An Unthymely Death

Table of Contents

 

“Mystery lovers who also garden will be captivated by this unique series.”
—Seattle Post-Intelligencer

 

“One of the best-written and well-plotted mysteries I’ve read in a long time.”
—Los Angeles Times

 

“An entertaining detective writer.”
—The Dallas Morning News

 

“A nice book to curl up with on a blustery day.”

 

“Albert has created captivating new characters and a setting dripping with atmosphere.”
—Publishers Weekly

 

“[China Bayles is] such a joy . . . an instant friend.”

—Carolyn G. Hart

 

“A treat for gardeners who like to relax with an absorbing mystery.”
—North American Gardener

 

“An appealing series.”
—Booklist

 

“A wonderful reading experience.”
—Midwest Book Review

 

“Gripping.”
—Library Journal

 

“Cause for celebration.”
—Rocky Mount Telegram

THYME OF DEATH
WITCHES’ BANE
HANGMAN’S ROOT
ROSEMARY REMEMBERED
RUEFUL DEATH
LOVE LIES BLEEDING
CHILE DEATH
LAVENDER LIES
MISTLETOE MAN
BLOODROOT
INDIGO DYING
AN UNTHYMELY DEATH

 

 

DEATH AT BISHOP’S KEEP
DEATH AT GALLOWS GREEN
DEATH AT DAISY’S FOLLY
DEATH AT DEVIL’S BRIDGE
DEATH AT ROTTINGDEAN
DEATH AT WHITECHAPEL
DEATH AT EPSOM DOWNS
DEATH AT DARTMOOR
DEATH AT GLAMIS CASTLE

 

 

WRITING FROM LIFE
WORK OF HER OWN

A Berkley Book
Published by The Berkley Publishing Group
A division of Penguin Group (USA) Inc.
375 Hudson Street
New York, New York 10014

 

This book is an original publication of The Berkley Publishing Group.

 

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of
the author’s imagination or used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or
dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

Copyright © 2003 by Susan Wittig Albert.

 

All rights reserved.
This book, or parts thereof, may not be reproduced in any form without permission.
The scanning, uploading, and distribution of this book via the Internet or via any other means
without the permission of the publisher is illegal and punishable by law. Please purchase only
authorized electronic editions, and do not participate in or encourage electronic piracy of
copyrighted materials. Your support of the author’s rights is appreciated.
BERKLEY and the “B” design
are trademarks belonging to Penguin Group (USA) Inc.

 

PRINTING HISTORY
Berkley trade paperback edition / June 2003

 

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Albert, Susan Wittig.
An unthymely death / Susan Wittig Albert.—Berkley trade pbk. ed.
p. cm.
Contents: An unthymely death—The khat who became a hero—The Rosemary caper—
Ivy’s wild, wonderful weeds—Death of a rose rustler—Mustard madness—The pennyroyal
plot—A violet death—A deadly chocolate valentine—Bloom where you’re planted.

eISBN : 978-0-425-19002-9

1. Detective and mystery stories, American. 2. Bayles, China (Fictitious character)—
Fiction. 3. Women detectives—Texas—Fiction. 4. Texas Hill Country (Tex.)—Fiction.
5. Herbalists—Fiction. 6. Texas—Fiction. I. Title.
PS3551.L2637U67 2003
813’.54—dc21
2002043933

 

 

 

PUBLISHERS NOTE: The recipes contained in this book are to be followed exactly as written. The Publisher is not responsible for your specific health or allergy needs that may require medical supervision. The Publisher is not responsible for any adverse reactions to the recipes contained in this book.

A NOTE TO READERS

THIS collection of stories began with a suggestion from an editor at
Country Living Gardener
magazine, where I regularly write a column called “The Herbal Thymes.”
CLG
was expanding its Internet site and wanted to include some light and lively gardening mysteries designed especially for on-line reading, to be published in weekly episodes. “Would you be interested?” the editor asked.

I pondered the idea for all of two seconds and yelped an impulsive, enthusiastic
yes!
It would be fun to sidestep the more serious themes that are usually front and center in the book-length China Bayles mysteries. It would be especially interesting to include more gardening and herbal information, since many readers have told me how much they like that aspect of China’s herbal adventures. I had come to understand that readers often read the books not just to be entertained, but also to learn. And since I’ve spent so much of my life as a teacher, that was just fine with me.

But when I hung up the phone, I wondered with a flash of panic whether I’d just talked myself into a corner. I’d never even read an on-line short story, much less written one, and I didn’t have a clue as to how to go about it. However, I was intrigued by the idea of writing a short story in episodes, with links between story elements and herbal lore, garden information, recipes, and craft ideas. The mysteries would be light and entertaining, the structure and format would be fun to tinker with (especially all that supplemental linked material, which I was thinking of as “story enrichment”), and I would be able to bring in all the familiar Pecan Springs characters, as well as introduce a few who had not yet appeared in the already published China Bayles mysteries. A whole new adventure in storytelling!

The on-line garden mysteries were a great success, and over the next two years, I wrote six of them for
CLG
. But many readers asked if the stories could be put into a “real book” so they didn’t have to read them on the computer, and they pointed out that their friends without computers couldn’t read them at all. I discussed the idea with Natalee Rosenstein, my editor at Berkley Prime Crime, and we came up with the format for this book. In the process, I added four entirely new stories, substantially rewrote the six original stories, and developed a great deal of all-new “enrichment material.”

As I’ve written and compiled these stories, I’ve had one purpose in mind: to show the many fascinating ways our gardens and what we grow in them can enhance our everyday lives. As you read each story, I hope that you will learn something new and unexpected about herbs, those plants we cultivate both for their delightful selves and for the many ways they have benefited us and our ancestors, back through the eons to the dawn of human culture. Remember, though, that before you use any herb to treat a physical or mental ailment, you should consult a qualified herbalist. Since China Bayles is only a fictional character, you can’t take her word for it!

—
Susan Wittig Albert
Bertram, Texas
March 2002

STORY NOTES

If you’re not already acquainted with the books in the China Bayles mystery series, there are a few things you may want to know about the major characters you’ll meet in this collection of short stories.

 

China Bayles
is the owner of Thyme and Seasons Herbs. Some years ago, she left her successful profession as a criminal defense attorney and moved to Pecan Springs, a picturesque town halfway between Austin and San Antonio, on the eastern edge of the Texas Hill Country. She bought a century-old stone building a couple of blocks from Courthouse Square, started her shop, and began a kinder, gentler life that is enlivened by the occasional mystery. China is forty-something, has brownish hair with a wide streak of gray, and is always intending to go on a diet and exercise more. She’s quick, clever, and (according to her intuitive, right-brained friend Ruby) far too logical and left-brained. She’s always trying to find a balance between her need for personal independence and her desire to be connected to people she cares about, like Mike McQuaid. She and McQuaid were married in the book
Lavender Lies.
With McQuaid’s teenaged son, Brian, and grouchy basset hound, Howard Cosell, they live in a large Victorian house on Limekiln Road, a few miles outside of Pecan Springs.