Holly Blues

A China Bayles Mystery

By: Susan Wittig Albert

Narrated by: Julia Gibson, Linda Stephens, Ed Sala

Author Susan Wittig Albert turns up the suspense in her 18th China Bayles mystery. Just as the holiday season begins, so does the drama, when China's husband’s ex-wife, Sally, appears, begging for help and a place to stay. ’Tis the season of giving, so China opens her home to Sally. But when troubling phone calls start, China knows she’ll need to dig up the truth before Christmas turns deadly.

Crack another case with China Bayles.©2010 Susan Wittig Albert (P)2010 Recorded Books, LLC

This authors ability to entrap the reader’s attention, fully from start to finish .

As with the other books in this series…..it was fantastic.
This author’s style of telling a story, keeps the reader so involved. When you begin the story, the characters become real, and does not alow me to stop reading until the end!
Moving on to the next book in the series. I am very fortunate to have located this author and this series. I have, and will continue to be, entertained of hours.

China Bayles and Christmas, too!

Would you listen to Holly Blues again? Why?

Holly Blues was a great Christmas listen/read. It had just enough of the holiday to be festive and continued to investigate not only the murder but the relationships of the main characters as well.

What did you like best about this story?

The writing is sharp. As a westerner myself, I appreciate the idioms and ways of thinking about the land and the rights/responsibilities of others that Wittig expresses through China and McQuade.

Have you listened to any of the narrators’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

No. But I have to say that while the female narrator was good, the male narrator really nailed it. He sounded so West Texas that I could immediately picture him.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

This particular book is actually too small for a film. But, a movie about China Bayles and her life with McQuade would be wonderful.

Any additional comments?

I've read a couple of the China Bayles novels, but listening to them adds a new dimension.

dissapointed.

ending was predictable.. no surprise. killer was suspected early on . otherwise...good story....still disappointing though

Blues, Indeed

I wanted to like this book. I was pleased to have discovered a new series of "cozy" mysteries. Sadly, I will not be buying another China Bayles novel. I found the characters' reactions to be unbelievable at times. At the end of the book, China reflects that despite all the problems attendant on her Christmas season, it had turned out to be a wonderful family holiday, after all. This is after several murders, one of whom was a close friend of the family. Merely one of several instances of poor character exposition. And the writing was occasionally bad enough to make me laugh. Goodbye, China Bayles.