China Bayles is the fictional protagonist of a popular and critically acclaimed series written by educator Susan Wittig Albert.
China is a determined woman who quit being a successful, big city lawyer, and decided to settle into a quiet small-town life as an owner of a herbal shop. But, she soon found that a quiet life would not come easily to her. Along with her best friend, Ruby Wilcox, owner of a New Age shop next door, China solves murders using deductive reasoning, legal skills, and expertise based on her knowledge of herbs, which always figure in the titles and poisons used.
The first book, Thyme of Death , was nominated for both an Agatha and an Anthony award, two of the most eminent mystery awards in the industry. The latest books include Dead Man's Bones and Bleeding Hearts.
The books are set in Texas.
Thyme is a culinary herb consisting of the dried aerial parts of some members of the genus Thymus of flowering plants in the mint family Lamiaceae. Thymes are native to Eurasia and north Africa. Thymes have culinary, medicinal, and ornamental uses. The species most commonly cultivated and used for culinary purposes is Thymus vulgaris, native to Southeast Europe.
John Innes Mackintosh Stewart was a Scottish novelist and academic. He is equally well known for the works of literary criticism and contemporary novels published under his real name and for the crime fiction published under the pseudonym of Michael Innes.
Chinese herbology is the theory of traditional Chinese herbal therapy, which accounts for the majority of treatments in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM). A Nature editorial described TCM as "fraught with pseudoscience", and said that the most obvious reason why it has not delivered many cures is that the majority of its treatments have no logical mechanism of action.
Herbal medicine is the study of pharmacognosy and the use of medicinal plants, which are a basis of traditional medicine. With worldwide research into pharmacology, some herbal medicines have been translated into modern remedies, such as the anti-malarial group of drugs called artemisinin isolated from Artemisia annua, a herb that was known in Chinese medicine to treat fever. There is limited scientific evidence for the safety and efficacy of many plants used in 21st-century herbalism, which generally does not provide standards for purity or dosage. The scope of herbal medicine sometimes includes fungal and bee products, as well as minerals, shells and certain animal parts.
Chronicle of a Death Foretold is a novella by Gabriel García Márquez, published in 1981. It tells, in the form of a pseudo-journalistic reconstruction, the story of the murder of Santiago Nasar by the Vicario twins.
Medicinal plants, also called medicinal herbs, have been discovered and used in traditional medicine practices since prehistoric times. Plants synthesize hundreds of chemical compounds for various functions, including defense and protection against insects, fungi, diseases, and herbivorous mammals.
Za'atar is a Levantine culinary herb or family of herbs. It is also the name of a spice mixture that includes the herb along with toasted sesame seeds, dried sumac, often salt, and other spices. As a family of related Levantine herbs, it contains plants from the genera Origanum (oregano), Calamintha, Thymus, and Satureja (savory) plants. The name za'atar alone most properly applies to Origanum syriacum, considered in biblical scholarship to be the ezov of the Hebrew Bible, often translated as hyssop but distinct from modern Hyssopus officinalis.
Susan Wittig Albert, also known by the pen names Robin Paige and Carolyn Keene, is an American mystery writer from Vermilion County, Illinois, United States. Albert was an academic and the first female vice president of Southwest Texas State University before retiring to become a fulltime writer.
Bénédictine is a herbal liqueur produced in France. It was developed by wine merchant Alexandre Le Grand in the 19th century, and is flavored with twenty-seven flowers, berries, herbs, roots, and spices.
Yasmine Galenorn is an American novelist. She writes urban fantasy, paranormal romance, and paranormal mystery. She previously wrote under the pen name India Ink for her Bath and Body series.
Charlaine Harris Schulz is an American author who specializes in mysteries. She is best known for her book series The Southern Vampire Mysteries, which was adapted as the TV series True Blood. The television show was a critical and financial success for HBO, running seven seasons, from 2008 through 2014.
Carole Nelson Douglas was an American writer of sixty novels and many short stories. She has written in many genres, but is best known for two popular mystery series, the Irene Adler Sherlockian suspense novels and the Midnight Louie mystery series.
Rosemary Gladstar is an American herbalist, author and educator and known as the godmother of modern herbalism.
Hilda Leyel, who wrote under the name Mrs. C. F. Leyel, was an expert on herbalism and founded the Society of Herbalists in England in 1927, as well as a chain of herbalist stores called the Culpeper House herb shops.
Maria Treben née Günzel was an Austrian writer and herbalist who came to fame in the 1980s for her books.
Four thieves vinegar is a concoction of vinegar infused with herbs, spices or garlic that was believed to protect users from the plague.
Herbs are a widely distributed and widespread group of plants, excluding vegetables and other plants consumed for macronutrients, with savory or aromatic properties that are used for flavoring and garnishing food, for medicinal purposes, or for fragrances. Culinary use typically distinguishes herbs from spices. Herbs generally refers to the leafy green or flowering parts of a plant, while spices are usually dried and produced from other parts of the plant, including seeds, bark, roots and fruits.
Although its most usual definition is that listed under "packet", a sachet can also mean a small scented cloth bag filled with herbs, potpourri, or aromatic ingredients; or a small porous bag or packet containing a material intended to interact with its atmosphere; for example, desiccants are usually packed in sachets which are then placed in larger packages.
In herbal medicine, a herbal tonic is used to help restore, tone and invigorate systems in the body or to promote general health and well-being. A herbal tonic is a solution or other preparation made from a specially selected assortment of plants known as herbs. They are steeped in water and drunk either hot or cool. Herbal tonics are believed to have healing properties ranging from relieving muscle and joint pain and extend as far as inhibiting some cancers.
The KFC Original Recipe is a secret mix of ingredients that fast food restaurant chain KFC uses to produce fried chicken.