China Bayles has a tenuous relationship with her mother,
Leatha Richards, which has gradually been improving since
Leatha's sobriety. In fact, China and her family are
planning to spend this Thanksgiving with Leatha and her
husband, Sam. Unfortunately, Sam's health has landed him
in the hospital and now his dream of opening the
Bittersweet Nature Sanctuary is at risk. Meanwhile,
Mackenzie "Mack" Chambers is having her own issues as her
job as a game warden consumes her life, causing
relationship difficulties. Mack and China are looking
forward to catching up at Thanksgiving but their paths
may cross in a more sinister way as well.
BITTERSWEET is the twenty-third book in the China
Bayles series but you can easily enjoy the mystery
even if this is your first adventure with China. I've
skipped around in the series, reading the books
completely out of order, and Susan Wittig Albert provides
the reader with enough information that it's easy to jump
right into the series and fully appreciate it.
Having said that, however, I think new readers will
probably enjoy BITTERSWEET more than long-term fans. A
lot of the characters we know and love, such as Ruby
Wilcox, only make brief appearances, and I felt their
absence quite strongly. This is not to say that
BITTERSWEET isn't well done or that we don't get further
insight into the characters we do spend time with. Unlike
other books in the China Bayles series,
BITTERSWEET alternates points of view between China and
Mack. It took me a while to adjust to Mack as she's not
the type of character I normally choose to read about, but
before the end of BITTERSWEET, I'd become a fan.
BITTERSWEET delves into the dark and nebulous world of
trophy game hunting as Susan Wittig Albert sheds light
onto the controversial topic. I have to admit I
learned quite a bit about the subject, perhaps more than
I wanted to know, but it definitely made for a unique and
interesting storyline. I can't wait for the next China
Bayles adventure, and I'm hoping we'll see Mack get
her own spin-off series in the future!
This Thanksgiving, be grateful for the “savvy sleuthing”*
of
New York Times bestselling author Susan Wittig Albert’s
China Bayles—who teams up with an old friend to solve a
case
of theft and murder in a South Texas ranching community…
For Thanksgiving, China is planning to visit her mother,
Leatha, and her mother’s husband, Sam. She’s also looking
forward to catching up with a friend, game warden Mackenzie
“Mack” Chambers. But Leatha calls with bad news: Sam has
had
a heart attack.
While Sam recuperates, Leatha does have a helper—Sue Ellen
Krause. But Sue Ellen—who’s leaving her husband, the
assistant foreman at a trophy game ranch—has troubles of
her
own. Before she can tell China the full story, Sue Ellen is
killed in a car crash.
When a local veterinarian is shot, Mack believes his murder
could be related to fawns stolen from a nearby ranch. And
China wonders if Sue Ellen’s death may not have been an
accident, and if there’s a connection to the stolen
animals...
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