WORMWOOD: China Bayles #17 - Susan Wittig Albert, narr Julia Gibson, Linda Stephens, Ed Sala

From the back of the BOCD: Susan Wittig Albert has won critical acclaim and a devoted following for her China Bayles mysteries starring a beloved herb shop and tearoom owner. In WORMWOOD, Shaker traditions mingle with murder in a case requiring all the wits the author's plucky heroine can muster.

A Kentucky Shaker village seems just the place for China to get some much-needed rest and relaxation. And getting a chance to assist with a local herbal workshop is exactly the kind of thing China relishes. Meeting with the kindly villagers, China might rightly suspect that her peaceful surroundings would be the last place on Earth to happen upon violence. But when a death occurs, China's only chance to solve the crime may lie in the history of the village.

Albert succeeds magnificently with a tale China's fans are sure to eagerly devour. Narrators Julia Gibson, Linda Stephens, and Ed Sala give voice to the author's heroine with a narration of the highest quality.

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This is one of the amateur sleuth series that I never tire and have never been disappointed. China is resourceful and smart. Each time I read one of this series, I want to go live in the part of Texas where Pecan Springs is located. I want to grow more herbs and raise goats and spin yarn and..and..and....well, you get the idea.

This story doesn't take place in Pecan Springs, rather China goes to Kentucky to a Shaker village of Mount Zion to help a friend conduct some herbal workshops and maybe help solve some issues that seem to be occurring. The problems of the present seem to be intertwined with those of the past of the Shaker village.

There is plenty of herbal lore to keep the fans of the series happy and the mysteries (past and present) are presented in a superb manner as we've come to expect from Susan Wittig Albert.

This is the first I've listened to or read of the series that is told by multiple voices and takes place in the past as well as the present. Julia Gibson is perfect for China and the present and Linda Stephens and Ed Sala are the epitome of the Shaker past.

Multiple past and present Shaker sparkly diamonds.....