At first it was difficult to get in to the China Bayles mystery, "Nightshade," because this is the third of a trilogy. It continues "Bleeding Hearts" and "Spanish Dagger," both of which were about the death of China's father. The third book tracks the way China and her husband, Mike McQuaid, sleuth out her dad's killer.
China is a former assistant DA, who has become a shop owner in the hill country outlying Austin, TX. China's character has always bothered me a bit because I personally do not know any shop owner or restauranteer who can break away from the business long enough to solve a murder mystery. One has to suspend reality long enough to appreciate the plot.
While I found the information about the Nightshade family of plants-- including the tomato, tomatillo, chili pepper, potato, eggplant, petunia and tobacco, not to mention the other deadly varieties, I didn't really get how it tied in with the plot. Well, there is one character crucial to solving the case who raises tomatillos. I kept expecting someone to get poisoned.
No such luck. People got blown up, run over and shot in this one.
Still, it's a fast read and it kept my attention throughout, even though I never quite got into the characters or the plot.
I've read other China Bayles mysteries before, and I'm sure I'll pick them up again. I just don't think I'll go out of my way to go back to the two previous titles in the trilogy. I got the picture from the third one.
One thumb up.
Liz Nichols
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Hi, Liz--Instead of thinking about nightshade plot tie-ins, you might think about nightshade as a metaphor. In my mysteries, plot isn't the only thing that holds the story together: metaphor will take you further into the book's significance. Also, China was NOT a D.A. in her former life: she was a criminal defense attorney. Knowing that is crucial to understanding why she understands the dark side of justice.--Susan Wittig Albert, www.mysterypartners.com
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