The Last Chance Olive Ranch
Max Mantel, the killer McQuaid put away years ago, has busted out of Huntsville Prison and appears to be headed for Pecan Springs. McQuaid knows there's only one way to stop the vengeful convict--set a trap with himself as bait. China wants to stay by her husband's side and keep him from harm. But McQuaid insists that she get out of town and go to the Last Chance Olive Ranch, where she's agreed to teach a workshop on herbs. When China and her best friend arrive at the ranch, she learns the owner, Maddie Haskell, has her own troubles. She inherited the ranch and olive oil business from the late matriarch, Eliza Butler, but Eliza's nephew is contesting the will. While China throws herself into helping Maddie, McQuaid's plan backfires when Mantel executes a countermove he never saw coming. Now McQuaid's life is not the only one at stake--and this time may really be his last chance."
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- ISBN: 9780425280034
- Physical Description 291 pages ; 24 cm.
- Edition First edition.
- Publisher [Place of publication not identified] : [publisher not identified], 2017.
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Publishers Weekly Review
The Last Chance Olive Ranch
Publishers Weekly
At the start of Albert's absorbing 25th China Bayles mystery (after 2016's Blood Orange), an early morning phone call alerts herbalist and former lawyer China and her husband, PI Mike McQuaid, that Max Mantel, who was convicted of murdering two teenage girls years ago, has escaped from the Texas State Penitentiary at Huntsville. Mantel has vowed to kill everyone connected with his incarceration, including Mike, who was a Houston homicide cop at the time. China and her friend and business partner, Ruby Wilcox, have already agreed to do a seminar on herbalism for the Last Chance Olive Ranch, an hour's drive west of Pecan Spring, Tex., their home town. Mike insists that they fulfill their obligation, feeling that China will be safer there. Once at the ranch, China and Ruby tumble into a mystery adventure of their own. The book alternates between Mike's tense cat-and-mouse game with Mantel and China's brush with a murderer. Lore and tips about olive oil production and use lend interest, and the book closes with an enticing collection of recipes. (Apr.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
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