Order of Book Series
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China Bayles Books in Order

China Bayles by Susan Wittig Albert contains 31 books, published between 1992 and 2024. The first book is Thyme of Death (1992) and the newest is Forget Me Never (2024). Publication order is the reading order below.

Books
31
Published
1992–2024
Confirmed
31 of 31 titles
Pages on record
7,154 in 24 of 31 books
Reading time
119–179 hours

Reading time is an estimate, not a recorded figure: 7,154 pages at 300 words a page, read at 200–300 words a minute, covering the 24 of 31 titles with a page count on record.

See all 31 books in order Printable China Bayles checklist

China Bayles left a career as a city lawyer to run a herb shop in a small Texas town, and takes on murder investigations from there. Susan Wittig Albert writes the series, in which herbs supply the titles and frequently the poison. Ruby Wilcox, who keeps a New Age shop next door, works the cases alongside China Bayles. Thyme of Death (1992) opens a run of 31 catalogued books, reaching Forget Me Never in 2024.

How many China Bayles books are there?

China Bayles has 31 books, released between 1992 and 2024.

China Bayles Books in Publication Order

The table lists all 31 China Bayles books in the order they were published, with the release year, the page count where one is on record, and how many independent book listings confirm each title. Catalogue data as of September 2026.

  1. Cover of An Unthymely Death and Other Garden Mysteries by Susan Wittig Albert, book 1 of the China Bayles series (2003)
  2. Cover of Witches' Bane by Susan Wittig Albert, book 2 of the China Bayles series (1993)
  3. Cover of China Bayles' Book of Days by Susan Wittig Albert, book 2 of the China Bayles series (2006)
  4. Cover of Hangman's Root by Susan Wittig Albert, book 3 of the China Bayles series (1994)
  5. Cover of Rosemary Remembered by Susan Wittig Albert, book 4 of the China Bayles series (1995)
  6. Cover of Rueful Death by Susan Wittig Albert, book 5 of the China Bayles series (1996)
  7. Cover of Chile Death by Susan Wittig Albert, book 7 of the China Bayles series (1998)
  8. Cover of Lavender Lies by Susan Wittig Albert, book 8 of the China Bayles series (1999)
  9. Cover of Bloodroot by Susan Wittig Albert, book 10 of the China Bayles series (2001)
  10. Cover of Indigo Dying by Susan Wittig Albert, book 11 of the China Bayles series (2003)
  11. Cover of Bleeding Hearts by Susan Wittig Albert, book 14 of the China Bayles series (2006)
  12. Cover of Spanish Dagger by Susan Wittig Albert, book 15 of the China Bayles series (2007)
  13. Cover of Nightshade by Susan Wittig Albert, book 16 of the China Bayles series (2008)
  14. Cover of Wormwood by Susan Wittig Albert, book 17 of the China Bayles series (2009)
  15. Cover of Holly Blues by Susan Wittig Albert, book 18 of the China Bayles series (2010)
  16. Cover of Mourning Gloria by Susan Wittig Albert, book 19 of the China Bayles series (2011)
  17. Cover of Cat's Claw by Susan Wittig Albert, book 20 of the China Bayles series (2012)
  18. Cover of Widow's Tears by Susan Wittig Albert, book 21 of the China Bayles series (2013)
  19. Cover of Death Come Quickly by Susan Wittig Albert, book 22 of the China Bayles series (2014)
  20. Cover of Bittersweet by Susan Wittig Albert, book 23 of the China Bayles series (2015)
  21. Cover of Blood Orange by Susan Wittig Albert, book 24 of the China Bayles series (2016)
  22. Cover of A Plain Vanilla Murder by Susan Wittig Albert, book 27 of the China Bayles series (2019)
  23. Cover of Hemlock by Susan Wittig Albert, book 28 of the China Bayles series (2021)
  24. Cover of Forget Me Never by Susan Wittig Albert, book 29 of the China Bayles series (2024)
  1. 1
    Thyme of Death1992 · 245 pages · confirmed 3/4
    1992245
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  2. 1
    An Unthymely Death and Other Garden Mysteries2003 · 254 pages · confirmed 3/4
    2003254
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  3. 2
    Witches' Bane1993 · 255 pages · confirmed 3/4
    1993255
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  4. 2
    China Bayles' Book of Days2006 · 384 pages · confirmed 3/4
    2006384
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  5. 3
    Hangman's Root1994 · 260 pages · confirmed 3/4
    1994260
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  6. 4
    Rosemary Remembered1995 · 296 pages · confirmed 3/4
    1995296
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  7. 5
    Rueful Death1996 · 304 pages · confirmed 3/4
    1996304
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  8. 6
    Love Lies Bleeding1997 · 308 pages · confirmed 3/4
    1997308
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  9. 7
    Chile Death1998 · 306 pages · confirmed 3/4
    1998306
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  10. 8
    Lavender Lies1999 · 320 pages · confirmed 3/4
    1999320
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  11. 9
    Mistletoe Man2000 · confirmed 3/4
    2000–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  12. 10
    Bloodroot2001 · 305 pages · confirmed 3/4
    2001305
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  13. 11
    Indigo Dying2003 · 288 pages · confirmed 3/4
    2003288
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  14. 12
    Dilly of a Death2004 · 336 pages · confirmed 3/4
    2004336
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  15. 13
    Dead Man's Bones2005 · 282 pages · confirmed 3/4
    2005282
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  16. 14
    Bleeding Hearts2006 · 307 pages · confirmed 3/4
    2006307
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  17. 15
    Spanish Dagger2007 · 307 pages · confirmed 3/4
    2007307
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  18. 16
    Nightshade2008 · 304 pages · confirmed 3/4
    2008304
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  19. 17
    Wormwood2009 · 307 pages · confirmed 3/4
    2009307
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  20. 18
    Holly Blues2010 · confirmed 3/4
    2010–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  21. 19
    Mourning Gloria2011 · 301 pages · confirmed 3/4
    2011301
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  22. 20
    Cat's Claw2012 · confirmed 3/4
    2012–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  23. 21
    Widow's Tears2013 · confirmed 3/4
    2013–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  24. 22
    Death Come Quickly2014 · 292 pages · confirmed 3/4
    2014292
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  25. 23
    Bittersweet2015 · 294 pages · confirmed 3/4
    2015294
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  26. 24
    Blood Orange2016 · 311 pages · confirmed 3/4
    2016311
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  27. 25
    The Last Chance Olive Ranch2017 · confirmed 3/4
    2017–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  28. 26
    Queen Anne's Lace2018 · 292 pages · confirmed 3/4
    2018292
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  29. 27
    A Plain Vanilla Murder2019 · 296 pages · confirmed 3/4
    2019296
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  30. 28
    Hemlock2021 · confirmed 3/4
    2021–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK
  31. 29
    Forget Me Never2024 · confirmed 3/4
    2024–
    Buy at Amazon USAmazon UK

Is there a chronological order for China Bayles?

No separate chronological order is on record for China Bayles, because none of the book listings this catalogue draws on publishes one; the publication order above is the only order given.

Do you have to read China Bayles books in order?

You should read the China Bayles books in publication order, the order of the numbered table above. The catalogue does not record whether each China Bayles book also stands alone.

Where to start with China Bayles

Start with Thyme of Death (1992), the earliest published title.

What is the newest China Bayles book?

Forget Me Never (2024) is the newest China Bayles book released so far.

Is there a new China Bayles book coming?

No next China Bayles book is announced in the catalogue, which is a gap in the listings it merges rather than a sign that the run has ended.

China Bayles at a glance

Still running
China Bayles is still running, with a title published as recently as 2024.
Release pace
China Bayles books have appeared about one a year on average.
Length
7,154 pages across the 24 of 31 books with a recorded length, a median of 302 pages each.
Busiest decade
Most China Bayles books, 11 of 31, were published in the 2000s.

What the China Bayles books are about

30 of the 31 China Bayles books carry subject tags in Open Library's catalogue. The subjects below are the ones that recur across them, most frequent first: mystery & detective, women sleuths is tagged on 21 of 30. The subjects are cataloguers’ headings, not a plot summary.

More books by Susan Wittig Albert

The author page linked below lists every book in publication order.

Other series by Susan Wittig Albert

The series linked below has its own reading-order page.