Indigo Dying (China Bayles Mystery)

INDIGO DYING is another excellent volume of the popular China Bayles series. China and Ruby go off to Indigo, a small town of 37 people, which is in the process of a renaissance, thanks to the opening of several new specialty shops. Bayles is in Indigo for the annual dyeing festival, and meets up with her old friend, Allie. Unfortunately, Allie's dastardly uncle is planning on selling the property rights to a mining company, virtually assuring the destruction of what was once Indigo. Of course, on a Friday night presentation of a new local melodrama, dastardly old Uncle Casey is blown away by a shotgun blast, in the building in which he had set "booby traps" to discourage vandals and such. Is it a murder? An accident? And isn't it strange that all 37 people in Indigo are glad Casey's dead? China and friends jump into the mystery full tilt and Albert once again delivers a fun, breezy read.

There's nothing like a good mystery to help content me on a wintry, dreary day. The joy of a good read includes a plot that is realistic, but escapist, and something new to learn. And Albert accomplishes all this with "Indigo Dying". She not only educates the reader as to natural dyes with the emphasis on the special relationship of indigo in mankind's history, but she explores a very real situation of the decline of small communities and the overpowering influence of corporate moneys.China Bayles has come a long way by this 11th volume of Albert's mysteries. And the devoted fan has learned a lot about herbs, of which Albert is well-versed indeed. China's struggle to find her own way as a business woman separate from her high-pressure days as a Houston attorney is well past. And she has a comfortable life with a successful business and partnership with Ruby, the New Age shop owner, and marriage with the former homicide cop, now university professor, McQuaid. She is settled into a way of life that should be free of the drama of murder, but it is not. And as she and Ruby head to the tiny burg of Indigo, Texas for an October festival to peddle their wares, she and her cohorts come face to face with very real conflict and dead bodies.The character development central to this story is decently thorough and nicely ties in old friends from China's college days to her present life. The new acquaintances, all part of her new life as an herbalist and business woman, certainly reflect the diversity of Texans who are seeking better lives away from the large cities. And China's very real feelings about her stepson also reflect the extended families that are common place today.One of the nice things about China's experiences is that she is so completely involved in living. And it is just great to enjoy her recipes and relationships, including the suspenseful elements of bringing the "bad" guys to justice. As a Texan, I find her fictional trails set among the real places of today's Texas very believable. Good reading. Can't wait to read "Dilly of a Death."

China Bayles and her partner Ruby are off to Indigo, TX, to have a booth at the Indigo Spring Arts & Crafts Festival. While there, China and friend Allison Selby will be doing a natural dye workshop called Colors to Dye for at Indigo Valley Farm, where Allison lives.China is the proprietor of Thyme and Seasons Herbs in Pecan Springs. She used to be a Houston criminal attorney. She is married to Mike McQuaid, former Houston dectective. He now teaches classes at CTSU. His thirteen year old son Brian lives with them and China thinks of him as her son.Ruby Wilcox is her best friend and business partner. Ruby owns the Crystal Cave, the only New Age shop in Pecan Springs. Together they own Thyme for Tea, a tearoom in the same building as Thyme and Seasons and Crystal Cave.While in Indigo, China and Allie attend the Historical Indigo Restoration Committee (HIRC) meeting. Casey Ford, Allie's uncle, comes to the meeting and announces that he will be selling off the mining rights to all the land he owns (most of the town) and everyone must vacate by the end of the year. Everyone protests, but he explains that there was a clause on each of their leases that gives him the right to evict if the structure's scheduled to be demolished. When the strip mine comes in, that's exactly what will happen.The next night after the play Indigo's Blues written by Derek Cooper, Allie's boyfriend, everyone hears a gunshot. When they get out to the street, they find Casey Ford dead. Everyone believes he walked into his own booby-trap at the former Bluebonnet Coffee Shop. Not too long ago Casey had closed down, boarded up and booby-trapped the coffee shop.McQuaid assists Sheriff Charlie McFarland with the investigation. There are many problems with the investigation. The biggest being that the crime scene is burned to the ground early the next morning. Plus, almost everyone in town had a reason for wanting Casey dead. And they seem to be covering for each other. They might even be setting someone up to take the fall.China and Ruby assist in the investigation but not officially. Ruby follows her intuition which often gets them into trouble.The characters in this book are very well written. You can feel the frustration and pain of the small town folks in Indigo. They've been working so hard to revitalize this town and now Casey plans to take that all away. There are quite a few side stories involved as well. It has a well-crafted plot with plenty of twists and turns.I highly recommend this book.

I enjoy reading Ms. Albert's fast-paced, well-written mysteries because I always learn something new and fascinating about herbs. In this China Bayles story we learn history and a bit of folklore on the art of fabric dying using natural plants and herbs. The plot was tight and kept me guessing up to the last chapter. If you love herbs and mysteries, then this is the series for you!

Pecan Springs is the home of China Bayles, proprietor of the Thyme and Seasons Herb Shop and the co-owner of Thyme For Tea. She also rents out the small cabin behind her store to Ellen Holt, a beautiful reporter from Ohio doing a story on small town Texas. China and her best friend Ruby travel to nearby Indigo for the weekend to give a workshop and participate in the art and crafts festival.They will be staying at the cabin of China's college friend Allison Selby, who along with the other thirty-six residents of Indigo are trying to revitalize the town. Allison's Uncle Casey Ford owns most of Indigo and intends to sell the mineral rights to Alcoa, who want to strip mine a seam that goes through the town's center. When Casey is murdered it is presumed that one of the townsfolk did it to preserve the town but Ruby and China, acting on a hunch, decide to investigate. Their search leads them right back to Pecan Springs and China's Midwest tenant.In the latest China Bayles mystery, the author, for the most part, has taken her heroine out of her adopted hometown and placed her in various localities as a way of keeping the character fresh and the story line original. It works. Readers will find INDIGO DYING a very complex yet satisfying novel with a support cast second to none. Readers will enjoy observing China happy in her professional and personal lives and will eagerly await her next misadventure.Harriet Klausner