Wormwood — Susan Wittig Albert

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 of leaving her Texas herb shop for two whole weeks. But she needs rest, and a historic Shaker village in Kentucky seems the ideal place for it. There she can absorb the beautiful surroundings while learning about the intriguing, dwindling Shaker culture, which includes growing and gathering medicinal herbs . . .

Unfortunately, the restored version of the village, now a tourist attraction, is plagued with misfortune and strife -- some of it the result of sabotage. China wonders if, with the help of some age-old journals full of scandal, she can get to the bottom of it. However, much like the Shaker way of life, things appear simpler than they are. And after a shocking death occurs during her stay, China plunges into the archives of another time to connect the sins of the past with a modern-day murder.