Queen Anne's Lace (China Bayles, #26) (2024)

China Bayles has a ghost problem. It all starts when she and her friend Ruby Wilcox starts to clean up the loft about their shop Thyme and Seasons. China finds a box of handcrafted lace and old photographs in the loft, but when she is temporary alone in there and the light goes out does she hear a woman humming an old Scottish ballad and she also smells lavender. After that strange things start to happen at the store...

READ THE REST OF THE REVIEW OVER AT FRESH FICTION!

Now granted I had spring break but still this book is one that you won’t come up from till the very last page. I loved the dual time settings, one in the present with a China and another set in the 1880’s with Annie. The mystery is woven between the past and present but it one that will also remind a reader that cozy mysteries don’t always need bloody victims to make the mystery good.
This is a thoughtful book, focusing on growth and understanding in the characters. Many we will see are evolving and having new paths being created in this story.
I highly recommend that mystery readers read this book. It will have them on the edge of their seat. And it will leave them feeling light hearted just as a good mystery should do. I was provided a copy of this book by the publisher. I voluntarily chose to read this book and this is strictly my personal opinion expressed.

Blog review can be found here: https://bibliophile.reviews/book-revi...

Thanks to Overdrive and Meridian Library for my copy. The 26 th volume of the China Bayles herb series does Not disappoint and other goods go on another herb Queen Anne Lace that grows along the ditches and road throughout the country. It was used by the immigrants for family planning and the seed was brought along with women.
It is the story of the building that China owns. China and Amy were cleaning out storage and find a unique box full of papers and pictures. They find a box of fine handcrafted lace. As China seems to find out about the lace and early occupants of the house she begins to feel another presence and dreams of a woman in a white nightgown. Lori is now occupying the loft area and looking for her birth Mother. These two themes are brought together to form one tale. Caitie is getting her chickens ready to show at the county fair. One of her chickens is kidnaped. Will China find it in time before the judges arrive? Herb recipes are included. I HIGHLY RECOMMEND this book and series.

I have read all of the books in the China Bayles series but picked this latest up with trepidation as I felt weary of China's escapades. Alas, I was very pleasantly surprised by this one! It incorporates a resident ghost; which is not my cup of tea, but it dealt with the parallel historical background story very well and the supernatural part wasn't overdone.

I will never argue the fact that Susan Wittig Albert is a wonderful author. Her writing is easy to read. It has a flowing quality that keeps you reading long after you have planned to stop. Just one more page. One more chapter. You know the kind. And her knowledge of the plants she uses in each of her China Bayles mysteries, well, it’s clear she does her research, and that it’s a topic she enjoys. With all of that said, this wasn’t my favorite book of hers.

In QUEEN ANNE’S LACE, China is trying to solve a mystery from the past. Not hers, but that of a woman named Anne. Anne’s story takes place in the late 1800’s. Every other chapter in this book is set in the past, and then the present. I didn’t really enjoy the back and forth of this. While Anne’s story is interesting, I would have preferred much less of it. It turned half of the book into a historical story, and while I have a few historicals that I read, they aren’t my favorite.

As always with this author, the writing itself is well done. And, the factoids on the Queen’s Anne lace are fascinating. Diehard fans of Susan Wittig Albert, as well as fans of historical fiction, will enjoy QUEEN ANNE’S LACE.

Queen Anne's Lace by Susan Wittig Albert is another terrific addition to the China Bayles series.

This book really appealed to me. My favorite part was when the story went back to the 1800's. The lace making details were interesting and I enjoyed the story behind it.

This book can be read as a stand alone as the author does give plenty of information about the characters.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an ARC of this book provided by the publisher and NetGalley.

China and ghosts. Cool. Chicken thief. Uh oh. Queen Anne’s Lace...who knew?

Now my next best favorite after Widow's Tears. While I have enjoyed all of this series, I have especially loved the 2 above mentioned that have a ghostly feel. I didn't get to see much of my man Mike in this one but I forgive you SWA :)......keep um coming!!

As a novel, this book succeeds fairly well. It's got the setting (small-town Texas), interesting characters (herbalist, lace-maker, etc.), a plot involving the family who originally lived in the house in the late 1800s, and subplots around state fair animals and sick friends. It's an enjoyable read.

But as a mystery, this book fails. Nobody dies during either time period until 80% of the way through the book. Nobody ever dies (or is even in any sustained danger) in the present time. There's a real lack of suspense and tension, despite the awkward, chapter-end, direct-to-the-reader attempts by the narrator to generate some ("You never know what might happen." I was joking. But I was right. Really. You just never know.)

There is a bit of action in present day at the very end of the book, but it feels added on. As if, in earlier drafts, someone pointed out there was no mystery/danger in the present day, so the author went back and added all the state fair related drama and dropped all the awkward hints in earlier.

I have loved many of the books in this series, but more and more, I miss McQuaid, who's always conveniently out of town on a case, and I miss the mystery being set in the present time, without a ghost who's helping along the story. It feels like the series has gone way far away from where it began. Where I loved it.

China is cleaning up a storeroom and comes across old pictures and lace,then strange things start happening. The chapters alternate between current times and the 1880’s. China continues to investigate and finds that the woman in the picture had been a young widow who made lace to survive. A death overshadows her life. Very interesting information on the herb use by women to prevent pregnancies.

The China Bayles’ series continues in this book with a ghost from the past trying to communicate with China. Annie Laurie’s story was gripping. China discovers Annie Laurie formerly owned her business property. Least this story not seem exciting enough, the author has an exciting ending in both timelines.

Quotes I liked from this book: Lori talking to China about her search for her birth mother, “My real mother’s name is Gatley. Laura Anne Gatley. She was you, Ant Jo said, in her early twenties, and very pretty. She and her mother, Lorene, lived across the street from Aunt Jo…Laura Anne, my mother, had to give me up because she was unmarried and couldn’t make a home for me.”

Find Queen Anne’s Lace at the Westminster Public Library.

Another wonderful installment in the fantastic China Bayles series. This is one of the first series I read when I discovered cozies. Herbs and herbals are all me for sure. China is a fabulous protagonist. All the characters are well-developed and I really enjoy spending time with them. The latest in this top notch series has something I normally do not like in my cozy. A ghost. Somehow author Susan Wittig Albert is able to make even that enjoyable for me. This book has two mysteries going on at the same time. One present day and one in the early 19th century. I love that every time I read one of her books, author Wittig Albert brings new knowledge to the forefront and makes me want to investigate it even more. Truly a thinkers writer, this is another stellar book by author Susan Wittig Albert.
I was given a copy by the publisher. This in no way influenced my opinion of this book.

This is an enjoyable comfortable series that hasn't gone stale or become a rehashing of stories. This time around China and Ruby cleaned out the old storeroom and find a trove of history in the boxes.

As China digs into the past, she learns the history of the house where she built her business. The story is solid and I don't like stories that go back and forth from past to present, but it didn't bother me in this story.

This was an all China story, Ruby only shows up as a cameo, Mcquaid is only mentioned in passing and Brian not at all. We get a little more Caite story with her chickens and first crush.

I love the China Bayles series, but this one was a bit unusual. A present day ghost leads China Bayles to a secret from Pecan Springs's past in this haunting mystery China and Ruby are cleaning out a storage room and come across a box with pictures and pieces of handmade lace. Then strange things start happening in China's shop. As China investigates why, she discovers the story of the woman who occupied her shop when it was a house back in the late 1800's. The story alternates between the two stories and has some events that I predicted and some that I did not. In the process, I learned more interesting information about herbs and their uses.

I find Albert's writing to be more uneven than most authors. The China Bayles series is my favorite of her books, but that doesn't mean that I like every book in this series! I found this one to be very interesting. The story goes back and forth between two centuries and has much herbal lore woven in through the book.

Enjoyable.

I am a huge fan of the China Bayles series, and this book is the latest in this long-running series. It is a totally different book than the others in the series. All the previous books (25 in all) have very tricky and intricate mysteries, with lots of sidebars with China's very quirky friends. There is always lots of herb lore, and usually some very nice recipes too. This book had these last two, but there wasn't much mystery here. The book is written in the present and then every other chapter is a throwback to the late 17 century. The glue that binds the two storylines is the building where China has her herb shop. The stone building where she and Ruby house their businesses is two-hundred years old and China is delving into the history of the building as she slowly opens up different areas within the structure. China is usually very level-headed and forthright, but in this book she thinks that she is being haunted by a persistent ghostly presence within her shop. The bell above her entry door keeps ringing and no one is there to come in. Things get moved around on her bulletin board, and she hears humming and feels cold drafts in unusual places. As she searches, she finds the story about her house and the woman who lived in it just after it was built. As we read we see the actual happenings from the 17 century in the throw-back chapters. I missed the mystery, and I missed China's quirky friends. We only see Ruby Wilcox briefly in different places throughout the book. It was an ok book, but I wouldn't like to have someone read it as their first China Bayles' book because it would give them a totally wrong idea about what the other 25 books in the series are like. I would call this a good filler book since it gives us the history of China's building, and there were some very interesting nuggets of information about early pioneer methods of contraception, and the role that herbs played in health and wellness back then.

This was an excellent read. I read it in 3 days, which is super speed for me. Ms. Albert took the China Bayles mystery and combined it with an historical fiction which dealt with natural contraceptives and abortion causing plants. The main one dealt with was Queen Anne's lace which has a deadly look alike, Poisonous Hemlock.

The historical fiction was about a young widow who lost her husband and unborn first child all in the same day and a young man (best friend of the deceased husband) who married the wrong woman. His wife had one child and unbeknownst to him was making sure she had no more.

The China Bayles story is a ghost story. China's store is haunted. Other story lines are about a tenant who is trying to find her blood family now that she has lost her adoptive family as well as China's adopted daughter, Caitlyn's fair entry in the poultry tent at the fair.

The author magically manages to tie all the ends together and gives the reader a very satisfying end to a very interesting story. The only drawback that I can see is the fact that the chapters go back and forth between the time periods, but she always dates the historical chapters so you have a heads up for the change. I had no problem with it at all and don't feel it should hamper the enjoyment of most readers. My only problem with the book is now that I've finished it, I have to wait until her next book is published!

China Bayles, champion of reason, herbs, and her daughter's prize chickens, is forced to ponder the impossible in Queen Anne's Lace. If neither her friends nor her customers is leaving notes and sprigs of lavender on her store's bulletin board, could there be ... a ghost? The lawyer in China says that ghosts belong to the legal category of "facts not in evidence," but the hints, hums, and fragments she is gleaning from boxes of old photographs and lace in her attic are urging her to be open to extreme possibilities.

This dual-timeline tale follows the women, past and present, who have inhabited the old building that now houses China's store and her friend Ruby's psychic emporium. China knows that herbalists throughout history have known Queen Anne's Lace to be a readily-available contraceptive, as well as a tasty, carroty addition to cuisine. Is the "fact not in evidence" trying to tell China her life story through herbs and textiles?

This is another intelligent and satisfying episode in the life of Pecan Springs. Don't worry if you aren't familiar with the series. Susan Wittig Albert gives you enough backstory to allow you to enjoy the book and, also, to want to catch up.

Oh, and the chickens? You just have to trust me.

Thank you, NetGalley, for the ARC of this book in exchange for a review.

A two era read of late 1800’s and present. First told via a new (to be) mother, anxious and excited. A lace maker, eager to make her husband happy with a family.

The other end is China & Ruby. Shop owners sharing a roof in Pecan Springs, Texas. Clearing out the storage back half of their buildings loft area, they happen upon boxes of era pieces, one containing several pieces of hand-crafted lace. In digging through the remainders, China hears a woman humming. Knowing the building was first a home, she wonders if all they have pulled forth and the humming could be the missus of the house.

As the two eras unfold, revelations slowly come to surface and interesting folklore and early herbal medicine usages are presented. A fun and educational read that saved us from silly risks and another murder... at least in this time frame. Well done.

Recipes always follow up with some resources noted to further your herbal searching.

I am a fan of the China Bayle series - I love the herb lore and recipes that are worked into the stories. I felt a little cheated with this story. There is a ghost story that never actually goes anywhere - it has no mystery or intrigue - and the only other plot is a quickly resolved robbery. Usually her stories have a little more depth to them- this was very fluffy.

I also miss the better dynamics that existed in earlier books, in China's personal relationships with her husband, kids and Ruby. The recent stories have kept these at a shallow depth, when they used to be better explored and developed. What used to be one of my favorite mystery series has morphed into one of the cozy series that I enjoy.

I have not read all of this series, but several of them and not in order. The author offered a few paragraphs to fill in the reader who may not be a ‘regular visitor’. Stepping into China Bayles' world and her Herb shop Thyme and Season is not only entertaining but also I learn something every time. In this episode, the Texas author also transports the reader back in time with a message from a previous owner of China’s shop. The two stories flowed seamlessly.
Anything by Susan Wittig Albert always holds my interest. Her research and dedication to details create a world I love to escape to.

Another engrossing book by one of my favorite mystery writers. Albert isn't shy about taking on contemporary issues, but she never preaches. Her characters are vivid and real, people I feel like I know. I'm not going to give away the story, I just want to say it's one that will suck you in and keep you engaged until the last page! And the ending is satisfying without being too tidy. Overall, a great read.

I don't usually read this series, but the premise of the book caught my interest. It's not really a mystery, per say, although there is a chicken-napping. The story is told switching between two time periods-- today and the late 1800s. I learned a lot about lace making, herbal contraception and chickens.

It would make a good book group selection.

Kind of disappointed. If the author really wants to write historical mysteries, end the China Bayles series and move on.

I always enjoy a China Bayles novel. Evidently I have read 26 of them. No wonder she, Ruby and other characters in the series seem like friends.

If Annie Laurie's house could speak, it would have said that she was a contented woman.

This installment of the series is set in the present and in the late 1890s. We learn about the house that houses China and Ruby's businesses and the original owners.

The story is told in the past and present. China who is a great skeptic sees and feels a presence in the shop. The discovery of old pieces of lace and photos intensify the feelings. I found it interesting that China was the one that could see and hear the ghost when Ruby could not.

The story from the 1890's is compelling. The inclusion of information about natural remedies for birth control and women's health is handled in a wonderful way.

The present day story also includes information about showing chickens and roosters at a local fair. I had no idea that you washed chickens! China's quick thinking after a birdnapping is well thought out. The aftermath of the situation was tense and I was surprised that there was not mention of calling McQuaid. The search for a birth mother is also a part of the present day story. Everything ties together so well.

I love how the two stories are woven together. I listened to this book and enjoyed having a different narrator for each time period.

There is always so much good information about herbs and plants in this series. The author is a fascinating woman and great lecturer. I learned so much about Queen Anne's Lace history and lore.

I am so glad I picked up this book to get back in the series. I have the next two in queue ready to read.

I recommend this series to anyone and everyone that will listen to me.

Set in the charming Thyme and Seasons herbal shop, this story is a great mystery with a hint of the supernatural. When China and Ruby are cleaning up the loft above the shop, they find an old box fill of handmade lace. At the time of the find, China hears some strange humming, although Ruby does not. As the story proceeds, the lace becomes extremely important in helping China trace the long-gone previous owners of the building. It is quite a story, and China has to try to solve a century-old mystery as she finds out what previous tragedies and scandals rocked the neighborhood. This is another excellent China Bayles mystery!

3 1/2 stars. A good book with an intriguing main character and a diverse supporting cast. There’s a ghost, a mystery to solve, a chicken theft, and lots of interesting information about herbs, particularly wild carrots, otherwise known as Queen Anne��s lace.

I have not read the previous books in the series, but I’m interested enough in the main character to check out the first book. And perhaps others.

This installment was pretty good. After reading two awful books, this was a nice break. Lace making and chickens were at the heart of this cozy story. Google that black rooster, he is amazing.

I hope ghosts aren’t going to become regular features of future books - they make the stories too far fetched. Ms Albert is not Stephen King!

I really enjoyed the ‘ghost’ storyline and flashbacks to the late 1800s and early 1900s. It gave some historical perspectives on women’s health issues and economic status in past and present times. As usual Albert wove a very interesting tale that came together well at the end.