Review by Booklist Review
Just before herbalist China Bayles' and police chief Mike McQuaid's wedding in Pecan Springs, Texas, the town is rocked by the murder of a greedy developer. China and McQuaid bring their unique skills to the task of finding the murderer before the case preempts their wedding. Albert's eighth China Bayles mystery starts slow but rallies with a tantalizing plot, a surprise ending, and some great dialogue. Along the way, she delivers witty reflections on flowers and herbs, Texas Rangers, beauty parlors and "big hair," and the special attractions of the Texas hill country. The book's eccentric characters and small-town charm will appeal to fans of Earlene Fowler's Benni Harper series and Joan Hess' Maggody novels. --John Rowen
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Library Journal Review
China Bayles is a week away from marrying her beloved fianc, the interim police chief of Pecan Springs. However, the murder of Edgar Coleman puts a damper on her plans, so China decides to help her husband-to-be solve the crime. Edgar, who was known for his shady deals and philandering ways, had many enemies, so China and her friend Ruby decide to investigate, and what they turn up adds more suspects to the list and more possibilities that China will miss her honeymoon. Can Ruby and China solve the murder? Will China still get married? Lavender Lies is a simple but fun story with little gore and lots of plot twists that will keep readers guessing until the very end. Albert does a fine job reading her own work, a tape that should find a home in most mystery collections.--Danna Bell-Russel, Library of Congress (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
As her marriage to Pecan Springs (Texas) Acting Police Chief Michael McQuaid looms, lawyer-turned-herbalist China Bayles wrestles with floral arrangements, musical selections, and her eighth murder case (Chile Death, 1998, etc.). Someone has put paid to Edgar Coleman's nefarious real-estate schemes, and the big questions are (1) who wanted him dead badly enough to push to the head of a very long line of suspects, and (2) which of those suspects'ranging from the wife he was cheating on to the seven city councillors he was blackmailing'could not have been the ``Jean'' a neighbor heard Letty Coleman casting aspersions on before the widow's own fatal tumble down her stone steps? (One of the city councillors is beautician Billie Jean Jones; another is bookseller Darla Jean McDaniels; even a little South Texas town like Pecan Springs presumably has room for still more.) Albert does a deft job of balancing China's investigations, designed to rescue her bridegroom for his honeymoon, with dense small-town detail, but long before the final chapter, which describes the wedding after the mystery's been safely wrapped up, there's never any doubt that romance comes first in her heart, followed by her loving evocation of an entrepreneurial Shangri-la of endless independent shopkeepers, whether or not they're named Jean. Though the murderer is easily spotted in advance, the motive will surprise you. If you really burn with suspense about the wedding, though, you'll have to wait till that last chapter. (Author tour)
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
