Witches' Bane

by Susan Wittig Albert

Book Overview

Herb shop owner China Bayles is shocked when Halloween hijinks take a gruesome turn...

In a small Texas town, what starts as a little festive Halloween fun ends in a brutal murder. And lawyer-turned-herbalist China Bayles is even more shocked when her friend Ruby, a New Age expert in tarot and astrology, becomes the prime suspect after a minister accuses her of witchcraft. Now it's up to China to unmask the real killer...

• Format: Mass Market Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0425144062
• ISBN13: 9780425144060
• Release Date: September 1994
• Publisher: Berkley Books
• Length: 272 Pages
• Weight: 0.35 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 4.2" x 6.7"
• Age Range: 18 years and up
• Grade Range: Postsecondary and higher

Customer Reviews

Solid Second in a Marvelous Series

China Bayles' best friend and business associate Ruby Wilcox has decided to hold a weekly Tarot class, and China reluctantly agrees to attend. It is Halloween season and with growing rumors of devil worship and the digging up of graves to reinvestigate a couple of past deaths, the citizens of Pecan Springs are understandably on edge. Stirring up the situation is a local evangelistic pastor and activist who decides to picket Ruby's New Age shop effectively stopping sales for Ruby and China. When a holiday prank goes wrong resulting in a brutal murder, Ruby becomes the chief suspect. China quickly moves into action as she tries to identify the real killer and get her friend off the hook. Along the way, China and her mother, Leatha, continue to dig deeper into their troubled past, and China and Mike's relationship grows stronger. Another solid writing performance by award-winning author, Susan Albert Wittig. Witches' Bane (China Bayles 2)

Fun characters, humor, and well-crafted mystery

I loved every page of "Witches Bane" and look forward to reading more in the China Bayles series. The characters were fun, the story moved along at a brisk pace, lots of humor was tossed in, clue gradually built toward solving the mystery, making this a very enjoyable book. In this one, China's friend Ruby starts a Tarot class that gets the group accused of being witches, one member is bruatally murdered and the crime is pinned on Ruby's boyfriend Andrew, mysterious ritual killings involving chickens and goats take place around the same time, and it's up to China to sort things out.

An enjoyable read but the killer was too easy to guess

This is my first book in the series, and although I enjoyed reading this mystery, I thought the author didn't do a good enough job on the plotting. My secret method of guessing the killer worked like a charm on this book, as I think it will with other experienced mystery readers. Still, the characters and writing were enjoyable enough that I intend to continue reading more in the series. THe plot involves a killing that appears to be the work of santeria enthusiasts -- a kind of voodoo like religion popular among certain elements of the Mexican population of this Texas town. The townspeople think that these people are responsible for the ritual death, but the police and our herb-shop owner/lawyer think otherwise -- that it was instead someone with a particular motive for wanting this woman dead. Perhaps the small-town Texas setting is the part of the book I liked best. The author creates a place you can imagine as though you were there -- a place you'd like to visit. The characters are quirky and likeable, except for the ones that the author doesn't want you to like. As I said, I will be reading more in the series -- probably go back and try reading them in order!

Halloween Pranks Turn Deadly

Strange things have been going on in the Texas town of Pecan Springs. A town resident has discovered dead chickens with piles of coins nearby. Another resident has discovered one of his goats killed, also with a pile of money nearby. To make matters even worse, China Bayles' friend Ruby Wilcox has started teaching a class on reading tarot cards. Then a Bible-thumping preacher arrives in Pecan Springs and starts accusing Ruby of devil worship. Are all these strange happening due to Ruby's witchcraft, or are they the work of Mexican santerias? On Halloween night, one of the women in Ruby's tarot class holds an all-woman Halloween party. Then the hostess is discovered brutally murdered the next morning. The travelling minister suggests that Ruby is the prime suspect of the murder, so China goes to work to find the real killer. "Witches' Bane" is the second book in the China Bayles series by Susan Wittig Albert. This is a fast-moving, interesting mystery, with great twists at the end. There are lots of facts included about growing herbs and other plants. China is such a smart, down-to-earth heroine and very likable. I highly recommend this book, both to fans of the China Bayles series as well as readers looking for a fun Halloween-themed mystery.

Mystery with an herbal twist

I had the pleasure of hearing the author speak recently and discuss her mysteries and her vast knowledge of herbs. I'm not the usual mystery fan but I liked this book because it creates interesting characters that are multidimensional and it presents lots of interesting herb lore. You learn from this novel and you also have an interesting ride on the search for a killer. Her details on the modern religion of Wicca are well informed and grounded in reality. I've shared this book with several friends who enjoyed it thoroughly. We are now moving on to her other books with great anticipation.