I really enjoyed my first taste of this cozy mystery series. The wait for the first book in the series was too long at my library, so I jumped in with book two. I love the characters, the setting, and most especially the bits of herb lore sprinkled throughout. I did solve the mystery early (rare for me and made me annoyed with the China) which is why I docked half a star from what is otherwise a four-star book for me. Recommended if you like cozies or are at all interested in herbs. ( )

Good series so far. This book seemed to take forever to read. Everytime I'd try to get a page or two in, something distracted me! It was getting on my nerves - all I wanted was to finish the darn book. It was a pleasant story with a good, but obvious twist at the end. ( )

This is the first book I've read in the China Bayles "herb" series, though
it seems to be the second book in the series. (typical!) China Bayles is a
former attorney who has left the rat race of the big city for a small town
in Texas and opened an herb shop. She rents out the other half of the store
building to her friend Ruby, who runs a crystal and metaphysical New Age
shop. Ruby introduces China to a group of her Wiccan friends for a
Halloween party and the next morning, one of the party guests is found with
her throat slashed in her own living room. Add into this equation the fact
that the local holier-than-thou preacher has begun denouncing Ruby and China
as witches, and the sheriff starts nosing around looking for clues in the
murder investigation. All clues seem to lead to Ruby's latest lover, the
new photographer in town, and it seems to be up to China to figure out who
really committed this crime.

This was a very light read, and I'll read more in the series, but the
mystery lacked oomph for me. I had it figured out long before the final
reveal and there were several times when I wanted to reach into the book and
slap some sense into China and tell her, "Look at this! What is the matter
with you?!?" LOL The book held my interest to the end because I was
waiting to see when China would have an epiphany and realize whodunit. I'll
admit that I don't often figure out the mystery before the protagonist does,
so maybe this was a fluke. I'll rate it a 3 and see what the other books in
the series are like. ( )

China Bayles and her friends get caught up in a cult scare, and one of her group is murdered. China tracks down the twisted motives and finds herself face to face with the least likely murderer. As always a tightly woven plot with great characters, a bit of herb lore, a bit of wiccan lore, and a painful but interesting scene dealing with China's alcoholic mother and the scars that left behind. Love it. ( )

Not enough herbal lore. Not particularly interesting as a mystery.

Maybe this is a little harsh. There was an interesting Wiccan witch's party. There were some interesting, but not unique, observations about career change. And the relationship between the main character and her reforming alcoholic mom made some important points. ( )

A delightful romp of a cozy mystery. I love the whole China Bayles series and recommend it to everyone who wants a beautiful, easy read with a marvelous witches sabbat scene. The main character (China) has a friend (Ruby) who owns a new age shop and is a delight in all of the books. I recommend starting with the first book in the series and just reading straight through. If you just want to read this one. That would work too. You don't really have to read the other one first. -- Lirala ( )