 5]

A perfect lightweight read over the Christmas season!

Small town Pecan Springs, Texas, plays host to three new businesses - a wildly successful tea room called Thyme for Tea and its adjoining herbal shop Thyme and Seasons opened by China Bayles, a former lawyer who chose to drop out of the legal rat race; and The Crystal Cave, a new age boutique owned by China's best friend and tenant, Ruby Wilcox. When Carl Swenson, the local supplier of mistletoe, one of China's hot Christmas sellers in her herbal shop, is found dead on the side of the road, clearly the victim of a hit and run accident, China's instincts as a lawyer smell homicide. Now if THAT isn't the set-up for a typical amateur sleuth cozy murder mystery and a thoroughly enjoyable few hours reading, then Miss Marple is a monkey's uncle!

Susan Wittig Albert obviously understands that violence, gore and high speed action have no place in a cozy mystery. Readers of this genre are looking for warmth, character development, interesting background and setting, wit, humour, conversation and sleuthing of the more cerebral variety. THE MISTLETOE MAN delivers it all wrapped up in a bow as the perfect entry to be opened and read, perhaps in front of the fireplace after the Christmas celebrations are complete.

But make no mistake! While the mystery is light, Albert writes with the unerring instincts of the finest suspense thriller author. THE MISTLETOE MAN provides lots of red herrings, blind alleys and twists and turns that will keep you flipping the pages just as quickly as you can absorb them. And talk about humour ... when Albert introduced the elderly aunt Velda Fletcher - the proud traveler of a cross galaxy trip ("eight years, two months and sixteen days") in the company of Klingons ("they treated me like I wuz a queen"), I was reminded of the out loud belly laughs that Grandma Mazur generated in Janet Evanovich's STEPHANIE PLUM series!

I won't give you any spoilers or steal any of Albert's thunder but I believe women in particular will find the side story of China's and Ruby's friendship especially heartwarming. Even as a male reader who will probably never have a true understanding of the female issues that Albert writes about in THE MISTLETOE MAN, I found this sub-plot poignant and touching. Female readers be warned ... I expect having a box of tissues at hand would be prudent!

And as a final topping for the Christmas pudding, as it were, each chapter opens with a fascinating tidbit of herbal lore on the history of mistletoe. I had no idea that the use of yuletide herbs was so steeped in mysticism.

Highly recommended!

Paul Weiss

[Cheryl · Rating 4 out of 5]

A 4 only because I disdain when smart characters are written to do stupid things for the sake of suspense, even tho it wound up almost comical. Aside from such, an emotional read with some good twists, last minute revelations, and a couple good laughs.

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

All of the China Bayles series books are written with a conversational style, and endearing sincerity. The characters are both loveable and believable as are the places. Albert describes things well enough to give you a picture for your mind's eye without allowing the descriptions to overtake the storyline. If you've never lived in Central Texas trust me when I tell you that this is as close as you can get without moving here! These books are a comfortable, easy read - equally good for rainy days, and excuse to stay in the air conditioning, or by the fireplace.

[C.J. Prince · Rating 4 out of 5]

The character of China Bayles grows with each book. To read a new one is like sitting down with a pot of tea and catching up with an old friend.

[Nancy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lots has happened to China since the other book I read. She’s married to McQuaid and stepmother to Brian. She and Ruby are partners in owning the new tea room.
I guessed Ruby’s big mystery was a health problem (breast cancer).
There was a twist at the end so the killer “came out of nowhere” for this reader.
This series is what I call a dense read.
I basically read it for plot .. sufficient for now.
So far .. this is strictly a 3 star series for me.

[Mary · Rating 3 out of 5]

I like everything about the China Bayles books except the unnecessary profanity. This book seemed to have more than usual, and why I have to rate it lower than I otherwise would. I think her thoughtfully worked characters and relationships are great. Her books always deal with a significant issue that is not usually comfortable for us to deal with, which makes us consider it anyway and hopefully become more knowledgable and aware and more comfortable dealing with it when it comes along in our own life.

[Geri · Rating 4 out of 5]

This author had several plots going at
the same time, which kept it interesting
trying to figure it out.

[Emily Cullen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Christmas is coming and China Bayles finds her mistletoe supplier murdered. Besides that, the sleuth is juggling her herb shop and tea room and trying to spend more time with her new husband and stepson. Plus her best friend, Ruby, hasn't been acting herself lately.I love the China Bayles mysteries, always great stories and China makes a great heroine. I'm looking forward to the next book in the series!

[Lizzytish · Rating 3 out of 5]

It’s almost Christmas and China is running out of mistletoe! Ruby is acting strangely, and then there is an aunt of 2 sisters that has been taken by Kingons and has returned to tell about it. There’s murder, mystery, and mistletoe. Oh, and a little mayhem too. Merry Christmas to all and to all a good fright.

[Suz Davidson · Rating 2 out of 5]

Mediocre whodunnit

[Janice · Rating 4 out of 5]

China, along with her friend Ruby, spend much of the Christmas season trying to learn who killed a local man who made a living gathering mistletoe.

[Irv Kantrowitz · Rating 5 out of 5]

i enjoyed this book. This is a mystery that is set in a small town. I never figured who did it until the end.

[Mary · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is one I had yet to read of this series so was a delight to get it for Christmas. A lot goes on in this story from China worrying what was wrong with Ruby who was acting so unlike herself, to a hit and run that seemed straight forward until other factors cast doubt on the theory. A good read.

[Linda · Rating 3 out of 5]

Right off the bat there were a couple of things I liked about this book. I am very fond of the Christmas holiday so I liked the book title very much, I was enchanted by their tearoom and I liked the tearoom name, "Thyme for Tea" (very clever), also I liked the location of the storyline (Pecan Springs, the hill country, story even mentioned Seguin, Tx). I'm a Texas girl so it just reminded me of home. Now, for the plot, characters etc. The idea of China and Ruby, (best friends), starting " a new tearoom enterprise togehter, plus both ladies responsible for their own separate businesses - the herb shop and New Age Shop caught my interest. I like reading about strong, independent women and builing a business at something they love. China is persistent and carefully trying to figure out who murdered Carl Swenson and she is compassionately concerned for Donna who she doesn't believe really ran over Carl and in back of her mind runs the idea. That Donna is covering up and taking the heat for someone she cares about. She is tenacious about sifting through the facts and gets out on her own investigating but not making a big, attention deal but goes about her sleuthing business determined to figure who really is the culprit. Also, I like that there isn't alot of romance and clogging up the murder suspense storyline, the plot really focuses on China and Ruby sleuthing around together,sifting through the puzzle, and getting into hot water together. This storyline just has a whole lot of ingredients that I just can't name everything. Just read it and you'll like it!

[Valerie · Rating 1 out of 5]

I bailed on this book just about halfway in. I am disappointed and outraged that a murder mystery book set at the holidays is going to delve into the area of breast cancer? Really? I read murder mysteries as an escape and as a challenge to see if I can figure out who did it before the end of the book. I do not read these books to get the down and dirty on symptoms and causes or non causes and the terror of getting cancer for no good reason. Having lost a friend to this disease and unfortunately, having had several friends battling with it, I don't find this book at all entertaining, though before this unnecessary drama, I was enjoying it. Let me make this clear, even if I had not had a friend die of cancer, or personally know of anyone struggling with this disease, I do not expect to open up a murder mystery book, especially one that is somewhat cozy, and deal with such a serious subject in such detail. I enjoy books by Camilla Lackberg and Louise Penny, PD James etc, and do not consider myself only a lightweight murder mystery reader. I would expect to see this type of thing in fiction, not murder mystery. I am so turned off to this author.

[Fredell · Rating 4 out of 5]

A wonderful read!
I did not know who the murderer was until the end! It was totally unexpected.
China Bayles, former high-powered defense attorney turned herbalist/store owner, is drawn into the the search for the killer of her mistletoe supplier, who is rundown by an old red pick-up truck belonging to his neighbors. But, these three women all claim innocence. So China and her 'cast of characters' try to solve the murder and free their friends from prosecution.

I do get a bit irked by the constant rehashing of characters and their relationships, but I know that many folks are not regular readers of the series, and appreciate the exposition of the townspeople of Pecan Springs.

[Muffin Pam · Rating 5 out of 5]

Do these just keep getting better? I believe so. Mistletoe Man contains so many interesting facts about the holiday flower on top of a murder, drug bust, and jailbreak. China is wondering what is going on with her new British cook and her best friend Ruby.

Ruby has cancer! Sad but well written. I've never grieved a fictional character's fictional boob before but today I did. In order to take her mind off of it, Ruby teams up with China to find out who ran over mean old Carl Swenson, the local mistletoe supplier.

This series makes me want to pack my bags and move to Pecan Springs even though it doesn't exist.

[Johanna · Rating 5 out of 5]

I found this book at my mother's cottage abandoned by one of her friends.

Boy was I glad to meet China Bayles!!!

This is the first book in the series that I've read and still my favorite of the bunch.
I've been avidly hunting down these books since I just learned of them.
It's been challenging trying to find them but well worth it.
Great plots. Strong characters. Full of useful info at the begging of each chapter.
All of the novels I've found have all ready been re-read by me several times.

[Kyrie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Right before Christmas, China has bit off more than she can chew, and Ruby is acting really oddly. Throw in some sisters with an aunt who thinks she's been touring the solar system with some Klingons, and it's even weirder.

I've come to feel like I'm a neighbor in Pecan Springs, and even though I figure out half the plots long before they get resolved, I'm enjoying the camaraderie. The books don't demand a lot of heavy thinking, they're enjoyable, and I'm glad for the escapism.

[Saskia Marijke Niehorster · Rating 1 out of 5]

I hated the way this so far strong and witty woman lets herself get walked all over by her cheating husband. It is definitively NOT in character with her. I don't think I will want to read more of this series. Whatever happened to her backbone? This is just not on par with the character's strong feminist views, which was what was so attractive about her.Not cool! (296 pgs)

[Rita · Rating 5 out of 5]

I always enjoy these China Bayles mysteries. China owns an herb shop in a small Texas town and shares many tidbits about teas and herbs while solving mysteries.

I had no idea there was so much mythology and history connected to mistletoe. In the back the author also writes about some other Christmas related plants with brief histories. Quite interesting.

[Toni berkshire · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good one - Ruby attempts to keep part of her life private, bit of role reversal that annoys China. Think everyone knows someone like Aunt Velda, able to get by, but not exactly living in the world recognized by most folks.

[Jeanne Ruczhak-Eckman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Finally - a surprise! I've been following China Bayles (ex lawyer now herb shop owner and modern Jessica Fletcher)and her friends now for some time and this time Susan Witting Albert finally surprised me! Well done.

[Anita · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nice cozy mystery

Always enjoy China Bayles. Her cozy mysterious are pleasant and always keep me guessing. I still enjoy all of the characters and enjoy getting to know them better.

[Lin Stepp · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the 9th book in the China Bayles mysteries - one i missed before - but an excellent read. A murder, complications with a friend and a holiday spirit make this book one to hold your attention to the end.

[Sabra · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of my favorites! Very clever and suspenseful!

[A.M. · Rating 5 out of 5]

LOVE this series!!! Starting a new China Bayles book is like re-acquainting myself with old friends. And with the Christmas setting in this one, the timing for this re-read couldn't be better.

[Wayne · Rating 3 out of 5]

One of the better books in the series.

[Karen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cute story, easy to read. Will look for others in this series.

[Annalee Hoover · Rating 5 out of 5]

i love this series. i feel like i'm learning something along the way