Death Come Quickly

Written by Susan Wittig Albert

Narrated by Julia Gibson

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 and Ruby' s friend Karen Prior is mugged in a mall parking lot and dies a few days later, China begins to suspect that her friend' s death was not a random assault. Karen was a filmmaker supervising a student documentary about the fifteen-year-old murder of a woman named Christine Morris and the acquittal of the man accused of the crime. Is it possible that the same person who killed Christine Morris targeted Karen? Delving into the cold case, China learns the motive for the first murder may be related to a valuable collection of Mexican art. Enlisting the help of her San Antonio lawyer friend Justine Wyzinski-- aka the Whiz-- China is determined to track down the murderer. But is she painting herself into a corner from which there' s no escape?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Recorded Books, Inc.
• Release date: Apr 1, 2014
• ISBN: 9781490619750

Susan Wittig Albert

Susan Wittig Albert is the New York Times bestselling author of over one hundred books. Her work includes four mystery series: China Bayles, the Darling Dahlias, the Cottage Tales of Beatrix Potter, and the Robin Paige Victorian Mysteries. She has also published three award-winning historical novels as well as YA fiction, memoirs, and nonfiction. She and her husband live in Texas Hill Country, where she writes, gardens, and raises an assortment of barnyard creatures.

Reviews for Death Come Quickly

[newsieq · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

What appears to be a mugging – followed by the death of the victim -- turns out to be premeditated murder. Karen Prior, who’s a university professor of film studies, is the victim. She was supervising two grad students who were creating a documentary about the murder of an art collector named Christine Morris a decade ago. The top suspect was acquitted of the murder and subsequently committed suicide. When the police chief of Pecan Springs, Texas, is sidelined by a complicated pregnancy, her friend China Bayles, former lawyer and current herb-shop owner, steps in to help. By chance, China knew the now-deceased lawyer who defended the acquitted suspect. She’s thinking that her friend’s law partner might still have the file on the case and wants to take a look at it. That means seeing a man she once found irresistible. Christine Morris’s home has been turned in a museum, with her extensive art collection the centerpiece. On a fact-finding mission there, China and her friend Ruby think there’s something fishy going on – possible art fraud. Susan Wittig Albert can be relied on for a great story, wonderful characters and a well-written, fast-paced mystery. Death Come Quickly is vintage Albert – laced throughout with herb lore – this time herbs and plants that portend good or ill. “Death comes quickly” is another name for Geranium robertianum, aka Herb Robert, stinky Bob, and cranesbill.

[jbarringer-2 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Art fraud and murder.

[lisaksbookreviews · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

DEATH COME QUICKLY was sent to me by the publisher to review and is the first book I’ve read in the China Bayles series. I’ll admit that when I purchase books, unless it’s a series I already know, the cover is what draws me in. Don’t get me wrong, the covers in this series are beautiful, they’re just not the cozy covers I’m used to, so I never gave them a chance. Well, I’m happy the chance was given to me. I enjoyed the way Ms. Albert started each chapter with “Herbs of Good and Ill Omen”. It was extremely interesting to learn about the beliefs associated with all the different plants me mentioned.I really liked the character China. She’s a wonderful protagonist. I felt a connection with her right away. All the characters in the story are incredibly well written and so multidimensional. The story itself is extremely compelling. Very detailed and intriguing. It had much more happening than the back cover description alone would lead you to believe. And it as a pleasant surprise to find recipes at the end of the book.I now know what so many other readers before me already knew. . . . Susan Wittig Albert is a great author and she now has a new fan of the China Bayles series in me.

[pennykaplan · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

China solves a cold case involving art forgery. This is a totally reliable, and enjoyable series. As China is an herbalist the books are filled with interesting herbal facts.

[judiex · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

In DEATH COME QUICKLY, China Bayles tries to solve the mugging and killing of a friend in an isolated parking lot. Karen Prior taught film making at a local college. Two of her grad students were working on a documentary about a decades old murder at the time of the attack. After they received threats, China and, to a lesser extent, her friends and husband try to learn the connection, if any, between the murders. The police work in the original case was really shoddy and most of the pivotal people have since died.There are references to previous books in the series, but it is not necessary to have read them to appreciate this one. The book contains information about herbs as well as nine recipes at the end, many of which use rose petals.If you are a China Bayles fan, you will not be disappointed. If you haven’t read any others, you can start with this one then go back to some of the others to learn how the characters got together and what they have gone through.Two criticisms, both somewhat minor. Susan Wittig Albert does not do much repetition, which I appreciate. At one point she provides an almost identical description of a modern house. Second, when China is fighting through tough traffic in Houston, she is talking on her phone. While she doesn’t have to hold the phone in her hand, the conversation does distract her from concentrating on the road and other drivers, especially when the weather is bad.

[jiraiya_5 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

This is my first China Bayles book. It concerns a cold case and a recent murder, of Christine Morris and Karen, respectively. It shares the same memes as my previous cozies. There are two ways in which it deviates from the usual order of things. Firstly China, the heroine, conducts, long, long interviews with cooperating persons of interest. This keeps the interest high. Those parts of the book deserve 4 stars. The second thing is the mild and protracted ending. The key person to unlocking the mystery surrenders peacefully. And the murderers get their desserts off screen. One thing that grabbed my attention is how upper middle class everybody seems to be. Everyone who is not a policeman is very well groomed and taken care of. That might be a recurring style of the author, and it might be a device to make the book more cozy. But it's something that jumped out of the page for me. Poirot books too deal with even more elitist people, but Agatha Christie had the knack of not pushing it in our faces. Altogether I'm glad to have read this book, and I want more of the same.

[romonko · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

China Bayles never fails to entertain. This latest book in one of my all-time favourite series is another winner. In it we've got dual story lines and dual murders as well as art fraud and building code boondoggles. You couldn't ask for more excitement. Then add lots of valuable and interesting herb lore and throw in a few really good recipes and you've got vintage China Bayles. I have loved this series for a number of years now and look forward to each new book in the series. China's family is growing through the years, but her friends are just as endearing as they were from the first book. Ruby Wilcox and Sheila Dawson (Smart Cookie) are perennial favourites. I love China's sense of humour and her dry wit. I love reading about her life in Pecan Springs, Texas. It's like catching up with old and dear friends every time I read a new China Bayles book. Keep 'em coming Susan. I can never get enough.