Customer Reviews

Splintered Bones

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I enjoyed this third entry in the Mississippi Delta mystery series. I was happy to see that Jitty played a smaller role in this episode as I find the main character, Sarah Booth Delaney, and her cohorts interesting enough without the added benefit of the ghost (that trick also works better, I think, in the Nancy Atherton series, Aunt Dimity, and in the Mignon F. Ballard series with angel Augusta Goodnight). And in this book, I found Jitty especially irritating as she was basically a one-note song, continually harping on her desire for Sarah Booth to get married and have children.
In this book, a friend of Sarah Booth's, Lee, confesses to the murder of her husband, a particularly loathsome man with quite a few enemies. She asks Sarah to dig up evidence that the man deserved to die, intending to play on the jury's sympathy in order to escape punishment. Sarah Booth quickly realizes that Lee is lying and she sets out to solve the crime.
There are plenty of laughs and some excitement along the way to make the book enjoyable. The one complaint I do have is that she sort of stumbled onto solving the mystery and I usually find that somewhat disappointing.
Will definitely pick up the next book in the series, Crossed Bones.

Sarah Booth gets a phone call from her old friend Lee. She is in jail after confessing to the murder of her husband. Apparently, he needed killing. She doesn't want a lawyer, but she does want Sarah to take care of her wild 14 year old daughter Kip. Lee owns a very successful horse farm, and her husband was gambling away all the horses and profits. He's even sold her best stallion to the hated Carol Beth, even though Lee owned all the horses outright. Shortly before, he sold Kip's beloved horse, Mrs. Peel out from under her. Clearly he deserved to die, but Sarah Booth knows that Lee did not kill him. Who is she covering for?

Sarah Booth and Aunt Jitty( the ghostly nurse of her ggggrandmother) are hysterical as are Sarah's best friends Tink and CeCe. Together, and with the help of the other Daddy's girls the mystery developes quickly. I couldn't put this book down and didn't until I finished the last page.

In Zinnia, Mississippi the old code of the south still reigns supreme. "Daddy's Girls", those females who grow up the daughter of a rich man and learn all they can to marry a wealthy man are in plentiful supply. Sara Booth Delaney started life as a "Daddy's Girl" but when her parents died in a freak accident, she had to grow up in a hurry. Although she wants to keep the family estate of Dahlia House, she wants to pay off the family promissory notes by using her salary as a private detective.

Her partner in the agency is Binky, an intelligent Daddy's Girl (oxymoron?) with their office being Dahlia House haunted by Jiltty, the ghost of Sara's great-great grandmother's nanny. Sara's latest case is heartbreaking as Lee McBride confesses to the murder of her abusive husband Kemper but nobody believes she did it. Although the prime suspect is Lee's daughter, there are a lot of other people who wished him dead. Sara Booth has plenty of suspects with viable motives but the one thing she lacks is what she desperately needs: proof.

Carolyn Haines is a colorful and creative writer who captures the atmosphere of the old south (or at least one aspect of it) to perfection. The heroine's interactions with the ghost are hilarious and add comic relief to a very fast paced, angst-laden plot. SPLINTERED BONES is a unique mystery that will be enjoyed by those fans wanting something different in their mystery reading material.

Harriet Klausner

If you like mysteries, then this book is for you. Carolyn Haines writes wonderful books with wonderful characters. I always think I have the murderer figured out until the twist at the end. Ms.Haines style of writing makes you feel like you are there with Sarah Booth helping her solving the mystery. If you like this book then you need to read all of her series.

Of the three Sarah Booth Delaney mystery novels, "Splintered Bones" is hands down my favourite book in the series. Perhaps it is because I really liked the plot of this novel, or because by now, the recurring characters in this series having taken on a life and endearing traits of their own, but I have no problem with recommending this book as a fun and engrossing read.

Sarah Booth Delaney (half owner of the Delaney Detective Agency) is in the middle of planting a new herb garden when she receives news that an old school friend, Lee McBride, has confessed to killing her unpleasant and violent husband, Kemper. Lee enlists Sarah's help by asking her to dig into Kemper's past, in order to find evidence against him that would bolster her claim that Kemper deserved killing. That, to Sarah's dismay is Lee's grand plan: to claim that Kemper derserved killing because of his violence against her. Almost from the very first however, Sarah suspects that Lee is lying, and that she covering something or for someone. Lee's story has too many loopholes for Sarah's peace of mind. But whom is Lee protecting and why? Sarah is firmly resolved to helping Lee beat this murder rap, in spite of Lee's wishes. And with the help of her socialite friend Tinkie ( and the other half owner of the Delaney Detective Agency), and Cece Dee Falcon, the society page editor of The Zinnia Dispatch, Sarah has every hope in succeeding. But the evidence that these women come across seems to implicate Lee more than ever. Exactly what kind of game is Lee playing?

This is one mystery novel that will really keep you guessing about who-did-what-and-why to the very end. There are just a host of suspects and motives! From Lee; to Lee's troubled daughter, Kip; to the shady characters in Kemper's past... There were quite a few twist and turns to "Splintered Bones," and before I knew it, I had spent have the night following every snarl until I had finished the book! I enjoyed reading "Splintered Bones" very much. Although, I'll admit that I found Jitty (Sarah's tame family ghost)'s contant nagging at Sarah to hurry up and get pregnant, a little irritating after a while. These interludes with Jitty, amusing at times though they were, did interfere with the smooth flow of the mystery storyline. And that was a shame. On the other hand, I thought that Carolyn Haines did a wonderful job of juggling all the different suspects and motives, without losing steam, thus making this a really engrossing and absorbing read.

sarah is haunted by her great-great grandmother's nanny. she keeps giving sarah advice. then sarah finds that her best fried just admitted killing her husband and sarah must help. good story with ghost nanny popping in and out. i enjoyed it. it was quite different.

Enjoyable characters that are so well written you can picture them and relate to them. Great humor and mystery combined.

This is the third book in the "bones" series and I've really enjoyed them all - definitely a fun read. My only problem is that it now appears that in every book, Sarah Booth and her haint, Jitty, have the same exact conversations (Sarah Booth needs to get a man, get married and start having babies) seemingly once every chapter and carry on for several pages. It probably isn't actually this often, but it certainly seemed that way, and I found myself just fast forwarding past those conversations about midway through the book. It would be different if the conversations didn't revolve around the same exact issues every time. However, despite this, I will continue to read her books as I really enjoy them.

I found that I kept putting this book down and did not want to pick it back up. I couldn't care less about the main character or the "innocent" accused (who else figure out the farm hand was the girl's father in the first couple of chapters.) The men who arrived to date Sarah Booth were somewhat amusing but then again, what gives with this? Is the author trying to convince us that her main character is so alluring that men flock to her. I'm not convinced. I still enjoy Tinkie (rich, daddy's girl). I still feel that the ex-slave ghost is annoying and frankly, somewhat insulting to black women. Why is this ghost so determined to have Sarah Booth get pregnant. I purchased the other books in this series in hopes that the author would improve over time. I am hoping that I don't regret the purchase.

Sarah Booth Delaney is asked to help her friend Lee McBride. Lee has confessed to murdering her husband Kemper. She doesn't want Sarah to find a way to get her off, she just wants her to dig up dirt on her husband proving that he got what he deserved. She also wants Sarah to take care of her teenage daughter, Kip. What Sarah doesn't know is Kip is a real handful!

Sarah feels that Lee is covering for someone, but she isn't sure who - Kip, Avenger, Bud (the trainer), or someone else. She knows that if it turns out to be Kip, nothing she could do would make Lee admit it. So, Sarah begins investigating with the help of her friends Tinkie and Cece.

Plus, once Kip moves in, all sorts of things start happening. Sarah is unmarried and thirty. One night Kip overhears Sarah talking to herself (or so she thinks) about this. Then men start appearing at the door to escort Sarah to the ball. This is just the beginning of trouble.

What Kip doesn't know is that Sarah was talking to her great-great-grandmother's nanny's busybody ghost Jitty. Jitty helps Sarah talk over the case throughout the book.

At the ball, the barn where Avenger, Kip's horse, is burns down. Everyone saw Avenger, Kip and Bud in the fire. No one saw them come out. Sarah doesn't know how she can face Lee with this terrible news.

While I had a little trouble with the ghost, I really enjoyed this book. The story moves at a good pace and the characters work well together. The many references to daddy's girls gave credence to it. I love books set in the south, so Zinnia, Mississippi added a lot to this book.

I recommend this book. I hope to read more in this series myself.