{"id":24166,"date":"2019-06-21T08:45:21","date_gmt":"2019-06-21T12:45:21","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/?p=24166"},"modified":"2022-10-11T16:59:34","modified_gmt":"2022-10-11T16:59:34","slug":"review-plain-vanilla-murder-by-susan-wittig-albert","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/2019\/06\/21\/review-plain-vanilla-murder-by-susan-wittig-albert\/","title":{"rendered":"Review \u2764\ufe0f Plain Vanilla Murder by Susan Wittig Albert"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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China Bayles and Ruby Wilcox are offering their popular \u201cNot Just Plain Vanilla\u201d workshop when, across town on the campus of Central Texas State University, a botany professor (an expert on the vanilla orchid) is found dead in his greenhouse\u2014an apparent suicide. Summoned to the scene, police chief Sheila Dawson (now in her last few months of pregnancy) wonders whether there\u2019s something more to his death and opens an investigation into the many rivalries that have splintered CTSU\u2019s plant sciences faculty.<\/span>

But the dead professor is also the ex-husband of China\u2019s friend Maggie, owner of the local garden center and manager of an orchid-sitting business. When suicide becomes murder, suspicion falls on Maggie. But China learns that there are many more suspects in this complex, vanilla-flavored affair. Does this story begin with a passionate desire for an exotic flower and its costly, delectable fruit? Does it start in a corrosive desire for revenge? Or is the professor\u2019s death the result of a bizarre black-market orchid-smuggling scheme gone awry?<\/span>

Once again, prize-winning author, herbalist, and amateur naturalist Susan Wittig Albert draws on history, legend, science, and the culinary arts to craft a botanical mystery that will entertain and enlighten mystery fans, gardeners, and nature lovers alike.<\/span><\/p> <\/div>\n<\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n

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Release Date:<\/strong> Jun 4, 2019
Series:<\/strong>\u00a0China Bayles Mystery
<\/em>Book:\u00a0<\/strong>27
Publisher:<\/strong> Persevero Press
Price:<\/strong> $7.69<\/p>

\u00a0<\/p>

China Bayles and her best friend and business partner, Ruby Wilcox, are excited to be leading a workshop about vanilla. However, it does bring back some unhappy memories about the death of one of their former employees who died on a trip to the same Mexican vanilla-growing area that China had also visited. It\u2019s been a couple of years since that ill-fated trip and now China\u2019s friend Sheila Dawson, the chief of police, is called in to investigate the suspicious death of the professor who had lead the trip to Mexico. Sheila is a great investigator, and with China\u2019s help, they are determined to learn the truth.<\/p>

This book is partially narrated in the first person by China and is partially told in the third person from Sheila\u2019s point of view. China\u2019s chapters are told in a casual, friendly style, like she\u2019s talking to an old friend. Since they are in the third person, Sheila\u2019s chapters don\u2019t have the same warmth, but still allow the reader to get to know Sheila better. I like seeing things through the eyes of the two different characters since it gives a complete view of the investigation. I have read almost all of the books in this long-running series and as expected, the author has done a lot of research on vanilla, which plays a large role in the main plot. I didn\u2019t need all of the details that were included, but it was interesting to learn how much goes into producing vanilla and why it\u2019s so expensive. There are a couple of recipes throughout the book and then even more at the end that show different ways to use vanilla beans.<\/p>

There were plenty of suspects and possible motives in this book. I like that Sheila and China each gathered information individually and then compared notes to find out what really happened to the professor. Just as China and her friend Ruby\u2019s skills complement each other in their various business ventures, Sheila and China\u2019s different investigative styles work to help them solve the case. Although I\u2019ve read most of the books in this series, I think new readers would enjoy the book just as much as those who follow the series. Fans of Ellery Adams or J.A. Jance will enjoy reading Plain Vanilla Murder<\/strong>.<\/p>

~ Christine<\/em><\/p> <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n

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Amazon<\/a><\/span>\u00a0|\u00a0iBooks<\/span><\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0B&N<\/span><\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0Kobo<\/span><\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0Google Play<\/span><\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p> <\/div>\n<\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n \t <\/div>\n\t \n\t<\/div>\n\t\n\t<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

China Bayles and Ruby Wilcox are offering their popular \u201cNot Just Plain Vanilla\u201d workshop when, across town on the campus of Central Texas State University, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":24167,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"pagelayer_contact_templates":[],"_pagelayer_content":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[48],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-24166","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-reviews"],"yoast_head":"\nReview \u2764\ufe0f Plain Vanilla Murder by Susan Wittig Albert - Smitten by Books<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/2019\/06\/21\/review-plain-vanilla-murder-by-susan-wittig-albert\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Review \u2764\ufe0f Plain Vanilla Murder by Susan Wittig Albert - 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Summoned to the scene, police chief Sheila Dawson (now in her last few months of pregnancy) wonders whether there\u2019s something more to his death and opens an investigation into the many rivalries that have splintered CTSU\u2019s plant sciences faculty.<br \/><br \/>But the dead professor is also the ex-husband of China\u2019s friend Maggie, owner of the local garden center and manager of an orchid-sitting business. When suicide becomes murder, suspicion falls on Maggie. But China learns that there are many more suspects in this complex, vanilla-flavored affair. Does this story begin with a passionate desire for an exotic flower and its costly, delectable fruit? Does it start in a corrosive desire for revenge? Or is the professor\u2019s death the result of a bizarre black-market orchid-smuggling scheme gone awry?<br \/><br \/>Once again, prize-winning author, herbalist, and amateur naturalist Susan Wittig Albert draws on history, legend, science, and the culinary arts to craft a botanical mystery that will entertain and enlighten mystery fans, gardeners, and nature lovers alike.<\/p>\n<p><img class=\\\"size-full wp-image-16468 aligncenter\\\" src=\\\"http:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/4-hearts.jpg\\\" alt=\\\"\\\" width=\\\"170\\\" height=\\\"44\\\" \/><\/p><hr \/><p><strong>Release Date:<\/strong> Jun 4, 2019<br \/><strong>Series:<\/strong>\u00a0<em>China Bayles Mystery<br \/><\/em><strong>Book:\u00a0<\/strong>27<br \/><strong>Publisher:<\/strong> Persevero Press<br \/><strong>Price:<\/strong> $7.69<\/p><hr \/><p>\u00a0<\/p><p style=\\\"text-align: justify;\\\">China Bayles and her best friend and business partner, Ruby Wilcox, are excited to be leading a workshop about vanilla. However, it does bring back some unhappy memories about the death of one of their former employees who died on a trip to the same Mexican vanilla-growing area that China had also visited. It\u2019s been a couple of years since that ill-fated trip and now China\u2019s friend Sheila Dawson, the chief of police, is called in to investigate the suspicious death of the professor who had lead the trip to Mexico. Sheila is a great investigator, and with China\u2019s help, they are determined to learn the truth.<\/p><p style=\\\"text-align: justify;\\\">This book is partially narrated in the first person by China and is partially told in the third person from Sheila\u2019s point of view. China\u2019s chapters are told in a casual, friendly style, like she\u2019s talking to an old friend. Since they are in the third person, Sheila\u2019s chapters don\u2019t have the same warmth, but still allow the reader to get to know Sheila better. I like seeing things through the eyes of the two different characters since it gives a complete view of the investigation. I have read almost all of the books in this long-running series and as expected, the author has done a lot of research on vanilla, which plays a large role in the main plot. I didn\u2019t need all of the details that were included, but it was interesting to learn how much goes into producing vanilla and why it\u2019s so expensive. There are a couple of recipes throughout the book and then even more at the end that show different ways to use vanilla beans.<\/p><p style=\\\"text-align: justify;\\\">There were plenty of suspects and possible motives in this book. I like that Sheila and China each gathered information individually and then compared notes to find out what really happened to the professor. Just as China and her friend Ruby\u2019s skills complement each other in their various business ventures, Sheila and China\u2019s different investigative styles work to help them solve the case. Although I\u2019ve read most of the books in this series, I think new readers would enjoy the book just as much as those who follow the series. Fans of Ellery Adams or J.A. Jance will enjoy reading <strong>Plain Vanilla Murder<\/strong>.<\/p><p><em>~ Christine<\/em><\/p>\n<p style=\\\"text-align: center;\\\"><strong><a href=\\\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/2Rsjcqt\\\" target=\\\"_blank\\\" rel=\\\"noopener\\\">Amazon<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0<a href=\\\"https:\/\/books.apple.com\/us\/book\/a-plain-vanilla-murder\/id1462487795?mt=11&app=itunes&at=11l88k\\\" target=\\\"_blank\\\" rel=\\\"noopener\\\">iBooks<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0<a href=\\\"https:\/\/www.barnesandnoble.com\/w\/a-plain-vanilla-murder-susan-wittig-albert\/1130026876?ean=2940161266922#\/\\\" target=\\\"_blank\\\" rel=\\\"noopener\\\">B&N<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0<a href=\\\"https:\/\/www.kobo.com\/us\/en\/ebook\/a-plain-vanilla-murder\\\" target=\\\"_blank\\\" rel=\\\"noopener\\\">Kobo<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0<a href=\\\"https:\/\/play.google.com\/store\/books\/details\/Susan_Wittig_Albert_A_Plain_Vanilla_Murder?id=t1WWDwAAQBAJ\\\" target=\\\"_blank\\\" rel=\\\"noopener\\\">Google Play<\/a><\/strong><\/p>","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24166","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=24166"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24166\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=24166"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=24166"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/smittenbybooks.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=24166"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}