Susan Wittig Albert

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  • Bibliography:
    63 Books (5 Series)
  • First Book:
    January 1992
  • Latest Book:
    May 2024
  • Author Rating:
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Full Series List in Order

A China Bayles Mystery

1 - Thyme of Death (1992)
2 - Witches' Bane (1993)
3 - Hangman's Root (Oct-1994)
4 - Rosemary Remembered (Nov-1995)
5 - Rueful Death (Nov-1996)
6 - Love Lies Bleeding (Nov-1997)
7 - Chile Death (Nov-1998)
8 - Lavender Lies (Oct-1999)
9 - Mistletoe Man (Oct-2000)
10 - Bloodroot (Oct-2001)
11 - Indigo Dying (Jan-2003)
12 - A Dilly of a Death (Jan-2004)
13 - Dead Man's Bones (Mar-2005)
14 - Bleeding Hearts (Apr-2006)
15 - Spanish Dagger (Apr-2007)
16 - Nightshade (Apr-2008)
17 - Wormwood (Apr-2009)
18 - Holly Blues (Apr-2010)
19 - Mourning Gloria (Apr-2011)
20 - Cat's Claw (Mar-2012)
21 - Widow's Tears (Apr-2013)
22 - Death Come Quickly (Apr-2014)
23 - Bittersweet (Apr-2015)
24 - Blood Orange (Apr-2016)
25 - The Last Chance Olive Ranch (Apr-2017)
26 - Queen Anne's Lace (Apr-2018)
27 - A Plain Vanilla Murder (Jun-2019)
28 - Hemlock (Sep-2021)
29 - Forget Me Never (May-2024)
An Unthymely Death (Jun-2003)

The Cottage Tales of Beatrix Potter

1 - The Tale of Hill Top Farm (Sep-2004)
2 - The Tale of Holly How (Jul-2005)
3 - The Tale of Cuckoo Brow Wood (Jul-2006)
4 - The Tale of Hawthorn House (Sep-2007)
5 - The Tale of Briar Bank (Oct-2008)
6 - The Tale of Applebeck Orchard (Sep-2009)
7 - The Tale of Oat Cake Crag (Sep-2010)
8 - The Tale of Castle Cottage (Sep-2011)

Crystal Cave

1 - NoBody (Apr-2019)
2 - SomeBODY Else (May-2019)
3 - Out of BODY (Jun-2019)

The Darling Dahlias

1 - The Darling Dahlias and the Cucumber Tree (Jul-2010)
2 - The Darling Dahlias and the Naked Ladies (Jul-2011)
3 - The Darling Dahlias and the Confederate Rose (Sep-2012)
4 - The Darling Dahlias and the Texas Star (Sep-2013)
5 - The Darling Dahlias and the Silver Dollar Bush (Sep-2014)
6 - The Darling Dahlias and the Eleven O'Clock Lady (Sep-2015)
7 - The Darling Dahlias and the Unlucky Clover (Mar-2018)
8 - The Darling Dahlias and the Poinsettia Puzzle (Oct-2018)
9 - The Darling Dahlias and the Voodoo Lily (Jan-2021)
10 - The Darling Dahlias and the Red Hot Poker (Jun-2022)

Pecan Springs Enterprise

1 - Deadlines (Jul-2020)
2 - Fault Lines (Jul-2020)
3 - Firelines (Aug-2020)

Book List in Order: 63 titles

  • Thyme of Death

    • / Amateur Sleuth
    • Buy Buy
    A China Bayles Mystery - 1

    INTRODUCING CHINA BAYLES CHINA'S herb shop in Pecan Springs, Texas, is a long way from the law firm in Houston. But China wanted to get away from it all: the power plays, the scheming, the backstabbing. Still, wherever there are people, there are ...

  • Witches' Bane

    • / Amateur Sleuth
    • Buy Buy
    A China Bayles Mystery - 2

    China Bayles left the big city to settle in a small town. But murder happens everywhere... Halloween is supposed to be scary -- but someone's pulling pranks in Pecan Springs that go way beyond holiday hijinks. The creepiness culminates in a b...

  • Fannie's Back Fence Caper

    in Malice Domestic 3

    Acclaimed Agatha Award-winning author Nancy Pickard dishes up a perfectly delicious new feast of original mystery stories, served up in classic Agatha Christie style. Celebrating the enduring legacy of the most beloved crime writer of all time, MALIC...

  • Hangman's Root

    A China Bayles Mystery - 3

    A prominent animal researcher has been hanged. And suspicion has fallen on the Cat Lady -- a local biology professor whose obsession with rescuing strays makes her, in some people's minds, capable of murder in defense of animals. But China is a f...

  • Rosemary Remembered

    A China Bayles Mystery - 4

    Now, in her most intriguing case yet, China discovers that business can be murder when her accountant, Rosemary Robbins, is killed. With an abusive ex-husband and plenty of former clients in the picture, there's no shortage of suspects. And China mus...

  • Rueful Death

    A China Bayles Mystery - 5

    In search of respite, China takes off to St. Theresa's Monastery with her friend Maggie, a former nun. The goal is a brief, tranquil retreat--but there's a conflict at the convent. The mother superior has recently died, and a battle over the future o...

  • Love Lies Bleeding

    A China Bayles Mystery - 6

    As a Texas Ranger, Roy Adcock outwitted plenty of dangerous characters. But now the retired Ranger has been shot dead--with his wife's gun. The case hits close to home for China, since Dolores Adcock had been at the herb shop just that morning. But w...

  • Chile Death

    A China Bayles Mystery - 7

    China Bayles is looking forward to the annual chili cook-off in Pecan Springs. And when the event arrives, she takes along her fiance, giving both of them a nice break from China's visiting (i.e., meddling) mother. But then cook-off judge Jerry Jeff ...

  • Lavender Lies

    A China Bayles Mystery - 8

    In the eighth book in Susan Wittig Albert's award-nominated series, ex-lawyer and herbalist China Bayles must put her upcoming nuptials on the back burner when a murder investigation entangles her friends and neighbors... "Good riddance,&#...



  • Mistletoe Man

    A China Bayles Mystery - 9

    Former big-city lawyer China Bayles worked hard to make her Texas herb shop, Thyme and Seasons, a success. Now business is booming at her charming new tea room, Thyme for Tea--but China is too distracted to revel in her latest entrepreneurial triumph...

  • Bloodroot

    A China Bayles Mystery - 10

    Lawyer-turned-herbalist China Bayles returns to the Deep South, where her family’s legacy of silence is at last broken -- and the past finally, unforgettably, speaks the truth…A frantic phone call from her mother brings China back to her family...

  • Indigo Dying

    A China Bayles Mystery - 11

    The tiny town of Indigo, Texas, is the perfect setting for China to teach a Colors to Dye For workshop. With artists flocking to the countryside in growing numbers, Indigo is coming back to life. Only one person stands in the way of the town's reviva...

  • An Unthymely Death

    A China Bayles Mystery

    Now readers can join China Bayles in ten puzzling cases -- and get a taste of her world. This delightful collection features loads of wonderful herbal tidbits on everything from rosemary to feverfew to catnip; recipes for such to-die-for dishes as a ...

  • A Dilly of a Death

    A China Bayles Mystery - 12

    China Bayles is in a pickle. The daughter of her best friend Ruby has turned up on her doorstep, pregnant and in need of a place to live. And her otherwise sensible husband McQuaid has announced that he's bored with teaching--he wants to try his hand...

  • The Tale of Hill Top Farm

    The Cottage Tales of Beatrix Potter - 1

    In this first of the Cottage Tales, animal lover and all-around Good Samaritan Beatrix Potter, author of Peter Rabbit, is ready to help solve local mysteries. And with her entourage of animal friends, she sets out to win over the human hearts of Sawr...

  • Dead Man's Bones

    A China Bayles Mystery - 13

    Now, a dead man's bones are uncovered--and Texas ex-lawyer and herbalist China Bayles must dig into a pair of murders separated by time but connected by motive ... When China's teenage son finds some skeletal remains during a local cave dig--remai...

  • The Tale of Holly How

    The Cottage Tales of Beatrix Potter - 2

    By now, Beatrix Potter, the beloved children's author, has won over human and animal hearts alike in her new home, the sleepy village of Sawrey. In this new novel, animal lover Miss Potter sets out to solve a case that will affect all creatures, grea...

  • Bleeding Hearts

    A China Bayles Mystery - 14

    High school football coach Tim Duffy is handsome, charming, and married into a wealthy local family. But now, an anonymous accuser has made shocking allegations of improper behavior-and China Bayles is asked to conduct a discreet investigation. W...

  • The Tale of Cuckoo Brow Wood

    The Cottage Tales of Beatrix Potter - 3

    Beatrix Potter's stories have enchanted readers for a century. And now, fans young and old can enjoy Susan Wittig Albert's Cottage Tales mysteries, starring Miss Potter herself... All is not well in Holly How when Miss Beatrix Potter returns from ...



  • China Bayles' Book of Days

    A treasury of recipes, crafts, gardening tips, and more from the national bestselling author of the China Bayles series -- a great gift for both mystery fans and herb & craft enthusiasts!Readers of the China Bayles mystery novels are familiar wit...

  • What Wildness Is This

    Winner, WILLA Literary Award for Creative Nonfiction, 2008

    How do women experience the vast, arid, rugged land of the American Southwest? The Story Circle Network, a national organization dedicated to helping women write about their lives, p...

  • Spanish Dagger

    A China Bayles Mystery - 15

    Between the herb shop, the catering business, and a weekend paper-making class, China Bayles has her work cut out for her. And now China's half-brother is opening up old wounds, trying to investigate their father's supposedly accidental death, and he...

  • The Tale of Hawthorn House

    The Cottage Tales of Beatrix Potter - 4

    Beatrix Potter's stories have enchanted readers for a century. And now, fans young and old cherish Susan Wittig Albert's Cottage Tales mysteries, starring Miss Potter herself... Beatrix Potter receives an unexpected--and possibly long-term--visito...

  • Nightshade

    A China Bayles Mystery - 16

    Susan Wittig Albert takes China on a trip down memory lane, where one fresh murder and several cold cases force her to face her dark past ... China's herb shop and catering business may be thriving, but she's still reeling from the circumstances sur...

  • The Tale of Briar Bank

    The Cottage Tales of Beatrix Potter - 5

    Beatrix Potter's tales have bewitched readers for a century. Now, fans of all ages cherish Susan Wittig Albert's Cottage Tales Mysteries, starring Miss Potter herself... Near Sawrey, the seat of Miss Beatrix Potter's country home, has been abuzz eve...

  • Wormwood

    A China Bayles Mystery - 17

    Ex-lawyer and current herbalist China Bayles' adventures are "always intriguing?" (Booklist) In Wormwood, China visits a historic Shaker village to find peace, but instead finds long-buried secrets entwined in a modern-day mystery .. . China is wary...

  • The Tale of Applebeck Orchard

    The Cottage Tales of Beatrix Potter - 6

    Beatrix Potter's tales have bewitched readers for a century. Now, fans of all ages cherish Susan Wittig Albert's Cottage Tales mysteries, starring Miss Potter herself... After his haystack was torched, Mr. Harmsworth barricaded a common path through...

  • Holly Blues

    A China Bayles Mystery - 18

    Ex-lawyer and current herbalist China Bayles is known as "a leader among female sleuths" (Publishers Weekly). In Holly Blues, an unwelcome holiday guest creates a thorny situation for China and her husband... Life has been good to China Bayles, so s...

  • The Darling Dahlias and the Cucumber Tree

    The Darling Dahlias - 1

    From the national bestselling author of the China Bayles Mysteries comes an "exceptional" new series featuring the ladies of a garden club who also dabble in digging through clues--the Darling Dahlias. The country may be struggling through the Great...



  • The Tale of Oat Cake Crag

    The Cottage Tales of Beatrix Potter - 7

    Beatrix Potter's tales have bewitched readers for a century. Now, fans of all ages cherish Susan Wittig Albert's Cottage Tales mysteries, starring Miss Potter herself... Miss Beatrix Potter has returned to Near Sawrey, seeking refuge from the bluste...

  • Mourning Gloria

    A China Bayles Mystery - 19

    China Bayles the ex-lawyer and current herbalist must stop a killer whose evil is burning through Texas... MOURNING GLORIA This spring China is busy selling her wares at Pecan Springs' Farmers' Market and enjoying the additional customers the ...

  • The Darling Dahlias and the Naked Ladies

    The Darling Dahlias - 2

    From the national bestselling author of the China Bayles Mysteries comes the second novel in a new series featuring the ladies of a garden club in Darling, Alabama, who also dabble in digging through clues -- the Darling Dahlias. As Darling's town...

  • The Tale of Castle Cottage

    The Cottage Tales of Beatrix Potter - 8

    It's the heart of summer in 1913, and Beatrix is eager to marry her fianc, solicitor William Heelis. But there are a few obstacles blocking the happy couple's path to the altar, like the troubled remodeling of Castle Cottage-Will and Beatrix's futur...

  • Cat's Claw

    A China Bayles Mystery - 20

    Sheila Dawson has made history as the first female police chief in Pecan Springs, Texas. She's also cracked many a mystery in collaboration with local sleuth China Bayles -- that's why everyone thinks she's such a smart cookie. Now, Sheila puts those...

  • The Darling Dahlias and the Confederate Rose

    The Darling Dahlias - 3

    National bestselling author Susan Wittig Albert returns to the small town of Darling, Alabama, in the 1930s -- and the Darling Dahlias, the ladies of a garden club who aren’t afraid to get their hands dirty solving mysteries… Just in time for ...

  • Widow's Tears

    A China Bayles Mystery - 21

    Herbalist and ex-lawyer China Bayles is “in a class with lady sleuths V. I. Warshawski and Stephanie Plum.”* In Widow’s Tears, a haunted house may hold the key to solving the murder of one of China’s friends… After losing her husband, f...

  • The Darling Dahlias and the Texas Star

    The Darling Dahlias - 4

    National bestselling author Susan Wittig Albert returns to the small town of Darling, Alabama, in the 1930s--where the Darling Dahlias, the colorful ladies of a garden club, are anything but shrinking violets when it comes to rooting out criminals......

  • A Wilder Rose

    The Little House books, which chronicled the pioneer adventures of Laura Ingalls Wilder, are among the most beloved books in the American literary canon. Lesser known is the secret, concealed for decades, of how they came to be. Now, bestselling auth...

  • Death Come Quickly

    A China Bayles Mystery - 22

    "One of the most endearing and personable amateur sleuths” (Midwest Book Review), herbalist and ex-lawyer China Bayles is back. In Death Come Quickly, a friend’s murder may be the key to solving a fifteen-year-old cold case... When China’s ...



  • The Darling Dahlias and the Silver Dollar Bush

    The Darling Dahlias - 5

    National bestselling author Susan Wittig Albert takes readers back in time to small-town Darling, Alabama, in the 1930s--where the Darling Savings and Trust has just closed and the women of the Darling Dahlias' garden club are betting their bottom do...

  • Bittersweet

    A China Bayles Mystery - 23

    This Thanksgiving, be grateful for China Bayles--who teams up with an old friend to solve a complex case of theft and murder in a South Texas ranching community... It's Thanksgiving in Pecan Springs, and China is planning to visit her mother, Lea...

  • The Darling Dahlias and the Eleven O'Clock Lady

    The Darling Dahlias - 6

    New York Times bestselling author Susan Wittig Albert transports readers to the summer of 1934, when a sensational murder shakes up the small Southern town of Darling, Alabama -- and pulls in the ladies of the Darling Dahlias’ garden club, who neve...

  • Loving Eleanor

    When AP political reporter Lorena Hickok -- Hick -- is assigned to cover Mrs. Franklin D. Roosevelt, the wife of the 1932 Democratic presidential candidate, the two women become deeply, intimately involved. Their relationship begins with mutual ro...

  • Blood Orange

    A China Bayles Mystery - 24

    In the newest China Bayles Mystery in the New York Times bestselling series, China comes to the aid of a nurse who ends up in the hospital... It’s mid-April in Pecan Springs, and China is renting her guest cottage to Kelly Kaufman, who needs a ...

  • One Last Ride

  • The General's Women

    Set during the chaotic years of World War II, The General's Women tells the story of the conflicted relationship between General Dwight Eisenhower and Kay Summersby, his Irish driver/aide, and the impact of that relationship on Mamie Eisenhower an...

  • The Last Chance Olive Ranch

    A China Bayles Mystery - 25

    In this exciting new mystery from New York Times bestselling author Susan Wittig Albert, China Bayles fears for her husband’s life as an escaped convict targets him... Max Mantel, the killer McQuaid put away years ago, has busted out of the Hun...

  • The Darling Dahlias and the Unlucky Clover

    The Darling Dahlias - 7

    NYT bestselling author Susan Wittig Albert returns to Depression-era Darling, Alabama . . .

    where the ladies of the Dahlias, the local garden club, are happy to dig a little dirt!

    In the seventh book of this popular series, it looks...

  • Queen Anne's Lace

    A China Bayles Mystery - 26

    A present day ghost leads China Bayles to a secret from Pecan Springs's past in this haunting mystery While helping Ruby Wilcox clean up the loft above their shops, China comes upon a box of antique handcrafted lace and old photographs. Following ...



  • The Darling Dahlias and the Poinsettia Puzzle

    The Darling Dahlias - 8

    It's Christmas, 1934, and the citizens of Darling, Alabama, are unwrapping a big package of Christmas puzzles.

    Mildred Kilgore and Earlynne Biddle are planning to open a bakery on the square -- if they can come up with the right recipes. Cha...

  • NoBody

    Crystal Cave - 1

    From NYT bestselling author Susan Wittig Albert comes the first novella in the mesmerizing Crystal Cave series.Ruby has a rare gift for seeing things that others can’t . . .Ruby Wilcox (owner of the Crystal Cave, Pecan Springs’ only New Age shop)...

  • SomeBODY Else

    Crystal Cave - 2

    In this gripping second novella in the Crystal Cave series, bestselling author Susan Wittig Albert tells an intriguing tale of murder in the Texas Hill Country.Ruby has a rare gift for seeing things that others can’t . . .Ruby Wilcox (owner of the ...

  • Out of BODY

    Crystal Cave - 3

    Bestselling author Susan Wittig Albert returns with the third novella in her bewitching Crystal Cave series. Ruby Wilcox has a rare gift for seeing things that others can’t . . .It’s Halloween and Ruby is looking forward to a party at China Bayle...

  • A Plain Vanilla Murder

    A China Bayles Mystery - 27

    AMAZON BEST SELLER
    From Susan Wittig Albert, the New York Times best-selling author of Queen Anne's Lace, comes an intriguing new addition to her widely-acclaimed China Bayles Mysteries.

    China and Ruby Wilcox are presenting their annual '...

  • Deadlines

    Pecan Springs Enterprise - 1

    If you're a fan of China Bayles, Ruby Wilcox, and Pecan Springs, Texas, you'll love Susan Wittig Albert's new novella!Prime crime on deadlineWhen Pecan Springs Enterprise crime reporter Jessica Nelson gets an anonymous tip about a year-old death that...

  • Fault Lines

    Pecan Springs Enterprise - 2

    Recommended for fans of Susan Wittig Albert's mysteries featuring China Bayles, Ruby Wilcox, and Pecan Springs, Texas.The fatal faults of the past can't be buried deep enough to hide them from a friend's heart.It's beginning to seem inevitable: Pecan...

  • Firelines

    Pecan Springs Enterprise - 3

    Susan Wittig Albert brings you another of her popular, highly-praised mysteries set in Pecan Springs, Texas.Out of the still-smoldering ashes of a fatal arson fire . . .The Enterprise has a new lease on life, but nobody knows how long that will last....

  • The Darling Dahlias and the Voodoo Lily

    The Darling Dahlias - 9

    Spring, 1935 finds the little Alabama town of Darling excited about their new local radio station, WDAR. But there are problems brewing at the newspaper, where a trio of new hires causes headaches for editor Charlie Dickens.That's not the worst of it...

  • Hemlock

    A China Bayles Mystery - 28

    From Susan Wittig Albert, the New York Times bestselling author of A Plain Vanilla Murder, comes a tightly crafted novel that juxtaposes the disappearance of a rare, remarkably illustrated 18th-century herbal with the true and all-too-human story of ...

  • The Darling Dahlias and the Red Hot Poker

    The Darling Dahlias - 10

    It's Labor Day weekend, 1935, and members of the Darling Dahlias-the garden club in little Darling, Alabama-are trying to keep their cool at the end of a sizzling summer. This isn't easy, though, since there's a firebug on the loose in Darling. He-or...

  • Twisted Love's Labyrinth

    Twisted Love is an enthralling and thought-provoking novel that delves into the complex and unconventional nature of a captivating love story. Through the intertwined journeys of Isabella and Damien, readers are taken on a rollercoaster ride of passi...

  • Someone Always Nearby

    In 1940, art-world icon Georgia O’Keeffe bought a house in a mountain-rimmed New Mexico desert, planning to live there for six months every year. To manage her remote household while she paints, O’Keeffe invited Maria Chabot–a young...

  • Forget Me Never

    A China Bayles Mystery - 29

    Olivia Andrews is locally famous for her blog and podcast, “Forget Me A Crime Victim's Storyboard,” which is dedicated to telling the stories of victims of crime. Now, she has a stunning story to tell about a decades-old murder mystery in...

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Susan Wittig Albert has published 63 books.

Susan Wittig Albert does not have a new book coming out soon. The latest book, Forget Me Never, was published in May 2024.

The first book by Susan Wittig Albert, Thyme of Death, was published in January 1992.

Yes. Susan Wittig Albert has 5 series.
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