Mistletoe Man (China Bayles Mystery)

China Bayles, a lawyer who's dropped out of practice but hasn't yet handed in her bar card, is back in business at Thyme and Season, her herb shop in Pecan Springs, Texas. The shop is so successful that China and Ruby, a friend with another remarkably successful New Age boutique named Crystal Cave, have added a tea room--named, of course, Thyme for Tea. Pecan Springs is getting to sound a lot like Sausalito, but apparently a lot of tourists pass through the west Texas town on their way to or from the Pecan Pageant, the Herb Fair, and, presumably, other unnamed attractions.

This ninth China Bayles mystery is a cozy case of confused property lines that lead a couple of likable people into a confrontation that ends in murder. Unfortunately, the dead man was China's main supplier of the herb of the title, and Christmas is just around the corner. So it behooves China (along with her new husband, a retired police detective, and her close friends, who all seem to be in law enforcement) to straighten things out, nail the culprit, and reestablish the mistletoe supply as soon as possible. Which they do, in a whimsical story that's as much about China's strained relationship with Ruby and her new life as a wife and stepmother as it is about who killed the Mistletoe Man. This all-but-bloodless tale is long on charm and local color and short on action. Susan Wittig Albert's quirky characters and their customs are on display (like the maiden lady who believes she's been abducted by aliens) rather than suspense or plot. But Albert's many fans won't mind a leisurely afternoon with China or the herbal lore that's served up as an appetizer before each chapter. --Jane Adams