Welcome Susan Wittig Albert

Prime Thyme Mysteries 5Welcome Susan, we're glad to have you stop by. (Jim)
A big thanks, Jim, for hosting me here at Garden Talk today!
I've loved your other books and my favorite is still Hangman's Noose, so tell our visitors what you're up to today. (Jim)

This blog tour celebrates the launch of Nightshade, the sixteenth China Bayles mystery. China is a former criminal defense attorney who has opted for a quieter life as the owner of an herb shop in Pecan Springs TX. Life in the garden gets exciting from time to time, however, as China keeps digging up mysteries. In this post, I’ll be telling you something about the herbs in Books 13-16 of China’s series. (For posts on other books, check out the tour calendar.)

Dead Man’s Bones
Sometimes I stumble across an herb I just can’t resist. For a mystery author, what could be more enticing than an herb called Dead Man’s Bones?

That’s the folk name given to Greater stitchwort (Stellaria holostea), a plant found in damp, shady places throughout Europe. This perennial grows to about three feet, with long, dagger-shaped leaves. The starry white blossoms appear in late spring, when thickets of the blooming plant brighten the shady woods. The herb's common name, “Greater Stitchwort,” comes from its traditional use to ease pain (a “stitch”) in the side. The plant may have been called Dead Man's Bones because the stems fracture easily, like old bones. Stitchwort's North American cousin, Stellaria media, appears in yards everywhere, and has a great many traditional medicinal uses, including the treatment of kidney ailments, inflammation, and skin ulcers and boils. It is better known by its common name, chickweed.

I confess—I chose this herb because of its intriguing and ominous name. It was easy to introduce bones into the plot of China’s thirteenth mystery. Brian (her stepson) stumbles across them when he is exploring one of the Texas Hill Country’s famous caves. Finding out whose bones they are and how they got there isn’t an easy job. But China is helped by a lady bone doctor, a forensic anthropologist. And the book is full of information about the various herbs and plants that are good for the bones. There’s even a recipe for Ruby’s Better Bones Soup.

For some interesting reading about the herb Dead Man’s Bones and a link to some stunning photographs, check out this article on Killerplants.com.

Bleeding Hearts Everyone in Pecan Springs is stunned when the popular high school football coach is murdered. The coach, it turns out, had a habit of getting involved with teenage girls, creating a trail of bleeding hearts that leads to his death. It seems that China’s father has a past, too, as China discovers when her new-found half-brother gives her a packet of love letters their father wrote years before—letters that reveal more about him than she really wants to know.

Bleeding Heart (Dicentra sp.) is a shade-loving perennial herb that was once assigned to the Papaveraceae family (which also includes the opium poppy, from which morphine is derived). Most of us think of this plant as simply beautiful, but it has powerful sedative and cardiovascular effects that can lower heart rate and blood pressure. It’s lovely to look at, but misused, it can be deadly.

Bleeding Heart takes its name from its blossoms, which are shaped like delicate hearts. Dicentra cucullaria, Bleeding Heart’s white-flowering cousin, was used by Menominee Indians as a powerful love charm and aphrodisiac. The blossom was thrown by a young man at the girl he fancied; if it hit her, she was bound to fall in love with him. The lover could also chew the plant’s root and breathe on the object of his affection. The fragrance of his breath would charm her, even against her will. For photos, cultivation and varietal information, check out this page.

Spanish Dagger China and Ruby have their hands full with their herb shop, tearoom, and catering business—and family troubles, to boot. Ruby's mother is caught shoplifting, and Ruby’s ex-boyfriend stands her up again. Miles, China's recently discovered half brother, is sure that their father did not die accidentally. He wants to investigate, and China's husband McQuaid, a private investigator in need of a case, goes to work on it. Meanwhile, China goes out to gather some yucca leaves (Spanish dagger) and discovers a dead body.

“Spanish dagger” is one of the many folk names for the striking, statuesque Yucca, a genus with some 40-50 species of perennials, shrubs, and trees with tough, sword-like leaves. A member of the Agave family and one of the most common herbs of the Southwest, yucca can be seen along roadsides, in pastures and meadows, and across the arid plains. The plant has a great and varied utility in many native cultures, supplying food, drink, medicine, clothing, footwear, and even construction materials to peoples throughout the Americas.

Check out this photo of a Pueblo woman weaving a yucca basket. Or try out this recipe for yucca salad, or this one for yucca soup.
In the book I used yucca plants as a hiding place for other things, and the term “Spanish Dagger” as the name of an undercover drug investigation. This book is just out in paperback this month—copies are in all the bookstores (or should be!).
Thanks again, Jim, for hosting me. And thanks to all the readers who are following this blog tour through cyberspace. I appreciate your notes and comments and look forward to having a conversation with you over the next day or so.
About the book drawing and Susan’s blog tour

If you’d like to enter the drawing for a copy of Nightshade go here to register. But you’d better hurry. The drawing for Garden Talk closes at noon on April 10, 2008.
Want to read the other posts in Susan’s blog tour? You’ll find a calendar and links here