Susan Wittig Albert is back with another mystery taking place in the world of plants. I learned a lot about that little brown bottle of vanilla I have in my kitchen cabinet and treacherous the acquisition of spices can be! This is the 27th book in the China Bayles Series. If you love learning about plants and their uses, I would also recommend her Book of Days.

Be sure to enter my summer giveaway below for your chance at a $20 gift card and a digital copy of my wedding mystery–Buzzkill.

China Bayles and Ruby Wilcox are offering their popular “Not Just Plain Vanilla” workshop when, across town on the campus of Central Texas State University, a botany professor (an expert on the vanilla orchid) is found dead in his greenhouse—an apparent suicide. Summoned to the scene, police chief Sheila Dawson (now in her last few months of pregnancy) wonders whether there’s something more to his death and opens an investigation into the many rivalries that have splintered CTSU’s plant sciences faculty.

But the dead professor is also the ex-husband of China’s friend Maggie, owner of the local garden center and manager of an orchid-sitting business. When suicide becomes murder, suspicion falls on Maggie. But China learns that there are many more suspects in this complex, vanilla-flavored affair. Does this story begin with a passionate desire for an exotic flower and its costly, delectable fruit? Does it start in a corrosive desire for revenge? Or is the professor’s death the result of a bizarre black-market orchid-smuggling scheme gone awry?

Once again, prize-winning author, herbalist, and amateur naturalist Susan Wittig Albert draws on history, legend, science, and the culinary arts to craft a botanical mystery that will entertain and enlighten mystery fans, gardeners, and nature lovers alike.

Special features: an author’s note on the history and uses of both natural and synthetic vanilla, and recipes and crafting instructions for “wonderful things to do with the ice cream orchid.”

My Review: Was it really suicide? China Bayles is back investigating a college professor’s death surrounded by the rich scent of vanilla. Like many of Albert’s books, you get a rich education on plant history. In A Plain Vanilla Murder, the story centers around the university community showing you professional jealousy between the professors and some curious ways to make extra cash. It was pretty cut-throat for a bunch of mild-mannered academic types! I enjoyed A Plain Vanilla Murder and would recommend it, especially if you love gardening or academic mysteries.

I obtained this book through NetGalley and have left an honest review.