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    Bittersweet
    Bittersweet
    Bittersweet
    Audiobook9 hours

    Bittersweet

    Written by Susan Wittig Albert

    Narrated by Julia Gibson and Morgan Hallett

    3.5/5

    ()

    About this audiobook

    For more than 20 years, Susan Wittig Albert has been delivering "some of the best-plotted mysteries on the market" (Houston Chronicle). In Bittersweet, China is hoping to spend a peaceful Thanksgiving in Pecan Springs. But the holiday turns treacherous after a deadly accident. And when a local vet is shot, China and game warden Mack Chambers suspect a connection to fawns stolen from a nearby ranch.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherRecorded Books, Inc.
    Release dateApr 7, 2015
    ISBN9781490662374
    Bittersweet
    Author

    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.

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    Reviews for Bittersweet

    3.5/5

    124 ratings19 reviews

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    • 4/5
      The theme of BITTERSWEET is the effect of nonnative plants and animals in an environment. There are two varieties of bittersweet. The Oriental variety, a nonnative species, can take over an environment, wiping out the native bittersweet and creating problems for birds and animals who depend on it.Importing deer has a similar effect on native deer. Texas has strong laws prohibiting the practice, allegedly to prevent the spread of disease. But people will try to smuggle some in because they are bigger and have larger antlers with more points. Wealthy people will pay thousands of dollars to stand in a blind waiting for a deer to come to a feeder so they can shoot it and hang the head and antlers on their wall.BITTERSWEET tells the story of the deadly effects of two brothers who are trying to hold on to their family farm. The drought has made raising cattle impossible but the cost of fencing in their property to open up a hunting ranch is prohibitive. They resort to illegal methods.The story doesn’t spend much time in the herb shop although all the characters are mentioned. China Bayles, of course, is involved in all the events although other characters play major roles. Field and Game Warden Mack Chambers does some of the narrating.Susan Wittig Albert criticizes cozy mysteries because she states person who owns her own business can’t just close it and take off for a few days to solve a mystery. However, she indulges in another of their themes: A woman can’t be complete unless she has a man, preferably a great looking one, in her life.Trying to figure out what will be true in the future is not easy. One of her predictions, based on what was actually going on in the US, didn’t happen, yet: She mentioned the post office terminating Saturday deliveries. It’s been talked about but so far we are getting mail six days a week.As always, the story is well-written and moves quickly. Susan Wittig Albert lets the readers know early on how many people and which ones will be killed long before their deaths. The ending hints at future volumes. For people who haven’t followed the series, there is a brief catch-up section so they aren’t lost. The story does stand by itself. And there are some good recipes at the end.
    • 5/5
      I really enjoyed this mystery and I really liked the main characters, Mack and China. It really moved fast and touched on many issues that people have to deal with all the time. I liked how there is information on bittersweet and a few other herbs also. I did sort of figured out the bad guys ahead of time but there were other things that kept you guessing. All in all, a really good who donate.
    • 4/5
      Having just read and reviewed DEATH COME QUICKLY, book 22 in this series, I was eager to read BITTERSWEET. But when I read what the subject of BITTERSWEET was, trophy game ranches, places where animals are kept and raised for the purpose of hunting them for thrills and trophies, I almost choose not to read the book. I personally find such places appalling and feel they should be outlawed. But I was sent this book by the publisher to review, so I read it.This is only the second book I have read in this series, but as with DEATH COMES QUICKLY, I found BITTERSWEET to be very well written. There is no doubt author Susan Wittig Albert knows how to draw readers into a story. Written partly in first person with China narrating, and partly in third person with the story of China’s friend Mackenzie “Mack” Chambers being told, I wasn’t sure I was going to care for it at first, but I found myself looking forward to the spots where the POV changed (Normally at the start of a new chapter). It kept the story fresh, and I think it was a creative choice. And even though the subject was not a favorite of mine, without giving anything away, I had reason to smile near the end when the universe had a unique revenge planned for the villain. I cheered! Rounding out the book is very interesting information on different types of plants, and some tasty sounding recipes. After reading books 22 & 23 in this series, I’m going to get book 1 and start this great series from the beginning.
    • 4/5
      Incredible story of four sisters from mid-1920s to mid-1930s Australia!

      While I have not read Ms McCullough's Thorn Birds or any of her other books, after having read the summary, I readily volunteered to listen to this audio book in exchange for a review through Audiobook Jukebox! The best spent 16 hours in a long time! This is a testament to both the story itself and the narration.

      This novel follows the lives of four sisters, two sets of identical twins born to a father who remarried after his first wife died in childbirth. Set in Australia in a time when the only employment opportunities open to women were teaching or nursing, these women began learning "new" nursing. With the Stock Market Crash of 1929 eventually sending ripples "down under", we follow these women into marriage, widowhood and into unforeseen careers. The sisters are as alike and as different as any sisters may be described, but as their unwavering love for each other and their interwoven lives keeps them bound to one another, their individual selves became quite different and distinct. I certainly had initial ideas of how the story would unfold, but found my predictions didn't pan out.

      The story is narrated by Cat Gould, an Australian well suited to narrate this novel set near Cambria, Australia. She successfully distinguishes the voices of the four sisters as well as the men in their lives. If I came across another book narrated by her, I would not hesitate to give it a listen! Ms Gould reads neither too fast or too slow and appropriately fills her characters' voices with the emotion called for by the scene and the author's characterization of the individual.

      This novel will appeal to many -- those who fancy historical fiction, those who like a bit of politics, those who enjoy women's novels or sagas or romantic novels. There isn't much by way of mystery or suspense, but you will find well-developed characters in a well-developed plot.

      The only drawback to this reader is that to a small degree, this story seems incomplete -- the sisters are not all "settled". Ending the story as she has, the author makes the reader wonder whether one sister actually becomes a doctor, whether another sister is finally able to conceive with another man after the divorce of her and her husband, whether the widowed sister eventually finds lasting love, and whether the 4th sister continues with her spinsterhood as she successfully superintends the Corunda Base Hospital.
    • 4/5
      While I enjoyed the fact that Bittersweet was a mostly-the-ladies mystery, alternating between herbalist/lawyer China and game warden Mac, and the information about trophy deer ranches was interesting, I got the feeling that new technology was the star sleuth in this entry.
    • 4/5
      I love all of the China Bayles mysteries. This one introduces new characters. A female game warden named Mack. I was drawn into her romance and her job. Learning about hunting was all new to me. I can identify with the theme of aging parents. I wanted so much to hear that Sam recovered and could go on with his plans with Leatha. Oh well, hopefully we'll know in the next book.
    • 3/5
      When you're reading a book that's listed as #23 in a series, it's usually safe to assume that you aren't getting a work of towering literature. And, honestly, that's OK in this case. Bittersweet does exactly what it sets out to do: tell an entertaining whodunit story populated by strong female leads who don't require saving by any male love interests. My only complaint is that the solution of the mystery relies a little too much on "right place right time" coincidence that could have been handled better.
    • 5/5
      If you are looking for a mystery and secrets, you have come to the right place for you get a lots of that and history about the place. Though this book It start out in college and it really get more and to where you want to find out more. The family clan Winslows. There a all kind to find out.

      Things you will find out about Mabel Dagmar. Mabel want to be friends with her roommate and be a part of her. She find so family secrets that snows about and some Murders to go along with. You will not want to put this book down for you will find that their two boys that are part of the clan and when they do. you either be surprise or shocked or even just wanted to know more,

      There is just so many things and if you like to head summers or history in cottages and for you may want to read it. I though the author had me guessing wanting to read more and I was stuck with this book in hand for a whole day reading it and I really did not want to put it down.
    • 4/5
      China Bayles and her daughter are headed to her mom’s Texas ranch for Thanksgiving. Leatha and her husband Sam are in the midst of turning their ranch into a birding destination, but Sam is sidetracked, ill and in the hospital. Of course, the holiday weekend is interrupted by two deaths, which China feels may be related. China plays a pretty small part in Bittersweet. Center stage goes to Mackenzie “Mack” Chambers, local game warden and a friend of China’s. There’s something suspicious going on in the area – having to do with illegally imported deer. It’s a complex issue, apparently a hot one in Texas today, and Ms. Albert fills page after page explaining it. In fact, there’s so much detail about so many issues, characters and backstories in Bittersweet that the mystery soon gets lost. We’re almost 150 pages in before there’s a murder. I can understand that an author with a long-lived series gets bored writing about the same characters in the same setting over and over again. But that is what many readers find comforting and enjoyable in a series. IMHO, it might be better to let China go and move onto something else rather than simply letting her fade away in her own books. Overall, I’d give Bittersweet a C+ and no more.
    • 3/5
      As anyone who knows me or has followed my reading history would know, I'm a huge China Bayles fan. I've read every book in the series and its always an event for me when a new one comes out. But unfortunately I didn't enjoy this one as much. Maybe it was because a lot of the regular characters weren't in it much - people like Ruby Wilcox or Sheila Dawson. Maybe it was because it wasn't set in Pecan Springs where China Bayles has her shop Thyme and Season and where she lives. Maybe it was because there was too much about wildlife farms and canned hunts on those farms. I don't know. But this book just didn't do it for me this time. I still love China, and I love the whole idea of this wonderful series, so I will certainly consider that this book is an anomaly and will look forward to the next one just as much as I usually do. This book is set near Utopia Texas where China's mom and step dad have a ranch. The setting is in and around Thanksgiving when China and her family make the trip to her mother's ranch to celebrate the holiday. There are many strange things happening in this small community, not the least of which is the dealings and double dealings around high finance game farms where things are not always done in a law-abiding manner. China finds herself going after a killer with no scruples as he tries to protect his secret about what he and his brother are doing while trying to establish an illegal wild game farm.
    • 5/5
      Another fascinating book in one of my favourite series
    • 3/5
      Susan Wittig Albert writes several series and I have enjoyed reading two of them. The China Bayles series contains many recipes and interesting tidbits on spices and herbs. This novel dealt with deer hunting in Texas on preserves where the deer are genetically improved for better hunting. I guess I always thought that these preserves were for big game hunting, and that deer did not fall into this realm. After reading this book, my dislike of deer hunting greatly increased and taste for venison disappeared. Susan W Albert introduces many new characters, such as the adopted daughter of China and her husband. Bittersweet, the ranch of China's mother and step-father, provides a peaceful garden to the frantic deer hunting.
    • 4/5
      Love this book so much. And I thoroughly enjoyed the audiobook, too. I highly recommend it.
    • 2/5
      Not well written. I was going to say that it wasn't badly written, either, although that isn't exactly true - but it's written in such a way that I can go for several pages at a time without seeing a piece of writing that I would have done differently.

      Similarly, I didn't really like either of the main characters, but I didn't dislike them, either. I didn't care about them a whole lot one way or the other.

      The pacing of the book also seemed weird and disconnected to me. It ended very suddenly. The storyline went on for a long time and covered a long period (despite being only ~360 pages) but a lot of scenes seemed like they could be taken out without having any effect whatsoever on the overall story.

      On the other hand, it had some nice descriptions - and I haven't really read Western-type novels before, so maybe part of what I didn't like was the genre itself. I'd probably give it 2.5 stars overall.
    • 4/5
      Whew. I can’t say I enjoyed this novel, exactly. Although I don’t regret reading it either. But I do feel as if I've been put through the ringer a bit.Mystery writer Nevada Barr’s foray into historical fiction is so convincing in its depiction of the hardships of the Old West, I could practically feel my skin leathering in the relentless desert sun and taste the dust rising off the stagecoach trail. It tells the story of Imogene Grelznik, a "spinster" schoolteacher forced by a scandal [involving a female student] to leave her lifelong home in Philadelphia and move to the untamed West in order to start over anonymously. Like many contemporary LGBT novelists, Barr has a bit of an axe to grind with modern society and the weakest aspect of the story is when she attempts to force Twentieth Century stereotypes onto people of the Nineteenth Century. For example, the autocratic father who insists on keeping a thoroughbred horse that costs the family money they don’t have, even though he hardly ever rides it. The passage is a thinly veiled version of the modern day redneck with his beloved vintage muscle car. Or the promiscuous best friend of Sarah, Imogene’s star pupil, gloating while her bohunk boyfriend gets to second base on a very public hayride. These episodes, among others, simply don't ring true and detract from the authentic atmosphere the author has otherwise successfully conjured.But that all comes to an abrupt halt in the third and final section of the story. When yet another scandal forces Imogene and young Sarah to move to a remote stage coach stop in the Nevada desert, the book really comes to life. Every aspect of the hardscrabble life they live - from the parched, silty landscape and sulphuric taste of the drinking water to the subterfuge necessary for two women running a business without a man, is brought startingly to life. Barr spares the reader nothing. And if you think two lesbians had it bad in the Old West, wait until you see what the animals had to endure. I’ll grant, this book is only for the stout of heart. If you’re looking for a classic love story with a neat little happy ending, give this one a wide berth. Each time the reader thinks Imogene has settled into a comfortable, workaday existence, something catastrophic happens forcing her to remake her life from scratch. This character is nothing if not resourceful. So, for any open-mind readers with an interest in the Old West, fans of historical LGBT fiction or maybe even folks who enjoyed "Albert Nobbs," this might be the one for you.
    • 5/5
      I wasn't sure what to expect when I decided to read this. There are oh so many things that can go wrong near the end of books where there are women who love other women.Still, it wasn't the happiest of novels either. It was very much like Jane Eyre, and other books from that era. There's an older guiding character and a young innocent here they just happen to both be women.It was Barr's first novel and in places you can tell that. The end kinda drops off a cliff, the reader is chugging along and. Done. Also, sometimes the transitions between the parts are a bit rocky. But, the characters, both the main ones and the supporting cast are for the most part very good. (Though here and there some of them aren't always written totally consistently).But it was a great book, especially for a first novel, and it's sort of sad that she went from th is to her mystery series and hasn't gone back, but, at least the world has Bittersweet.As an aside, it's sort of freaky how alike the Imogene/Sarah story is to the Xena/Gabrielle story from Xena: Warrior Princess, considering that Bittersweet was first, by a lotta years. (A whole lotta years).
    • 3/5
      Stays with you. Makes one think about how many women have gone underground throughout history. The characters are memorable.
    • 2/5
      To be fair, this is Barr's first novel. The premise is interesting - two women become romantically involved in 19th century Nevada - but the execution is poor. The plot is outlandish and too much happens at a breakneck pace. I never got inside these women's heads, and I felt nothing about their relationship. I don't want to reveal a spoiler, but the way the women choose to solve a real estate problem just about ruined the book for me. Their decision could have made the book interesting indeed, but the author just looks at things on the surface, as a neutral observer, and you learn very little about how the women feel about what they chose.
    • 4/5
      A refreshing change of pace from Barr's mystery novels. Definitely not as polished and there were annoying typos throughout, but Barr never let the story faulter and kept the reader hooked until the very end. Barr's raw talent shines through foreshadowing her successful career. Interesting plot and very tastefully done. No voyeuristic sex scenes here (or any sex scenes at all) - the subject of lesbianism is handled with integrity and the kind of restraint suited for a novel about rural America in the 1800s.