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Sarah Booth Delaney #1
Them Bones
No self-respecting lady would allow herself to end up in Sarah Booth's situation. Unwed, unemployed, and over thirty, she's flat broke and about to lose the family plantation. Not to mention being haunted by the ghost of her great-great-grandmother's nanny, who never misses an opportunity to remind her of her sorry state--or to suggest a plan of action, like ransoming her friend's prize pooch to raise some cash.
But soon Sarah Booth's walk on the criminal side leads her deeper into unladylike territory, and she's hired to solve a murder. Did gorgeous, landed Hamilton Garrett V really kill his mother twenty years ago? And if so, what is Sarah Booth doing falling for this possible murderer? When she asks one too many questions and a new corpse turns up, she is suddenly a suspect herself...and Sarah Booth finds that digging up the bones of the past could leave her rolling over in her grave.
But soon Sarah Booth's walk on the criminal side leads her deeper into unladylike territory, and she's hired to solve a murder. Did gorgeous, landed Hamilton Garrett V really kill his mother twenty years ago? And if so, what is Sarah Booth doing falling for this possible murderer? When she asks one too many questions and a new corpse turns up, she is suddenly a suspect herself...and Sarah Booth finds that digging up the bones of the past could leave her rolling over in her grave.
336 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 1999
About the author
Carolyn Haines
109 books1,528 followersCarolyn Haines is the USA Today bestselling author of over 70 books. In 2020, she was inducted into the Alabama Writers Hall of Fame. She was the recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Alabama Library Association, the Harper Lee Award for Distinguished Writing, the Richard Wright Award for Literary Excellence, as well as the "Best Amateur Sleuth" award by Romantic Times. Born and raised in Mississippi, she now lives in Alabama on a farm with more dogs, cats, and horses than she can possibly keep track of.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 511 reviews
March 31, 2016
Tabloids, mini-series, Coke, and Halicon.
This book is dated.
I was surprised that Sarah Booth didn't light up a cigarette with her whiskey at night in her empty, cold, Southern plantation house. I mean, how can you be a lady without your Virginia Slims?
Well, I guess that's because Sarah Booth isn't a lady - she was raised a Daddy's Girl, which is the name for society gals in the town of Zinnia, Mississippi, but with her minor in theatre, her time in New York and her financial destitution, it's safe to say that they've kicked her out of that club, dahling.
The book opens with Sarah on the precipice of losing her family's 100 year old home - the one with steeped in both history and memories. In her final wild attempt to come up with some money to appease the bank board, she listens to a scheme of her haunted inhabitant, Jitty to steal a rich friends dog and ransom it for money. You know, just until something else comes up.
When this con plays out, Sarah Booth's unknowingly deceived friend decides that Sarah could help her with another matter - to find out if the dark man, Hamilton Garrett the fifth is returning to Zinnia, and with him, his dusty, black past of murder, money and madness.
This sets up Sarah to do the first real thing she's ever done to make money (PI work), and thrusts her into the path of a would-be fiance, Sarah's ex-society friends (who also hold old secrets), and a man she finds simply irresistible.
I thought this book was enjoyable, with a multi-layered mystery and lots of southern charm. Sarah's ghost friend Jitty was a little annoying at times, but forgave that in light of the fact that Sarah has no other family. So, dated, yes, but not enough to keep me from reading the next.
This book is dated.
I was surprised that Sarah Booth didn't light up a cigarette with her whiskey at night in her empty, cold, Southern plantation house. I mean, how can you be a lady without your Virginia Slims?
Well, I guess that's because Sarah Booth isn't a lady - she was raised a Daddy's Girl, which is the name for society gals in the town of Zinnia, Mississippi, but with her minor in theatre, her time in New York and her financial destitution, it's safe to say that they've kicked her out of that club, dahling.
The book opens with Sarah on the precipice of losing her family's 100 year old home - the one with steeped in both history and memories. In her final wild attempt to come up with some money to appease the bank board, she listens to a scheme of her haunted inhabitant, Jitty to steal a rich friends dog and ransom it for money. You know, just until something else comes up.
When this con plays out, Sarah Booth's unknowingly deceived friend decides that Sarah could help her with another matter - to find out if the dark man, Hamilton Garrett the fifth is returning to Zinnia, and with him, his dusty, black past of murder, money and madness.
This sets up Sarah to do the first real thing she's ever done to make money (PI work), and thrusts her into the path of a would-be fiance, Sarah's ex-society friends (who also hold old secrets), and a man she finds simply irresistible.
I thought this book was enjoyable, with a multi-layered mystery and lots of southern charm. Sarah's ghost friend Jitty was a little annoying at times, but forgave that in light of the fact that Sarah has no other family. So, dated, yes, but not enough to keep me from reading the next.
May 31, 2021
Mini Review: Great start to the Sarah Booth Delaney series! I've read many cozies and this one stands apart because it feels a bit more serious than others that are on the market right now. It also has one heck of a twist that I didn't see coming. I'm excited to continue the series.
July 3, 2024
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“Them Bones”, 1999 had two false starts. There is a cliché bossy spirit that adds no paranormal flavour, a major series element. However it does not affect what is excellent about the rest of the book. At the beginning is such a silly plot, ransoming a dog, instead of asking for a loan. No way, is the awkwardness of asking stronger than the betrayal of worrying a friend about their pet, even overnight! Thankfully, I saw straight off that Carolyn Haines's writing is fantastic. It didn't take long to be riveted to a complex mystery of the past. Many things won me over, beyond how compellingly this novel's pace clipped along.
There are a few stereotyped personalities of the American south, no doubt for humour but I grew increasingly aware that this novel is no fluff. Like the facades of the well-bred elite in a Mississippi town, there is much more here. We sympathize with Sarah right away but get to know Tinkie and Kincaid as real people too. When we meet long a whispered about young recluse, Sylvia; her arresting mystique feels like classic gothic suspense. She was startlingly compelling and the complexity of Carolyn's mystery rose too. I hope I someday do as well as my namesake authoresses!
Seldom do I find a murder motive believable. I was drawn into and surprised by everything that came together. There were many sides to old misfortunes. I love Sarah's strong yet whimsical character, direct enough with tough questions and confidently telling off rude people. Plain-speaking, while knowing genteel wordplay; similar to mystery characters Charlotte Pitt & Emily Ashton. Carolyn's first two volumes resulted from a mail trade three years ago. It is a pleasure to know I have another series I genuinely like. I can say I am a fan!
“Them Bones”, 1999 had two false starts. There is a cliché bossy spirit that adds no paranormal flavour, a major series element. However it does not affect what is excellent about the rest of the book. At the beginning is such a silly plot, ransoming a dog, instead of asking for a loan. No way, is the awkwardness of asking stronger than the betrayal of worrying a friend about their pet, even overnight! Thankfully, I saw straight off that Carolyn Haines's writing is fantastic. It didn't take long to be riveted to a complex mystery of the past. Many things won me over, beyond how compellingly this novel's pace clipped along.
There are a few stereotyped personalities of the American south, no doubt for humour but I grew increasingly aware that this novel is no fluff. Like the facades of the well-bred elite in a Mississippi town, there is much more here. We sympathize with Sarah right away but get to know Tinkie and Kincaid as real people too. When we meet long a whispered about young recluse, Sylvia; her arresting mystique feels like classic gothic suspense. She was startlingly compelling and the complexity of Carolyn's mystery rose too. I hope I someday do as well as my namesake authoresses!
Seldom do I find a murder motive believable. I was drawn into and surprised by everything that came together. There were many sides to old misfortunes. I love Sarah's strong yet whimsical character, direct enough with tough questions and confidently telling off rude people. Plain-speaking, while knowing genteel wordplay; similar to mystery characters Charlotte Pitt & Emily Ashton. Carolyn's first two volumes resulted from a mail trade three years ago. It is a pleasure to know I have another series I genuinely like. I can say I am a fan!
May 31, 2013
With the bank threatening to foreclose on the home that has been in her family for more than 100 years and repossess her car, the wolf is definitely at the door for Sarah Booth Delaney. The resident ghost at Dhalia House suggests she dognaps and holds for ransom Chablis, the canine appendage of Tinkie a wealthy woman in the upper class of Mississippi Society.
After the successful dognapping, Tinkie comes to Sarah for help in getting her dog back. Feeling a little guilty she returns the dog and pockets the $5000 dollars. Tinkie who is very impressed with Sarah's bravery in the face of the evil dognappers hires her to investigate the return to town of a man who fled more than 20 years earlier under a cloud of suspicion.
That's pretty much the first chapter. Them Bones reminds me a lot of Virginia Brown's Dixie Diva's series. But this book isn't as cute and quirky. If I had to describe them, I'd say Dixie Divas is sweet iced tea, Them Bones is moonshine that might just kill you.
After the successful dognapping, Tinkie comes to Sarah for help in getting her dog back. Feeling a little guilty she returns the dog and pockets the $5000 dollars. Tinkie who is very impressed with Sarah's bravery in the face of the evil dognappers hires her to investigate the return to town of a man who fled more than 20 years earlier under a cloud of suspicion.
That's pretty much the first chapter. Them Bones reminds me a lot of Virginia Brown's Dixie Diva's series. But this book isn't as cute and quirky. If I had to describe them, I'd say Dixie Divas is sweet iced tea, Them Bones is moonshine that might just kill you.
April 26, 2008
This was a fun read! Decent writing, the story moved along at a nice pace. Sarah Booth Delaney falls somewhere in between Janet Evanovich's Stephanie Plum and Sue Grafton's Kinsey Milhone. She's not as much of an acident prone scatterbrain as Stephanie Plum, and not as dull as the mostly business Milhone. If you are a fan of either of those series, as I am, you should like this one. Amusing characters, interesting plot full of twists, a little romance and a ghost... sounds like a good read, doesn't it? ;)
April 8, 2018
womb womb womb womb womb womb womb womb womb womb womb womb womb womb
May 24, 2017
3.5 stars. With the hope that the series will get better.
July 27, 2012
I feel that I should put this book in the category of guilty pleasures. I know in my heart that it is not the kind of book that a woman about to celebrate her mumble-mumble birthday should be spending her time reading, and, yet, frankly, it was a joy to read! Sort of a Fifty Shades of Grey without all that nasty BDSM. There was a bit of hot and heavy sex but it was more alluded to than explicit, which is only proper in a story about a genteelly-bred Southern woman.
Sarah Booth Delaney of Zinnia, Mississippi is not your stereotypical Southern belle though. She is over thirty, unemployed, and - horror of horrors! - unwed. She lives in her ancestral home, Dahlia House, in the Mississippi Delta. It is an ante bellum structure that has sheltered many generations of Delaneys, but now Sarah Booth is flat broke with no prospects of getting any money and she's about to lose her home, just when she's begun to understand how much she loves it.
But Sarah Booth isn't alone in the ancestral home. Jitty, the hundred-and-fifty-year-old ghost of her great-great-grandmother's nanny, inhabits the structure as well, and Jitty is one determined ghost! Mostly, she is determined that all of her hundred and fifty years with the Delaney family will not have been in vain and that Sarah Booth will not be allowed to lose her - and Jitty's - family home.
Jitty suggests a course of action which sets Sarah Booth on the road to some very unladylike behavior and finally gets her involved in investigating two violent deaths that occurred twenty years before. Both deaths were called accidents at the time they occurred, but Sarah Booth is not so sure. And when the gorgeous and sexy son of the two dead people unexpectedly returns to Zinnia from Europe where he's lived all these years, Sarah Booth becomes more convinced than ever.
Then one of the people she had interviewed in her investigation turns up murdered and she is accused of the murder. In order to extricate herself, she must solve the puzzle of those long-ago murders. And just like that, Sarah Booth Delaney is launched on her new career as a private investigator. Maybe it will be lucrative enough to save the family manse - if only she can stay alive.
This is the first in a series and it is an excellent introduction to the main characters. The book is written with a light touch and a lot of humor. Sarah Booth and Jitty are delightful characters. Sarah Booth is the kind of person that a woman would be lucky to call her best friend. As for Jitty, well, I'd love to have a ghost like her inhabiting my house.
Sarah Booth Delaney of Zinnia, Mississippi is not your stereotypical Southern belle though. She is over thirty, unemployed, and - horror of horrors! - unwed. She lives in her ancestral home, Dahlia House, in the Mississippi Delta. It is an ante bellum structure that has sheltered many generations of Delaneys, but now Sarah Booth is flat broke with no prospects of getting any money and she's about to lose her home, just when she's begun to understand how much she loves it.
But Sarah Booth isn't alone in the ancestral home. Jitty, the hundred-and-fifty-year-old ghost of her great-great-grandmother's nanny, inhabits the structure as well, and Jitty is one determined ghost! Mostly, she is determined that all of her hundred and fifty years with the Delaney family will not have been in vain and that Sarah Booth will not be allowed to lose her - and Jitty's - family home.
Jitty suggests a course of action which sets Sarah Booth on the road to some very unladylike behavior and finally gets her involved in investigating two violent deaths that occurred twenty years before. Both deaths were called accidents at the time they occurred, but Sarah Booth is not so sure. And when the gorgeous and sexy son of the two dead people unexpectedly returns to Zinnia from Europe where he's lived all these years, Sarah Booth becomes more convinced than ever.
Then one of the people she had interviewed in her investigation turns up murdered and she is accused of the murder. In order to extricate herself, she must solve the puzzle of those long-ago murders. And just like that, Sarah Booth Delaney is launched on her new career as a private investigator. Maybe it will be lucrative enough to save the family manse - if only she can stay alive.
This is the first in a series and it is an excellent introduction to the main characters. The book is written with a light touch and a lot of humor. Sarah Booth and Jitty are delightful characters. Sarah Booth is the kind of person that a woman would be lucky to call her best friend. As for Jitty, well, I'd love to have a ghost like her inhabiting my house.
November 12, 2021
I'm not really into cozy mysteries but this one was suggested to me in one of the challenges. And surprisingly I pretty enjoyed it.
Sarah Booth Delaney sinks in debt. She must quickly come up with a way to get money or she will lose her family property. With help comes a childhood friend who orders her to investigate a loud scandal in one of the major families in the area. The scandal that includes a suspicious suicide on a hunting of a man who hated hunting and the death of his wife in as suspicious car accident.
The reason I liked this book is mostly Sarah Booth, the heroine, she is a really fascinating character. She is not your typical Southern belle, though she can act as one if she wants. She is strong-minded, witty and devoted to her heritage.
The suspense part is also really well-constructed. It's not obvious, the personality of the killer is for most of the time a mystery and the whole story has enough twists and drama to be interesting.
I'm rating this book 3.5 stars and thinking about rising it up to 4. Also I will definitely read the next book in this series one day.
Sarah Booth Delaney sinks in debt. She must quickly come up with a way to get money or she will lose her family property. With help comes a childhood friend who orders her to investigate a loud scandal in one of the major families in the area. The scandal that includes a suspicious suicide on a hunting of a man who hated hunting and the death of his wife in as suspicious car accident.
The reason I liked this book is mostly Sarah Booth, the heroine, she is a really fascinating character. She is not your typical Southern belle, though she can act as one if she wants. She is strong-minded, witty and devoted to her heritage.
The suspense part is also really well-constructed. It's not obvious, the personality of the killer is for most of the time a mystery and the whole story has enough twists and drama to be interesting.
I'm rating this book 3.5 stars and thinking about rising it up to 4. Also I will definitely read the next book in this series one day.
August 28, 2014
Sarah Booth was raised in the South as a Daddy's Girl. She was to be a wife, a society player, a pretty arm piece for her husband. You don't always end out on the same path you start on, and Sarah Booth's life took a sharp left turn. Her parents died early, her finances cut short she is reduced to poverty and the possible loss of her family estate if she can't find some major cash soon. Her ghostly advisor comes up with an idea to dognap one of her old rich acquaintances little dog Chablis. This devious act starts Sarah Booth on a road that will make her or kill her, at the least it will stir up a lot of trouble for this small town.
What did I like a out this story-
1) Sarah Booth, a Daddy's Girl who thinks, she manipulates, she considers her options, and this girl is willing to kick a bad guy when he's down and do it again because she wants to make sure he's down ! (about dang time a character did that)
2) Chablis- a vicious ball or fur that maybe weighs two pounds but the heart of a Lion.
3) The dim witted Southern Belles, who weren't as dim witted as they pretended to be.
4) Jitty- the ghost with the most fun. She has the best lines and knows how to whip her words into action.
5) the mystery, well thought out, interesting, I did not see it coming
What I didn't like
1) Womb
2) womb
3) womb
4) womb
omg my womb tingled, my womb twinges, my womb wanted something..... just not working for me. Enough wight he "womb" What is up with this authors obsession with this term ?
That was my only issue, I can't wait to get book 2.
What did I like a out this story-
1) Sarah Booth, a Daddy's Girl who thinks, she manipulates, she considers her options, and this girl is willing to kick a bad guy when he's down and do it again because she wants to make sure he's down ! (about dang time a character did that)
2) Chablis- a vicious ball or fur that maybe weighs two pounds but the heart of a Lion.
3) The dim witted Southern Belles, who weren't as dim witted as they pretended to be.
4) Jitty- the ghost with the most fun. She has the best lines and knows how to whip her words into action.
5) the mystery, well thought out, interesting, I did not see it coming
What I didn't like
1) Womb
2) womb
3) womb
4) womb
omg my womb tingled, my womb twinges, my womb wanted something..... just not working for me. Enough wight he "womb" What is up with this authors obsession with this term ?
That was my only issue, I can't wait to get book 2.
November 24, 2013
I picked up on this book as a sort of cross-reference in a cosy-genre library mystery, so I decided to read it. Almost gave up halfway through but the last 50 pages saved it for me. The bones of the story are good, and the end rocks but the wrapping you have to slog through to get there is a bit WTF?
Handsome rakehell returns home, suspected by the whole town of killing at least his mother if not both parents, and incarcerating his inconvenient sister in an expensive, well-furnished loony bin.
Cash-strapped local girl gets paid by a wealthy and enamored friend to play Nancy Drew and find out if he did or he didn't.
This leads to a lot of questions in this reader's mind. Sarah is not a licensed investigator, just a young woman who has no standing from which to question anyone beyond the dissing-gossip method. Why would anyone, particularly Southern men in positions of power and influence, spill their guts to her? But it happens, unbelievably, again and again.
What is the point of the ghost she spends her time talking to? Why not a housekeeper, a real person? The Jitty character does not work, since she is supposedly over 100 years old and yet whitefolks cliches pop out of her mouth at every turn. (We won't even discuss the author's need to play dressup with her ghostly dolly. The implications of some of the outfits chosen are...interesting...from a psychological point of view, to say the least.) And no, I don't really think it would help if Jitty spouted stereotypical slave dialect...but the stylistic juddering between statements like "You such a mess" and "Harold is a known quantity" makes for unsettling reading. You never know if you're listening to a slave woman's ghost or a white executive male.
Then there's the erotica, which is tackily written and doesn't really fit. It feels shoehorned in to shore up weak spots in the text or titillate readers, without achieving either goal. Way before the end, I got tired to death of Sarah Booth talking constantly about her "womb" making her do things, or the tingling in her thumb. I found the implication that women are so driven by their sexuality and reproductive instincts grotesque and demeaning.
This book doesn't know if it's Twilight, Fifty Shades of Grey, or The Mousetrap. Or indeed, The Sound and the Fury: a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing. Why quote that line? Well, a little more editing and proofreading would have saved the authoress from some very embarrassing and elementary mistakes. For one, "indignity" means humiliation; it is not a synonym for indignation, which means anger. Yet on page 109 Ms Haines describes Jitty's Afro as "shaking with indignity" when what she means is indignation.
There are also sentences that are mere gibberish, such as this gem taken from page 111: "I saw the efforts hard work had begotten." Then the authoress goes merrily on to describe the carefully tended fields surrounding the narrator. I think she meant something like "I saw the results of effort and hard work." It would have been better if she had said that. With a little more proofreading and editorial advice, this would have been a cracking good read, instead of rather heavy going saved in part by a good ending.
Handsome rakehell returns home, suspected by the whole town of killing at least his mother if not both parents, and incarcerating his inconvenient sister in an expensive, well-furnished loony bin.
Cash-strapped local girl gets paid by a wealthy and enamored friend to play Nancy Drew and find out if he did or he didn't.
This leads to a lot of questions in this reader's mind. Sarah is not a licensed investigator, just a young woman who has no standing from which to question anyone beyond the dissing-gossip method. Why would anyone, particularly Southern men in positions of power and influence, spill their guts to her? But it happens, unbelievably, again and again.
What is the point of the ghost she spends her time talking to? Why not a housekeeper, a real person? The Jitty character does not work, since she is supposedly over 100 years old and yet whitefolks cliches pop out of her mouth at every turn. (We won't even discuss the author's need to play dressup with her ghostly dolly. The implications of some of the outfits chosen are...interesting...from a psychological point of view, to say the least.) And no, I don't really think it would help if Jitty spouted stereotypical slave dialect...but the stylistic juddering between statements like "You such a mess" and "Harold is a known quantity" makes for unsettling reading. You never know if you're listening to a slave woman's ghost or a white executive male.
Then there's the erotica, which is tackily written and doesn't really fit. It feels shoehorned in to shore up weak spots in the text or titillate readers, without achieving either goal. Way before the end, I got tired to death of Sarah Booth talking constantly about her "womb" making her do things, or the tingling in her thumb. I found the implication that women are so driven by their sexuality and reproductive instincts grotesque and demeaning.
This book doesn't know if it's Twilight, Fifty Shades of Grey, or The Mousetrap. Or indeed, The Sound and the Fury: a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing. Why quote that line? Well, a little more editing and proofreading would have saved the authoress from some very embarrassing and elementary mistakes. For one, "indignity" means humiliation; it is not a synonym for indignation, which means anger. Yet on page 109 Ms Haines describes Jitty's Afro as "shaking with indignity" when what she means is indignation.
There are also sentences that are mere gibberish, such as this gem taken from page 111: "I saw the efforts hard work had begotten." Then the authoress goes merrily on to describe the carefully tended fields surrounding the narrator. I think she meant something like "I saw the results of effort and hard work." It would have been better if she had said that. With a little more proofreading and editorial advice, this would have been a cracking good read, instead of rather heavy going saved in part by a good ending.
July 21, 2022
Extremely cliche and derivative, I can overlook that if the characters are interesting or there's some sort of a plot. But this book is also just plain stupid. We get gems like this: how to behave like a PW (Passive Woman), a subterfuge at which all Southern women apparently excel, while concealing the fact that you are in reality a WW (Willful Woman), then the author literally uses the words, "steel magnolia." Oh for heaven's sake. It is a gagfest of hackneyed cornpone. Steel magnolias. The forbidden man who needs to be redeemed. A tediously quotidian hot-pants-wearing ghost of Scarlet's Mammy instructing Our Heroine how a lady behaves. Magical negro seer. And this all within the first five chapters.
I quit when the author claimed that chivalry was invented in the antebellum South as a male response to the pinnacle of femininity that developed there. Chivalry is a medieval knightly system with a distinctive religious, moral, and social code. Medieval. Since the author probably doesn't know when the medieval period was, it was from 400AD to 1400AD. A long, LONG time before a few white rich people had slaves build fortunes for them so they could sit around thinking that they had invented chivalry because they were too ignorant or illiterate to study history.
I quit when the author claimed that chivalry was invented in the antebellum South as a male response to the pinnacle of femininity that developed there. Chivalry is a medieval knightly system with a distinctive religious, moral, and social code. Medieval. Since the author probably doesn't know when the medieval period was, it was from 400AD to 1400AD. A long, LONG time before a few white rich people had slaves build fortunes for them so they could sit around thinking that they had invented chivalry because they were too ignorant or illiterate to study history.
May 7, 2019
I had been wanting to read this ever since I finished A Gift of Bones earlier this year. It was interesting to see how Sarah Booth got started in her PI business, the cases she took on as well as some of the danger she got into in facing down a killer. In her efforts to take care of her first client and do that investigation, she got interested in uncovering a killer from nearly 20 years ago, which somewhat resulted in the current murder of one of the people she'd questioned. This made a lot of people in town nervous to even be around Sarah--they thought if they talked to her about this old case, they would be killed next.
There was no shortage of suspects, and I definitely didn't see the awesome twist coming that happened toward the end. There was a good ending. I absolutely love Sarah's ghost friend Jitty! She's such a hoot! For being a Civil War era ghost, she loves TV and retro fashions and somehow has all these wild clothes she shows up in. I'm definitely looking forward to reading on in the series!
There was no shortage of suspects, and I definitely didn't see the awesome twist coming that happened toward the end. There was a good ending. I absolutely love Sarah's ghost friend Jitty! She's such a hoot! For being a Civil War era ghost, she loves TV and retro fashions and somehow has all these wild clothes she shows up in. I'm definitely looking forward to reading on in the series!
March 27, 2018
Three things...
1. Daddy's Girls
2. My Womb
3. My Thumb
Remove those words and the book would be over in half the time it took to listen to it. Not to mention the fact that the narrator speaks slower than molasses. Maybe it's a geography thing, if I lived in Mississippi I would be accustomed to the way people draw out their words and pause until I think the audio stopped. It made me glad to be from the West Coast where people speak and get it over with.
Also, why didn't anyone just call her Sarah. She lived there her whole life and everyone kept calling her Sarah Booth.
On the positive side, kept me guessing until the end, although I always knew it wasn't one person. Other than that, I am glad that is over.
1. Daddy's Girls
2. My Womb
3. My Thumb
Remove those words and the book would be over in half the time it took to listen to it. Not to mention the fact that the narrator speaks slower than molasses. Maybe it's a geography thing, if I lived in Mississippi I would be accustomed to the way people draw out their words and pause until I think the audio stopped. It made me glad to be from the West Coast where people speak and get it over with.
Also, why didn't anyone just call her Sarah. She lived there her whole life and everyone kept calling her Sarah Booth.
On the positive side, kept me guessing until the end, although I always knew it wasn't one person. Other than that, I am glad that is over.
April 21, 2019
A Southern paranormal cozy that was so busy whining about the sleuth's circumstances, they almost forgot to have a mystery.
July 8, 2019
Sarah Booth didn’t expect her life would be so complicated. Thirty-three. Unemployed. Broke. At risk of losing her family home. And to top it all off, she’s being haunted by the ghost of her great-great-grandmother’s nanny, Jitty— who has the perfect plan for Sarah to earn a little money. All she has to do is dognap her friend’s canine, collect the ransom money, and return the pooch. Easy! But when word gets around that she’s good at ‘solving’ crimes, she’s hired for another mystery … and this one started with murder.
For a book written two decades ago, Them Bones is a refreshing cozy mystery. That’s not to suggest that some of references aren’t firmly planted in the ‘90s. They are. But author Carolyn Haines has crafted a complicated and wickedly funny cozy that breaks just enough of the rules to keep things exciting.
And a lot of this stems from Sarah Booth herself. Booth is stuck between two different worlds: the traditions of her deep south roots as a Daddy’s Girl (the local term for privileged women) and her independent streak. She carefully navigates between these planes, clinging to her family’s history while also assessing the absurdity of her tight-knit community. It’s what makes her an excellent sleuth— she easily glides through social various social circles, whether she’s attending a costume social with enemies or sipping moonshine on her front porch with a potential love interest. She’s also somewhat desperate, wanting to save her family’s plantation while sorting her life out, and it feels natural how she stumbles into the murder mystery.
Of course, in a cozy, it all comes down to the mystery, and Haines more than delivers on that front. Sarah gets mixed into the case through a few nefarious actions, but, hey, it’s justified as much as possible. And from there it’s a flash of murder, intrigue, and chaos. Haines doles out a complicated plot with seemingly no obvious solution until she expertly ties everything together in a satisfying ending.
Southern tradition, a compelling detective, a blunt ghost, and so many questions make for one fun cozy.
For a book written two decades ago, Them Bones is a refreshing cozy mystery. That’s not to suggest that some of references aren’t firmly planted in the ‘90s. They are. But author Carolyn Haines has crafted a complicated and wickedly funny cozy that breaks just enough of the rules to keep things exciting.
And a lot of this stems from Sarah Booth herself. Booth is stuck between two different worlds: the traditions of her deep south roots as a Daddy’s Girl (the local term for privileged women) and her independent streak. She carefully navigates between these planes, clinging to her family’s history while also assessing the absurdity of her tight-knit community. It’s what makes her an excellent sleuth— she easily glides through social various social circles, whether she’s attending a costume social with enemies or sipping moonshine on her front porch with a potential love interest. She’s also somewhat desperate, wanting to save her family’s plantation while sorting her life out, and it feels natural how she stumbles into the murder mystery.
Of course, in a cozy, it all comes down to the mystery, and Haines more than delivers on that front. Sarah gets mixed into the case through a few nefarious actions, but, hey, it’s justified as much as possible. And from there it’s a flash of murder, intrigue, and chaos. Haines doles out a complicated plot with seemingly no obvious solution until she expertly ties everything together in a satisfying ending.
Southern tradition, a compelling detective, a blunt ghost, and so many questions make for one fun cozy.
January 31, 2021
I had read a later book in the series last year and really enjoyed it so I decided to give the first one a try and "yay!!!" - it was just as good. The next one is going on the to-read list. I'm in need a new long series to sink my teeth into and hope that this just might be it.
April 21, 2019
Them Bones
Ramblings: Sarah’s future pets
Book one is from the Pre-Pluto and Sweetie Pie era. But l👀k closely! Several hounds escape in chapter 24. Could one be Sweetie Pie (Sarah’s red tick hound)? And if you’re wondering where to find Pluto, you can read all about his catitudes in Bonefire of the Vanities (Book# 12).
Reviewer Summary:
It’s been said that desperate times call for desperate measures, and Sarah Booth Delaney is the old cliche personified. In debt and with no prospects, she’s on the verge of losing Dahlia House (the old family plantation).
A new case offers her a way out of debt. All she has to do is dig-up some old family secrets, and she can cash a cool 20 grand💰. There’s just one glitch. Someone has every intention of keeping those old skeletons under lock and key. Whatever the cost!
Review:
Them Bones is the first installment in the Sarah Booth Delaney mystery series, written by author Carolyn Haines. It includes the main story and a bonus seven-page interview between Jitty (the Dahlia House ghost) and Haines. This novel precedes the other nineteen (and counting) installments, six novellas (and counting), and one cookbook. While some readers may categorize them as cozy mysteries; I do not. I feel they’re better suited as murder mysteries.
Inside the pages you’ll find spinning gossip mills, snarky barbs with well-to-dos, a sassy ghost, and some eerie scenes involving an escaped patient. There are some overuses of the term “Daddy's Girl,” but it’s a great mystery with suspects at every turn. I thought surely I had guessed whodunnit near the end, but I was wrong! What I did find were some shocking revelations! I’m in this series for the long haul. I feel the author has some winning characters.
Breaking News: Rumor has it!
Jitty, the Dahlia ghost, has a new advice column called Jitty’s Jilted Hearts which will be featured in the author’s monthly newsletter. Now if we can only get Madame Tomeeka to share her premonitions-that’ll be splendid!
Carolyn Haines
You can join the mailing list here: https://carolynhaines.com/
You’ll like this novel if you:
#1 Enjoy whodunnits with multiple suspects
#2 Read detective novels
#3 Love murder mysteries with supernatural twists
#4 Want to know where Sarah hides the good whiskey
#5 Can’t wait to know how she uses cherry bombs
Next in the series: Buried Bones (Book #2)
Upcoming release: Game of Bones (Book #20)
Disclosure:
I purchased the paperback via Barnes and Noble. The author did not request a review. Included are my honest reflections, thoughts, and ramblings.
Ramblings: Sarah’s future pets
Book one is from the Pre-Pluto and Sweetie Pie era. But l👀k closely! Several hounds escape in chapter 24. Could one be Sweetie Pie (Sarah’s red tick hound)? And if you’re wondering where to find Pluto, you can read all about his catitudes in Bonefire of the Vanities (Book# 12).
Reviewer Summary:
It’s been said that desperate times call for desperate measures, and Sarah Booth Delaney is the old cliche personified. In debt and with no prospects, she’s on the verge of losing Dahlia House (the old family plantation).
A new case offers her a way out of debt. All she has to do is dig-up some old family secrets, and she can cash a cool 20 grand💰. There’s just one glitch. Someone has every intention of keeping those old skeletons under lock and key. Whatever the cost!
Review:
Them Bones is the first installment in the Sarah Booth Delaney mystery series, written by author Carolyn Haines. It includes the main story and a bonus seven-page interview between Jitty (the Dahlia House ghost) and Haines. This novel precedes the other nineteen (and counting) installments, six novellas (and counting), and one cookbook. While some readers may categorize them as cozy mysteries; I do not. I feel they’re better suited as murder mysteries.
Inside the pages you’ll find spinning gossip mills, snarky barbs with well-to-dos, a sassy ghost, and some eerie scenes involving an escaped patient. There are some overuses of the term “Daddy's Girl,” but it’s a great mystery with suspects at every turn. I thought surely I had guessed whodunnit near the end, but I was wrong! What I did find were some shocking revelations! I’m in this series for the long haul. I feel the author has some winning characters.
Breaking News: Rumor has it!
Jitty, the Dahlia ghost, has a new advice column called Jitty’s Jilted Hearts which will be featured in the author’s monthly newsletter. Now if we can only get Madame Tomeeka to share her premonitions-that’ll be splendid!
Carolyn Haines
You can join the mailing list here: https://carolynhaines.com/
You’ll like this novel if you:
#1 Enjoy whodunnits with multiple suspects
#2 Read detective novels
#3 Love murder mysteries with supernatural twists
#4 Want to know where Sarah hides the good whiskey
#5 Can’t wait to know how she uses cherry bombs
Next in the series: Buried Bones (Book #2)
Upcoming release: Game of Bones (Book #20)
Disclosure:
I purchased the paperback via Barnes and Noble. The author did not request a review. Included are my honest reflections, thoughts, and ramblings.
October 4, 2009
I started with the first book in this series and I am glad that I did. Sara Booth Delaney has proven to be a very enjoyable character and I look forward to reading more of her adventures. She is over 30, unwed, unemployed, broke, and about to lose the family plantation. In order to save face and the family home, she comes up with a scheme to kidnap one of her fellow "Daddy's Girls" dog, Chablis for a ransom that could buy her some time with the creditors. I didn't much care for her plan, but I had to read on to see if she would redeem herself...
Along for the fun is a "friendly" ghost named Jitty who has lived there for 150 years and would like to continue doing so...such as it is. To save her ghostly home, she is constantly offering unsolicited advice to Sara on how to save "their" home.
Now, Jitty didn't approve of Sara playing the amateur PI in a "good ole boy" town, but Sara is desperate as well as insatiably hungry for the truth about the deaths of some prominent figures from her childhood...friends of the family.
I don't want to give away any other details, just enough to whet your appetite for a good read....enjoy.
Along for the fun is a "friendly" ghost named Jitty who has lived there for 150 years and would like to continue doing so...such as it is. To save her ghostly home, she is constantly offering unsolicited advice to Sara on how to save "their" home.
Now, Jitty didn't approve of Sara playing the amateur PI in a "good ole boy" town, but Sara is desperate as well as insatiably hungry for the truth about the deaths of some prominent figures from her childhood...friends of the family.
I don't want to give away any other details, just enough to whet your appetite for a good read....enjoy.
August 10, 2009
I had so much fun reading this book. I can't believe it's taken me this long to find this series. Sarah Booth Delaney is a Daddy's Girl, a group of privileged young ladies whose only real goal in life was to marry well and live a life of leisure. Sarah Booth jumped that ship and went to New York after college (Catching the male was an entire course of study for Delta girls and Ole Miss was the preferred hunting ground) to become an actress. That didn't pan out so well and she came home to Zinnia Mississippi to save her home, Dahlia House, which she is about to lose to the bank if she can't find the money. She kidnaps her friend Tinkie's dog and 'rescues' it for the reward. Tinkie hires her as a person she can trust to keep a secret and use her intelligence to find out why Garrett Hamilton the Fifth is in town. All kinds of secrets, lies and long ago murders and deaths come to the surface.
I love getting the inside look at the use of feminine wiles, the gallantry of men, how to make an entrance, how to make an exit, conversational skills to include how to cloak an insult with a sweet smile. One of my favorites: "Oh Kincaid, you look lovely tonight. But how do you get your eyeliner so straight when you don't cast a reflection in the mirror?"
The conversations are great fun and I love Sarah Booth's moxie, think Scarlett O'Hara without the bitchy 'tude.
Five Southern moxie beans....
I love getting the inside look at the use of feminine wiles, the gallantry of men, how to make an entrance, how to make an exit, conversational skills to include how to cloak an insult with a sweet smile. One of my favorites: "Oh Kincaid, you look lovely tonight. But how do you get your eyeliner so straight when you don't cast a reflection in the mirror?"
The conversations are great fun and I love Sarah Booth's moxie, think Scarlett O'Hara without the bitchy 'tude.
Five Southern moxie beans....
August 19, 2007
THEM BONES (Amateur Sleuth-Zinnia-MS-Cont) – G+
Haines, Carolyn – 1st in series
Bantam, 1999-Paperback
Sara Booth Delaney is trying to save Dahlia House, the antebellum family home, where she lives alone, except for Jitty, the ghost of her great-great-great-Grandmother’s nanny. She gets some money by taking her friend’s dog, sending a ransom note and pretending to rescue him. In turn, her friend wants Sara to find out who killed Hamilton the Fourth and his wife in separate, supposed, accidents.
*** It’s not much of a mystery, although I didn’t predict the ending. What it does have is delightful characters, a strong sense of place and very good dialogue. This is a light, fun, entertaining diversion.
Haines, Carolyn – 1st in series
Bantam, 1999-Paperback
Sara Booth Delaney is trying to save Dahlia House, the antebellum family home, where she lives alone, except for Jitty, the ghost of her great-great-great-Grandmother’s nanny. She gets some money by taking her friend’s dog, sending a ransom note and pretending to rescue him. In turn, her friend wants Sara to find out who killed Hamilton the Fourth and his wife in separate, supposed, accidents.
*** It’s not much of a mystery, although I didn’t predict the ending. What it does have is delightful characters, a strong sense of place and very good dialogue. This is a light, fun, entertaining diversion.
January 25, 2014
I really didn't know what I'd think of "them Bones", but after finishing the book in less than a day it seems I'm hooked.
Sarah Booth Delaney is a well-bred Southern girl at the end of her financial rope. The last in a long line of Delaneys, her hopes to hold on to family manse Dahlia House start looking up when she steals (borrows) her moneyed friends' doggie Chablis for ransom. With the pooch returned and Sarah's money in the bank, her friend asks her to look into a long ago love who may be returning to their hometown. Old tragedies, rumors, ghosts, AND a sex-changed gossip columnist? I'd love to write more about how much I enjoyed this novel but I gotta go hunt down the next one in the Sarah Booth Delaney series!
Sarah Booth Delaney is a well-bred Southern girl at the end of her financial rope. The last in a long line of Delaneys, her hopes to hold on to family manse Dahlia House start looking up when she steals (borrows) her moneyed friends' doggie Chablis for ransom. With the pooch returned and Sarah's money in the bank, her friend asks her to look into a long ago love who may be returning to their hometown. Old tragedies, rumors, ghosts, AND a sex-changed gossip columnist? I'd love to write more about how much I enjoyed this novel but I gotta go hunt down the next one in the Sarah Booth Delaney series!
January 8, 2011
I've seen this book on the bookstore shelves for years and always picked it up, but then put it back down again. The whole dog-napping bit seemed too stupid to me. But it's really such a very small part of the book - literally less than a chapter, and the rest of the story was quite good. I really enjoyed the characters - the author painted them very clearly - and the setting of the Mississippi Delta really came to life and added to the mystery of the story. I didn't see the end coming and was thoroughly, pleasantly surprised. I'm looking forward to continuing on with the series.
April 2, 2013
A quirky cozy-mystery with a GRITS flair. I'm left wanting to follow Sarah Booth into her continuing adventures. Check it out! :)
July 19, 2017
hated the characters
March 14, 2021
If I never read another book using the term "Daddy's Girl" and "Womb Disorder" it will be too soon!
July 1, 2010
Sarah Booth.. of Zinnia Mississippi’s aristocracy, though her parents were unorthodox… with a mother who worked on getting people to care… raised around ‘Daddy’s Girl’ , girls who would someday be women of wiles, knowing how to wield their feminine power… and though Sarah knew the rules, she opted out… after her parent’s accidental death, she finishes college, tries (and fails) to become a star in New York, and returns home (at age 33) to Dahlia House … to her roots… but she’s about to lose her home due to a lack of funds…
And to her great, great, great grandma’s nanny Jitty’s ghost… who is quite a character…
She falls into private eyeing… when a classmate/Daddy’s Girl pays her to uncover the truth about Hamilton Garrett V, and whether he killed his mother and / or father 20 years ago.
Sarah’s stumbles into many interesting situations as she reconnects with people of her past to gather clues on what really happened… She learns that some of those Daddy’s Girls that she disliked, have real feelings, and aren’t so bad…and Along the way, Harold the banker comes courting… at first offering for an affair in exchange for keeping the wolves away from her door but switches to an offer of marriage as he comes to admire her character… and then Hamilton ends up in her bed, though she cannot reconcile her lustful feelings with what her mind is telling her… and Jitty’s advice is just plain humorous and fun, keeping her from taking herself too seriously.
She ends up losing both men… though still with Harold’s regard, and the possibility of Hamilton’s return…
And she solves the mystery (even though events are being orchestrated by Hamilton, his sister, and his mother and sheriff (both who were thought to be dead)… the sheriff & Hamilton's mother orchestrated Hamilton's fathers death, and stole a million dollars that he was accepting as a bribe, but to be used to defend the land... and then the sheriff & mother kill others and substitute their bodies so that all think they are dead... Hamilton's sister commits herself into an assylum for the 20 years, while watching for her mother to need money and to try and sell objects that were missing from the house... and then they draw them out...
And to her great, great, great grandma’s nanny Jitty’s ghost… who is quite a character…
She falls into private eyeing… when a classmate/Daddy’s Girl pays her to uncover the truth about Hamilton Garrett V, and whether he killed his mother and / or father 20 years ago.
Sarah’s stumbles into many interesting situations as she reconnects with people of her past to gather clues on what really happened… She learns that some of those Daddy’s Girls that she disliked, have real feelings, and aren’t so bad…and Along the way, Harold the banker comes courting… at first offering for an affair in exchange for keeping the wolves away from her door but switches to an offer of marriage as he comes to admire her character… and then Hamilton ends up in her bed, though she cannot reconcile her lustful feelings with what her mind is telling her… and Jitty’s advice is just plain humorous and fun, keeping her from taking herself too seriously.
She ends up losing both men… though still with Harold’s regard, and the possibility of Hamilton’s return…
And she solves the mystery (even though events are being orchestrated by Hamilton, his sister, and his mother and sheriff (both who were thought to be dead)… the sheriff & Hamilton's mother orchestrated Hamilton's fathers death, and stole a million dollars that he was accepting as a bribe, but to be used to defend the land... and then the sheriff & mother kill others and substitute their bodies so that all think they are dead... Hamilton's sister commits herself into an assylum for the 20 years, while watching for her mother to need money and to try and sell objects that were missing from the house... and then they draw them out...
May 6, 2015
I have at least five of this series that have been in the TBR pile on the bedroom bookshelf..What was I thinking? I absolutely loved this first one for many reasons.One being the rich content that makes up this book, as well as the main protagonist, an Ole Miss Southern Belle, Sarah Booth Delaney, a bit of an outlier when it comes to her former stereotype in the Daddy's Girls(DG's) clique...which is what endears me to her most...never, ever typecast someone as starting out as cut from the same cloth when circumstances aide in their character development..a definite asset in this case. Independent and also in need of money to save the Family home, Dahlia House.and in no hurry to give up her independence for marriage but will consider some stops along the way..when all her former buds have married for economic security rather than love. The dot of on the 'i' is a several generations removed ghost in the form of Jitty..her great, great, grandmother's maid who provides insights and caustic humor throughout. Thrown into these dire circumstances, she latches on to the opportunity to become a Private Investigator. Add a transgender character who happens to work for a local paper in the gossip area, and Sarah Booth is off to the races. Sprinkle in an alleged, physic who is a mainstay of her life long and still successful "DG's, Tinkie, " a murder mystery, a sibling in a psych ward(comfortable of course) a sheriff, and you have all the ingredients of a good ol moss draped mystery. You gotta love it..I know I did.
April 3, 2018
Too many WTF moments. The ghost didn't bother me, but I felt the ghost character didn't add to the story at all -- and what's the ghost of the heroine's great-great grandmother's nanny to the heroine? I didn't understand that at all. Chapter 10 starts out with the line -- "The house was strangely empty..." Seriously? The house in question is the heroine's own house, in which she lives alone and with no pets. Of COURSE it's empty! The whole relationship with Harold, such as it was, made no sense to me and did not add to the plot. Ditto certain interactions with Hamilton. The "thumb" and "womb" references were eye-rollers.
The cherry bomb entrance and lack of concern for possible damage to persons and property was a seriously WTF moment.
That the heroine would steal her friend's dog also made no sense to me. And, according to blurbs in later books of this series, that same friend is going to end up her PI partner. So, will the heroine ever confess in a later book to the dognapping?
Other WTF moments: Hamilton telling Sarah to get out of town for her own safety, and then slashing her tire. The Harold/Sylvia connection. The entire implausible "resolution" of the murder mystery. Millie's role also seemed shoehorned.
I had picked out 3 books from this series from the library; not sure if I'll read the other two now, which are much more recently written. (And "Booty Bones" which I've started has a continuity error -- all of a sudden Alice is not Sarah's great-great grandma, but her great-great-great. Oops!)
The cherry bomb entrance and lack of concern for possible damage to persons and property was a seriously WTF moment.
That the heroine would steal her friend's dog also made no sense to me. And, according to blurbs in later books of this series, that same friend is going to end up her PI partner. So, will the heroine ever confess in a later book to the dognapping?
Other WTF moments: Hamilton telling Sarah to get out of town for her own safety, and then slashing her tire. The Harold/Sylvia connection. The entire implausible "resolution" of the murder mystery. Millie's role also seemed shoehorned.
I had picked out 3 books from this series from the library; not sure if I'll read the other two now, which are much more recently written. (And "Booty Bones" which I've started has a continuity error -- all of a sudden Alice is not Sarah's great-great grandma, but her great-great-great. Oops!)
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 14, 2009
Set in Mississippi (in the delta area), the author makes wonderful use of setting. Sarah Booth Delaney lives in Dahlia House, her family's plantation home, but is having cash flow problems and is behind in paying her mortgage. Not to mention she's unmarried and over 30.
With the help of her great-great-grandmother's nanny's ghost, she concocts a scheme to ransom her friend's dog, Chablis, for money. Somehow, after Sarah Booth becomes the go between between her friend and "the kidnapper", she gets a reputation for being able to solve crimes. In fact, she ends up being hired to solve a murder that happened twenty years ago. But things get complicated when she ends up falling for a possible murder suspect and then becomes one herself when a new body turns up.
Carolyn Haines describes the culture of the South and its rules for ladies and gentlemen well. The descriptions of the dialogue between the men and women were really interesting (i.e. here's what the characters are saying and here's what it really means) but I found the undertones of what was actually being communicated while have a seemingly innocuous conversation to be most intriguing. Parts of the story were funny while other parts took a more serious tone. Overall, much better than I thought it was going to be. I would definitely read another.
With the help of her great-great-grandmother's nanny's ghost, she concocts a scheme to ransom her friend's dog, Chablis, for money. Somehow, after Sarah Booth becomes the go between between her friend and "the kidnapper", she gets a reputation for being able to solve crimes. In fact, she ends up being hired to solve a murder that happened twenty years ago. But things get complicated when she ends up falling for a possible murder suspect and then becomes one herself when a new body turns up.
Carolyn Haines describes the culture of the South and its rules for ladies and gentlemen well. The descriptions of the dialogue between the men and women were really interesting (i.e. here's what the characters are saying and here's what it really means) but I found the undertones of what was actually being communicated while have a seemingly innocuous conversation to be most intriguing. Parts of the story were funny while other parts took a more serious tone. Overall, much better than I thought it was going to be. I would definitely read another.
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