When local football coach and hero Tim Duffy is accused of improper behavior, lawyer-turned-herbalist China Bayles investigates, following a trail of obsession and murder that may lead to her own doorstep. An entertaining detective writer. ( Dallas Morning News ) One of the most endearing and personable amateur sleuths. ( Midwest Book Review ) [A] unique series. ( Seattle Post-Intelligencer ) Susan Wittig Albert grew up on a farm in Illinois and earned her Ph.D. at the University of California at Berkeley. A former professor of English and a university administrator and vice president, she is the author of the China Bayles Mysteries, the Darling Dahlias Mysteries, and the Cottage Tales of Beatrix Potter. Some of her recent titles include Widow’s Tears , Cat’s Claw , The Darling Dahlias and the Confederate Rose , and The Tale of Castle Cottage . She and her husband, Bill, coauthor a series of Victorian-Edwardian mysteries under the name Robin Paige, which includes such titles as Death at Glamis Castle and Death at Whitechapel .