China Bayles has a tenuous relationship with her mother, Leatha Richards, which has gradually been improving since Leatha's sobriety. In fact, China and her family are planning to spend this Thanksgiving with Leatha and her husband, Sam. Unfortunately, Sam's health has landed him in the hospital and now his dream of opening the Bittersweet Nature Sanctuary is at risk. Meanwhile, Mackenzie "Mack" Chambers is having her own issues as her job as a game warden consumes her life, causing relationship difficulties. Mack and China are looking forward to catching up at Thanksgiving but their paths may cross in a more sinister way as well.

BITTERSWEET is the twenty-third book in the China Bayles series but you can easily enjoy the mystery even if this is your first adventure with China. I've skipped around in the series, reading the books completely out of order, and Susan Wittig Albert provides the reader with enough information that it's easy to jump right into the series and fully appreciate it.

Having said that, however, I think new readers will probably enjoy BITTERSWEET more than long-term fans. A lot of the characters we know and love, such as Ruby Wilcox, only make brief appearances, and I felt their absence quite strongly. This is not to say that BITTERSWEET isn't well done or that we don't get further insight into the characters we do spend time with. Unlike other books in the China Bayles series, BITTERSWEET alternates points of view between China and Mack. It took me a while to adjust to Mack as she's not the type of character I normally choose to read about, but before the end of BITTERSWEET, I'd become a fan.

BITTERSWEET delves into the dark and nebulous world of trophy game hunting as Susan Wittig Albert sheds light onto the controversial topic. I have to admit I learned quite a bit about the subject, perhaps more than I wanted to know, but it definitely made for a unique and interesting storyline. I can't wait for the next China Bayles adventure, and I'm hoping we'll see Mack get her own spin-off series in the future!

Book Summary

This Thanksgiving, be grateful for the “savvy sleuthing”* of New York Times bestselling author Susan Wittig Albert’s China Bayles—who teams up with an old friend to solve a case of theft and murder in a South Texas ranching community…

For Thanksgiving, China is planning to visit her mother, Leatha, and her mother’s husband, Sam. She’s also looking forward to catching up with a friend, game warden Mackenzie “Mack” Chambers. But Leatha calls with bad news: Sam has had a heart attack.

While Sam recuperates, Leatha does have a helper—Sue Ellen Krause. But Sue Ellen—who’s leaving her husband, the assistant foreman at a trophy game ranch—has troubles of her own. Before she can tell China the full story, Sue Ellen is killed in a car crash.

When a local veterinarian is shot, Mack believes his murder could be related to fawns stolen from a nearby ranch. And China wonders if Sue Ellen’s death may not have been an accident, and if there’s a connection to the stolen animals...