The Last Chance Olive Ranch

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.)