A Dilly of a Death
Written by Susan Wittig Albert
Narrated by Julia Gibson
3.5/5
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About this audiobook
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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Titles in the series (18)
Bloodroot Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5A Dilly of a Death Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Mistletoe Man Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Indigo Dying Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Dead Man's Bones Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Spanish Dagger Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Bleeding Hearts Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Widow's Tears Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Nightshade Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Wormwood Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Holly Blues Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Mourning Gloria Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Cat's Claw Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Death Come Quickly Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Bittersweet Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Blood Orange Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Last Chance Olive Ranch Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
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Reviews for A Dilly of a Death
125 ratings6 reviews
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Pecan Springs TX is preparing for its annual Picklefest in just a few days. That includes China Bayles and her friend Ruby Wilcox, who are on the planning committee. It’s unfortunate the group’s hard-driving chairwoman and “Pickle Queen,” Phoebe Morgan, is nowhere to be found -- and there’s a lot left to do before the festival begins. Phoebe, who runs Morgan’s Premium Pickles, apparently had more on her mind than Picklefest. Just before she disappeared, she met with Mike McQuaid, China’s husband, to seek his help investigating the plant manager who, Phoebe believes, is embezzling funds. McQuaid, former police chief and current law enforcement professor, put out his shingle as a private investigator but it appears he announced it to everyone except China. So she was surprised when McQuaid told her Phoebe was his first client. While the “Pretty Pickle Planners” try to soldier on without the Pickle Queen, they learn her young lover, Todd, is also missing and speculation is they took off together. Then to complicate things further at the Bayles-McQuaid homestead, Ruby’s 25-year-old daughter Amy appears on China’s doorstep, announcing she’s pregnant. Amy asks to stay with China to avoid the tension at Ruby’s house over whether Amy should keep the baby or have an abortion. Ruby and China are also concerned because their friend Sheila Dawson, Pecan Springs police chief, risks being fired if she can’t solve a string of burglaries – one of which ended in the heart-attack death of an elderly woman. Like all of Susan Wittig Albert’s mysteries, A Dilly of a Death is well plotted and solidly written, with great continuing characters and interesting subplots. Her fans will not be disappointed. I tend to prefer the main crime to occur within the first 50 pages or so; in A Dilly of a Death, however, the first murder is discovered very near the book’s halfway point. That’s a tiny flaw in a very good mystery.By Diana. First published in the Cozy Library, April 11, 2006.
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Synopsis: Ruby's daughter Amy is pregnant and refuses to name the father; Ruby is furious. China, Ruby and several other women are on the Pickle Fest planning committee, but the head of the festival isn't returning calls or making meetings. This all leads to the death of two people and another mystery to be solved by China and McQuaid.Review: As always, there is interesting information about herbs and their uses. The pickle jokes were a bit wearing. I'd figured out 'who done it' early on and was disappointed that China had overlooked the rather obvious clues.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/53.5 stars. By book 12 of a series I have certain expectation - about the characters, the plot, the writing, the editing. A Dilly of a Death did not disappoint. Once again I was transported to Pecan Springs, Texas to visit China Bayles' herb shop and co-owned tea shop as well as all her friends. I also learned some interesting facts about herbs - especially dill and about pickling foods.While there were mysteries present almost from the get go, the murder was not apparent until almost half way through the book, which was kind of surprising. Though Albert always re-sets the scene and introduces the characters so those not reading in order are up to date and familiar, she does so in such a way that it doesn't feel tedious if you are already familiar with the series (well, as long as you aren't reading all the books back-to-back). The introductory stuff leading up to the murder was plenty interesting to keep me reading. With only half a book to solve the mystery, the pace of the second half of the book was nearly break-neck - but in a fun way. I found it kind of upped the tension.While there was nothing terribly unique about the book, I enjoy the characters of Pecan Springs and how Albert brings them to life on the page. The extra trivia about herbs and related topics is always intriguing to me. As long as the books are of this caliber or better I will continue to read the series.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5China Bayles, former defense attorney from Austin now happily running an herb shop in Pecan Springs, Texas, is on the planning committee for this year's PickleFest. The entire area looks forward to PickleFest weekend because the festival celebrating pickles and honoring Morgan's Pickles Corp. allows everybody to be a little bit silly and have a grand time. But the plans hit a snag when Phoebe Morgan, known in these parts as the Pickle Queen, is found floating face down in a vat of brine in her own pickling plant. To add to the confusion, China's husband McQuaid has decided to quit his job teaching at the university to hang out his shingle and become a private investigator, and Amy, China's best friend Ruby's oldest daughter, has asked to move in with the McQuaids for a while because she's pregnant and fighting with her mother. China has several irons in the fire this time, and a helluva time even finding all the loose ends that need tying up.Another good visit with China and Company.
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5I found the plot slow and lacking in this latest installement of the herb mysteries.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5I quite liked this author for the small town Texas ambiance she evoked and the unforced intermingling of herbal lore, gardening and recipes with plot and character development.