Three stars for the mystery, only one for China herself. She is undoubtedly one of the most selfish and mean-spirited women I have come across. Selfish because she's only considering her own needs in the book, not those of other people, and mean-spirited because she is just plain MEAN to her mother. Her mom, who is going through a 12 step program, comes to China to say she is sorry and wants to have a relationship with her daughter. She knows they will never be close, but she wants something, anything. She is also getting married again, since her husband has been dead for ten years. (China doesn't like this at all, although why she should care is beyond me). She apologizes to China and tells her the reasons why she acted the way she did. Most people would try to understand. They'd realize that Leatha just doesn't have it in her to be a strong person (many people aren't), and that she was beaten down by her own father and her husband. China basically tells her to screw off. What kind of person is she, anyway? If I were McQuaid (her semi-boyfriend), I would run as fast as I could. Who wants to get involved with someone like this? Someone who has no heart within them, no understanding, no forgiveness. These are qualities that are admirable in people. They show strength of character. She's using her mother as a crutch, as the reason not to get involved with McQuaid or have relationships with other people. Who's the codependent one now?Plus, her friend Ruby is involved in a murder, and the suspect is Ruby's latest boyfriend. Ruby is a New Ager, and dresses like an escapee from a circus. Either she does it for shock value or she just doesn't have any taste in clothes. At any rate, I can't see a man in a small Texas town going, "Wow, that lady sure is someone I'd like to spend time with!". (Especially since she's six feet tall and wears stilettos).I can't say whether I'll read another book in this series or not. The reason I continued on to this one is because it takes place at Halloween, and I'm reading books about the season (since we're so close to it ourselves). If I do, and China's attitude toward people doesn't change, I won't waste my time reading through the rest of the series.Oh, and nobody ever says "y'all". I lived in Austin for five years, my Dad was a Texan raised in Fort Worth, my relatives still live there. EVERYBODY says "y'all" except the people in this town, obviously.....
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.
What do You think about Witches' Bane (1994)?
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.
—Tina Hayes
I'm glad I gave this series a second look. I really liked the first novel's main character, story, setting, and secondary characters but I was put off by the amount of language. I decided to try once more to see if it calmed down because the story was so good, and I was rewarded. The language was much less in this book and the story was good. I figured out the murderer pretty early but it was still fun to watch China figure it out and also discover the motive. China is an engaging heroine and she has to confront some family stuff from the past in this installment. I like her character development in each book. I like to read series, but I like the main character to change and grow during the series.
—Sue
Witches Bane by Susan Wittig Albert is a 1994 Berkley publication. I try to attend my “Friends of the Library” annual sale each year to raise money for my local library. And each year I lag home sacks full of books not only for a good cause but to give them a good home. So, when I signed up to review some new releases from this author, I seemed to remember bringing home a few older books I picked up at the library sale from this series, and sure enough I have a handful of these “China Bayles” books on my shelf. So, I thought it would be fun to go back and read some of the first installments before tackling the newer ones so I would have an idea of how the series has progressed over time. Set in the East Texas Hill Country, China has settled into Pecan Springs after walking away from her high pressure career as an attorney and opened up an herbal shop and began living a slower paced lifestyle. But, as they say, murder happens everywhere, and so when China's friend Ruby comes under scrutiny by a local minister for her dabbling in tarot cards, and poisonous herbs, she is first person people suspect when a murder occurs. So, China and her boyfriend McQuaid begin looking at the case more closely. Although written in the early nineties, the story holds up well with age, although there are references here and there to things we no longer say or do or think the same way about these days. Otherwise the mystery stands the test of time admirably. China is a savvy lady, ahead of her time, with a stubborn streak, a wounded soul afraid of taking changes with love or what will perhaps be a whole new family, after her estranged mother announces she is engaged to be married. But, China's family is fairly tame compared to some residents in Pecan Springs...The Halloween setting sets the stage for a twisted murder mystery, with a lot of underlying messages that spotlight family dynamics and the pecking order of siblings and the long lasting impact our parents have on us, well into adulthood. These older books in the series are different, an if you go back and read some of them now you will see a very different tone than what the newer releases have. But, this simply implies that the series has not become stagnant, it has moved forward and it's characters with it. Over all this one was a satisfying read and a fun bit of nostalgia. 3.5 stars
—Julie
