Bittersweet [signed] [first edition]

This Thanksgiving, be grateful for the “savvy sleuthing”* of New York Times bestselling author Susan Wittig Albert’s China Bayles—who teams up with an old friend to solve a case of theft and murder in a South Texas ranching community... For Thanksgiving, China is planning to visit her mother, Leatha, and her mother’s husband, Sam. She’s also looking forward to catching up with a friend, game warden Mackenzie “Mack” Chambers. But Leatha calls with bad news: Sam has had a heart attack. While Sam recuperates, Leatha does have a helper—Sue Ellen Krause. But Sue Ellen—who’s leaving her husband, the assistant foreman at a trophy game ranch—has troubles of her own. Before she can tell China the full story, Sue Ellen is killed in a car crash. When a local veterinarian is shot, Mack believes his murder could be related to fawns stolen from a nearby ranch. And China wonders if Sue Ellen’s death may not have been an accident, and if there’s a connection to the stolen animals...*Booklist