The Devil's Bones
by Carolyn Haines
Series: Sarah Booth Delaney #21
Series Rating:
Published by Minotaur Books on July 21, 2020
Genres: Private Investigator Paranormal Southern Holiday Mystery
Pages: 358
Format: Hardcover
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Get Your Copy at: Amazon, Book Depository
Also in this series: Sticks and Bones, Charmed Bones, Clacking Bones, A Gift of Bones , Game of Bones, Enchanted Bones, A Garland of Bones, Independent Bones, Lady of Bones, Bones of Holly, Tell-Tale Bones, Lights, Camera, Bones, Blue Christmas Bones
Spunky southern private investigator Sarah Booth Delaney tackles a thorny murder while away on a girls' weekend.
Sarah Booth and Cece are in Lucedale, Mississippi, where the newly-pregnant Tinkie is treating her friends to a girls' weekend at the fabulous new Bexley B&B. The facials, organics, food, and fitness coaches are supposed to be phenomenal, but Tinkie's primary aim is to attend the Sunrise Easter Services at the incredible Palestinian Gardens, a miniature Holy Land that spreads over 20 acres and has recreations of all parts of Jerusalem—and to speak with the Biblical scholar, gardener, and creator of the Palestinian Garden Daniel Reynolds.
After waking up at the crack of dawn for the service the three friends wander around the gardens, taking in the wonder of entire cities in miniature and the acres of the Holy Land, with the River Jordan winding through it all. The day is brightening when the find themselves at the Mount of Olives—with a dead body.
Daniel identifies the dead man as local lawyer Perry Slay, who was well known for his sly and underhanded dealings, and had plenty of people out for his blood. When Erick Ward, a local pharmacist, is arrested, Sarah Booth takes the case.
As the bodies pile up like a pillar of salt and the suspect list grows as long as the River Jordan, Sarah Booth, Cece, and Tinkie must resurrect the truth before their own lives—and that of Tinkie's unborn child—are endangered.
The Devil’s Bones by Carolyn Haines is a pleasurable read, with the perfect amount of mystery, romance, friendship, family, and paranormal.
Will Sarah Booth and Tinkie figure out who the killer is?
Sarah Booth and Cece join Tinkie for a girls’ weekend to visit the Garden of Bones and miniature Holyland in Lucedale, Mississippi. Tinkie is pregnant and isn’t quite herself in this installment. However, Jitty has traveled with the girls to help keep her eye on them as trouble is headed their way.
The Client
Erik is the local pharmacist. He owns the only pharmacy in town, but Erik has hidden a part of his life from the people of Lucedale. The problem is he doesn’t even want to tell Sarah Booth and Tinkie, which makes investigating to clear his name even harder. Erik also can’t seem to stay where he should so he doesn’t have an alibi for some events. Erik is a fun, happy guy, but he hides his true self because he doesn’t trust that the people in town will believe in him. Even though he comes across as an eligible bachelor, I don’t think that he is looking for love. Also, he seems a bit conceited too.
The Mystery
There are multiple murders happening and all of the bodies keep ending up in the Dead Sea or nearby at the Garden of Bones. But there are other things going on too like Cosmo wants the garden closed and the water diverted back to his property for the insects and animals in the wetland. Then there is some crazy person shooting at Sarah Booth and Tinkie. Cece isn’t checking in regularly as she is trying to work with an online video host. Then she goes missing and Sarah Booth knows that she hasn’t left the area.
Jitty
The ghost, Jitty shows up and is trying to tell Sarah Booth what is going on but she is always very vague. However, she gets Sarah Booth thinking and that is what counts. Jitty is such a marvelous character, I adore the scenes with her in them.
These are the women that Jitty chooses to help Sarah Booth in this story.
Five Stars
I absolutely love this series. Ms. Haines has such a fabulous writing style that I am sucked right in. She includes the perfect amounts of life, thrills, and love in each story. I adore the way there is a lesson for Sarah Booth in each case and that Jitty is there for her. My rating for The Devil’s Bones by Carolyn Haines is five stars.
If you haven’t read this series, pick a book and get started. Seriously, these are some of the best out there.
Other Books in the Series
Releasing on October 13th
A Garland of Bones by Carolyn Haines
Sarah Booth has traded in hosting this Christmas season for a road trip with her besties. Each little Delta town has a special Christmas activity, and Sarah Booth’s bff and detective partner, Tinkie, has arranged to rent a limo for the gang and drive to Columbus, MS, to stay in a B&B. Visions of Christmas shopping, parade floats, and romantic rendezvous are already dancing in their heads.
But Christmas cheer soon turns to Christmas fear when, at one event after another, people keep getting hurt. Christmas karaoke gets ugly when one singer’s microphone gives her an electric shock. A party during a historic home tour ends with a fall down the stairs for one of Columbus’s most disreputable “players.” And when the woman who hires Sarah Booth to find the villain behind the so-called accidents is nearly killed with an arrow during a holiday mumming, Sarah Booth knows something more sinister is at work.
The Christmas bells are ringing hauntingly in Columbus this year, and Sarah Booth and Tinkie—with a little help from hunky Sheriff Coleman Peters, of course—are determined to catch the wrong-doers and ensure they receive nothing but coal in their stockings.
Thank you for dropping by! I hope you enjoyed this review of The Devil’s Bones by Carolyn Haines.
Until the next time,
This Guest Review is for Baroness’ Book Trove.
About Carolyn Haines
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