Initially I was not sure I was going to like this book; and while I cannot tell you it was one of my favorite CB books, it was better than I anticipated. It does start off slow--as much as I do love Ruby, I was really concerned that this book was all about her so the beginning was slow going (esp. with all the historical background needed to follow the story line). Once the mystery was revealed and China was back in the picture, the story really took off. There were some odd moments for me and things that--to me--came out of nowhere; and some things left hanging that hopefully will be picked up in the next book. While I know that authors who write series about a group of folks don't want to kill off everyone in their small town, sometimes it is hard to connect if you don't know/care about the victim.
I have always enjoyed the China Bayles mysteries and this one was no exception. Absolutely loved it! Albert nicely weaved in the past and the present so much so that I am looking for some of the books on the Galveston hurricane. Easy read. Highly recommend.
21st in the series. No need to read these in order. Albert puts herbalist China Bayles off to the side and focuses this book on her business partner Ruby. It's a straight-up ghost story with a bank robbery tacked on to the end, and much more "woo-woo" than any of the others. Ruby turns into a full-fledged psychic, fighting her abilities all the way, while staying at the haunted home of a friend. Flashbacks of the hurricane in 1900 that wiped out Galveston TX give the reader information about what's happened while Ruby and her friend have to figure it out. China shows up at the end to help, with the 3 of them trapped in the house by a tropical storm. While I like supernatural mysteries, this didn't do much for me as a sample. The flashbacks were very interesting and I think the book would have been better if Albert had come up with a "cold case" or similar instead of the ghost stuff.
WOW! This book is written in a different way then the others in the series but very, very good. It kept me wanting to read through the night. Hard to put down!
I liked that Ruby was in the lead of a paranormal mystery. China unwittingly arrives after a bank robbery and drives into a storm to talk to Ruby and nabs the robbers.
