Buy this book
Books N Bytes participates in affiliate programs including Amazon Associates and Bookshop.org. We may earn a commission when you purchase through our links at no extra cost to you.
WormWood is the China Bayles novel where Susan Wittig Albert takes her herbalist sleuth out of Pecan Springs and into the Kentucky Shaker community at Pleasant Hill. China is researching the Shakers' herbal traditions, the museum-village hosts her, and a death in the historical-reenactment community pulls her into a murder investigation she did not intend to take on.
The Shaker material is the achievement. Albert has clearly done significant research into the community's herbal pharmacology, dance forms, and historical relationship with the surrounding Kentucky countryside, and the book treats the religious community with the seriousness it deserves. The mystery itself is fair and ties into the Shaker history with appropriate care.
Four stars. One of the more interesting late-series entries and an unusual departure from the Texas setting. Recommended.
Related reads
If you liked WormWood
Dead Man's Bones
by Susan Wittig Albert
A mid-series China Bayles mystery. Herb mysteries are a niche and Susan Wittig Albert is the queen of it.
Bleeding Hearts
by Susan Wittig Albert
The 14th China Bayles. A house fire, a missing manuscript, and a community college English department at its most cozy and its most poisonous.
Spanish Dagger
by Susan Wittig Albert
The 15th China Bayles. China's sister returns to Pecan Springs and the family history thread Susan Wittig Albert has been quietly setting up for years pays off.
Nightshade
by Susan Wittig Albert
The 16th China Bayles. China's family history collides with a cold-case murder in Pecan Springs. Sue Wittig Albert in her late prime.
Holly Blues
by Susan Wittig Albert
The 18th China Bayles. Holiday-themed and unusually serious. McQuaid's ex-wife is back in town and the investigation hits closer to home than the series usually allows.
Mourning Gloria
by Susan Wittig Albert
The 19th China Bayles. A car fire on a country road, a body that should not be there, and Susan Wittig Albert at her most quietly devastating.
More by this author