Wishbones (Sarah Booth Delaney Mysteries, No. 8) [Hardcover]

Carolyn Haines (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 24, 2008

Southern gal Sarah Booth Delaney packs up her hound dog and her P.I. business and sets off for Hollywood to take a shot at stardom. No stranger to acting, she aces the screen test for a racy remake of the movie Body Heat alongside leading man Graf Miliau. The chemistry between them is undeniable, and why not? Graf has already starred in one of Sarah’s previous affairs and is well on his way to landing a big part in the sequel.

Thrilled as Sarah is, her dream come true comes at a price. She has to leave behind her family’s ancestral home in Mississippi, her closest friends, and the possibility of settling down with her longtime love to film on location in Costa Rica. And it’s not long before rivalries flare, mysterious accidents occur, and this leading lady finds herself in some steamy tabloids without turning up in a single frame of film.

Carolyn Haines’s Wishbones takes the sultry romance and colorful friendships of this delightfully Southern series and heads out west for a mystery that is as thrilling off camera as it is on.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

Private investigator Sarah Booth Delaney, Haines’ popular series lead, returns to solve another crime. This time, though, she is not supposed to be solving crimes; she is supposed to be off in Costa Rica, starring in a remake of the steamy movie Body Heat. Her costar, Graf Mileau, is also a former love interest, and Sarah figures she’ll have a nice adventure, making a movie and rekindling an old romance. What she gets instead is a murder, a series of suspicious incidents, and a lot of people depending on her to unmask a killer. Fans of the Delaney mysteries will settle right in, but newcomers to the series may be a bit put off by the flimsiness of the premise: the idea of a private investigator picked to star in a high-profile movie seems a little forced, perhaps too obviously a gimmick, a way to take the hero to unfamiliar climes. Still, the book is lively, as always, and Sarah remains a likable protagonist. --David Pitt

Review

Praise for Carolyn Haines

“Outrageous . . . the humorous romp through the pages is well worth taking.”
---Publishers Weekly on Ham Bones

“Ever-amusing . . . Fans of Nancy Atherton’s Aunt Dimity novels will enjoy the ghostly presence in this charming Southern cozy.”
---Booklist on Ham Bones

“Stephanie Plum meets the Ya-Ya Sisterhood! Non-Southerners will find the madcap adventure an informative peek into an alien culture.”
---Kirkus Reviews on Bones to Pick

“Amour and a murder make this Mississippi Delta whodunit from Haines sure to please. . . . When the dots are connected, the conclusion is both clever and impressive.”
---Publishers Weekly on Hallowed Bones

“Funny, ingenious . . . and delightful.”
---The Dallas Morning News on Splintered Bones

 

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 336 pages
• Publisher: Minotaur Books; First Edition edition (June 24, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312377088
• ISBN-13: 978-0312377083
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.6 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (19 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,052,665 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Carolyn Haines is the author of eighteen novels, including the acclaimed Sarah Booth Delaney mystery series. She was honored with the prestigious 2009 Richard Wright Award for Literary Excellence. Haines was also 2010 recipient of the Harper Lee Award. 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!

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars wishbones, June 25, 2008

By 

Sarah Banks "sarahlen1980" (Madison, MS) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Wishbones (Sarah Booth Delaney Mysteries, No. 8) (Hardcover)

***SPOILERS***

"Wishbones" is a pretty big departure from the Sarah Booth Delaney mysteries set in Zinnia, MS. Sarah Booth heads to Los Angeles & Costa Rico to shoot her first feature film, &, as expected, there is a mystery that follows her to both locations. In itself, the mystery was pretty boring & downright anti-climactic.

I was more interested in Sarah Booth herself & kept wondering if she would return to Zinnia & allow us to continue the rest of the series in the MS Delta. This question remains unanswered at the end of the book, but there will obviously be future books in the series. Something big happens in Zinnia to draw Sarah Booth back (at least for the time being), so I can only hope that the next book will be set in MS. The setting is part of the charm of the series & the real reason I picked these books up in the first place. As far as Sarah Booth's love life is concerned, it's still anyone's guess.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Ghosts Keep Spooking, July 1, 2008

By 

Joe O (Houston, TX) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Wishbones (Sarah Booth Delaney Mysteries, No. 8) (Hardcover)

My favorite character throughout the Sarah Booth Delaney mysteries is Jitty. Sarah Booth must say goodbye to her favorite girlfriend/apparition, but don't believe that the door to the spirit world is closed permanently. Haines never disappoints and Wishbones is no exception. There's plenty of ghosts, dogs, horses, and MURDER. A super-duper mystery that you'll find is lots of fun in addition to a fast-moving sleuthfest.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars another Haines' can't-put-it-down mystery, July 1, 2008

By 

Ronald B. OGorman (Mobile, Alabama) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Wishbones (Sarah Booth Delaney Mysteries, No. 8) (Hardcover)

Carolyn Haines is the master of so many genres, but perhaps her most unique contribution is the Delaney mystery series. WISHBONES doesn't disappoint. If you're looking for a great mystery with rapid pacing, you've found it. And you'll enjoy the irreverent treatment of the South's "daddy's girls." Sarah Booth and Tinkie are uniquely delightful characters that shatter any stereotype (positive or negative) that you may have.