Bones of Holly by Carolyn Haines

Hello my cozy friends, 

Today I am reviewing  "Bones of Holly" by Carolyn Haines the 25th instalment in the "A Sarah Booth Delaney Mystery" series which releases on October 11th.  I am a huge fan of Carolyn’s and this series!

Bones of Holly is the next novel from Carolyn Haines in the series that Kirkus Reviews characterizes as “Stephanie Plum meets the Ya-Ya Sisterhood” featuring sassy Southern private investigator Sarah Booth Delaney.

Sarah Booth and Tinkie, along with baby Maylin, are in Bay St. Louis, Mississippi for Christmas this year, as judges for the annual library tree decorating contest.

The other two judges are writers Sandra O’Day and Janet Malone. They’re bestselling Mississippi authors, but bitter competitors. In fact, the feud between them is the stuff of legends. For years, they’ve brawled, their sales skyrocketing with each cat fight. Sandra’s most recent true crime book documents the 1920s rum-running era of Al Capone, who built a mansion in BSL and a distribution network for his liquor. Janet’s book, scheduled to be published in January, is a fictional account of the same material—which only heightens their bitter rivalry.

Sarah Booth and Tinkie are shopping with little Maylin when they see Sandra and Janet outside a bookstore, fur flying, and when Sandra vanishes from her own gala later that night, suspicion turns to Janet. Janet accuses Sandra of attempting to manipulate the media by a fake disappearance, but is it a stunt, or is something more sinister at play?

Sarah Booth and Tinkie will have to dive deep into the history of Bay St. Louis, and even Al Capone himself, to get to the bottom of this case. But the trail in fact leads them back to several prominent families still residing in the area. Families who may not want their secrets known…

I always enjoy visiting with Sarah and Tinkie it’s like coming home to old friends.  Sarah Booth is a strong and intelligent protagonist and all the characters are fully developed. I liked visiting the Bay of St. Louis, Mississippi at Christmas with Sarah and Tinkie and learning a little bit of the history in that area and even a little about Al Capone.

The inclusion of her haint (Dahlia House's ghost Jetty) always brings a chuckle as i can imagine what Sarah looks like talking to herself.  There were a few spots in the book that were really funny if you picture it in your head, oink oink…

There were plenty of twists and turns and lots of suspects to choose from to keep you intrigued.  I found this book to be a real page-turner, suspenseful, read that had me second guessing up till the end. 

I’m looking forward to the next instalment 

 
I highly recommend this book and series to all my cozy mystery friends. 

I won an Advance Reader Copy of this book from St. Martins Press and Goodreads. All thoughts and opinions are my OWN.

Please join the conversation and comment below.  Have you read… If so what did you think/like

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