Carolyn Haines

The Devil's Bones is the latest novel in the series from Carolyn Haines that Kirkus Reviews characterizes as "Stephanie Plum meets the Ya-Ya Sisterhood" featuring sassy Southern private investigator Sarah Booth Delaney. As Sarah Booth sees it, Easter weekend is a time to celebrate life in all its many forms. So when the newly-pregnant Tinkie invites her and Cece on a girls' trip to Lucedale, Mississippi to celebrate that spring has officially sprung, Sarah Booth can't resist. Plans include facials, food, and a trip to the incredible Garden of Bones--a miniature Holy Land with recreations of all parts of the Middle East--for their Sunrise Easter Services led by biblical scholar, gardener, and creator of the Gardens Daniel Reynolds. Unfortunately for Sarah Booth and the gang, someone doesn't seem appreciate this season of new life. Easter morning has just dawned when the trio find themselves at the Mount of Olives--with a dead body at their feet. Reynolds identifies the dead man as local lawyer Perry Slay, who was well known for his sly and underhanded dealings. Perry had rubbed plenty of people the wrong way, and now it looks like someone has rubbed him out... Because being a PI apparently means never being on vacation, Sarah Booth and her friends must now find a way to resurrect the truth from a list of suspects as long as the River Jordan, reveal the devil in disguise, and--if they're lucky--find a moment to enjoy a few chocolate bunnies before more bodies pile up like pillars of salt.

The next charming mystery from Carolyn Haines is Game of Bones, featuring spunky southern private investigator Sarah Booth Delaney. Will her latest case leave Sarah barking at the moon? When a ritually murdered corpse is discovered at a Native American temple site smack in the middle of Sunflower County, Mississippi, the archeology crew on the dig is immediately under suspicion--with particular focus on its easy-on-the-eyes, charismatic leader, Dr. Frank Hafner. So when Sheriff Coleman Peters closes in on him, Hafner hires the Delaney Detective Agency to clear his name. "Appealing...distinctive...atmospheric... Fans and newcomers alike will be satisfied." --Publishers Weekly Rumors swirl around the Mound Salla burial mound, where more dead bodies are turning up. Sarah Booth and her partner, Tinkie, have too many likely suspects to whittle down the list. It's a race against time once Sarah Booth's resident ghost, Jitty--in the guise of various Native American warrior women--points to the waxing of the coming Crow Moon as the time of maximum danger. As history and mystery cloak the site, Sarah Booth isn't sure what to believe, or whom. Can she dig up the truth before she herself ends up six feet under? "A dark mystery, effectively framed by its well-drawn Mississippi Delta setting."--Booklist

The next charming mystery from Carolyn Haines is Game of Bones, featuring spunky southern private investigator Sarah Booth Delaney. Will her latest case leave Sarah barking at the moon? When a ritually murdered corpse is discovered at a Native American temple site smack in the middle of Sunflower County, Mississippi, the archeology crew on the dig is immediately under suspicion--with particular focus on its easy-on-the-eyes, charismatic leader, Dr. Frank Hafner. So when Sheriff Coleman Peters closes in on him, Hafner hires the Delaney Detective Agency to clear his name. "Appealing...distinctive...atmospheric... Fans and newcomers alike will be satisfied."--Publishers Weekly Rumors swirl around the Mound Salla burial mound, where more dead bodies are turning up. Sarah Booth and her partner, Tinkie, have too many likely suspects to whittle down the list. It's a race against time once Sarah Booth's resident ghost, Jitty--in the guise of various Native American warrior women--points to the waxing of the coming Crow Moon as the time of maximum danger. As history and mystery cloak the site, Sarah Booth isn't sure what to believe, or whom. Can she dig up the truth before she herself ends up six feet under?" A dark mystery, effectively framed by its well-drawn Mississippi Delta setting."--Booklist

Elizabeth Maslow is an educated woman living in the isolated town of 1920's Mission, Alabama. She's defied the town's definition of a woman's place--she's unmarried and given birth to a child with webbed hands and feet. In a town fraught with superstitions and religious repression, Elizabeth is dangerous. But Elizabeth is much more than an unwed mother. Since the birth of Callie, who she believes is fathered by an angel, she's been able to "dream the truth." And she's determined to testify in behalf of Slater McEachern, a man charged with the brutal murder of a local woman. Elizabeth insists McEachern is innocent. She's determined to speak, no matter the cost. Spirit detectives Raissa and Reginald arrive to help Elizabeth save McEachern--before she ends up on the gallows with him. Raissa and Reginald must unravel a crucial question. Does Elizabeth's gift come from an angel, or from something much, much darker. In the world of spirits and the dead, Raissa has learned to trust no one, especially not the dead. The dead lie.

Berta and Bob Henderson have plenty of love for their children--and enough even for a foster child. When Annie, a young amnesiac found wandering the streets of a nearby city, comes into their home, bad things begin to happen. Mimi Bosarge, the live-in tutor, has a deep love for Coden, Alabama, which in the 1940s was a hideaway for movie stars and the wealthy. By 1976, Coden has been long forgotten. Bob's plans to renovate the old hotel on the Mississippi Sound would bring new life--and returned glamour--to the small, isolated community. As Mimi prepares lessons, she begins to see another child on the grounds. One that looks eerily like Annie at times--but at other times mimics the physical traits of the other children. It becomes clear, this creature, whatever it is, is stalking the Henderson family. Annie begins to display a sophistication beyond her years, and as tragedy strikes the family one by one, Mimi carries the burden of protecting the children. Mimi believes Annie's innocent beauty is a sham, but how reliable is Mimi? For the children, the truth is the only thing that can save them.

Aine Cahill has escaped her troubled past through her studies. A graduate student researching Henry David Thoreau, Aine has a secret. One that may bring her fame and a guaranteed job. The notoriously reclusive Thoreau had a companion at his Walden Pond retreat. Aine's aunt Bonnie, a woman ahead of her time in many regards, lived with Thoreau in his small cabin--and Aine has her aunt's diary to prove it. Aine's dissertation will blow a hole in the legend of Thoreau, but as Aine wanders the wooded Massachusetts land near Walden, she discovers a much darker, and far more dangerous secret. Someone is following her. A young girl who disappears without leaving a trace. Who is this child and what does she want? The Cahill family, with a long and bloody past of piracy and whaling, has left Aine a legacy. One she doesn't want. When tragedy strikes the town and Aine becomes the prime suspect, she must discover the truth of her "gift," the young girl, and the diary. Is any of it real, or is Aine losing her mind?

CATS, COTTON, AND... MURDER--The worlds of Sarah Booth Delaney's Zinnia, Mississippi and Trouble, the black cat detective, collide in this fast-paced tale of high stakes cotton research, abduction, and murder. Trouble, the Sherlockian feline, falls in with Pluto, another cat with a yin for detective work, to find the missing Trudy Wells. But the cats aren't alone. Tabitha Kingsley, posing as a psychic medium, has come to the Mississippi Delta to find her missing sister. Standing in Tabitha's way is the cynical--and compelling--Roger Long. Roger manages the vast Long Agricultural Products farm and business. Trudy was his newly hired receptionist--and possible lover--before she disappeared. In a world of wealth and privilege, Tabitha must discover the truth of what her rebellious, sometimes law-breaking, sister was really up to. And she must trust Roger to help her. Trouble and Pluto aid the bipeds in finding the answers--to Trudy's vanishing act and also to the path to trust.

USA Today bestselling author Carolyn Haines will once again delight readers with Charmed Bones, the next sparkling Sarah Booth Delaney mystery. Zinnia, Mississippi is rife with quirky characters, but the arrival of three sister witches--and their intention to open a Wiccan boarding school--sets the small town on its ear. And bodies begin to accumulate as a result. Faith, Hope, and Charity Harrington are sexy and smart. They're setting up their boarding school in an old dairy--a piece of property with tremendous development potential. And they're standing in the way of "progress," according to some in the town. When young Corey Fontana goes missing, Delaney Detective Agency is hired to find the youth--who's well known as a local hooligan. His mother, Kitten Fontana, who is married to the king of land development, believes the witches have abducted her son and makes no bones about it. She's willing to pay hard cash to find her son, especially if she can implicate the witches in his disappearance. When Sarah Booth Delaney and her partner, Tinkie Richmond, find Corey, unharmed, it is only the beginning of a series of events that include midnight dances under a full moon, love potions, and murder. Are the sister witches criminals... or victims? Do they truly have magical powers, as they claim? Sarah Booth and Tinkie must find the answer before more people are harmed. "A sure pleaser in both the mystery and the romance department... A satisfying cozy Southern whodunit."--RT Book Reviews

Can Sarah Booth Delaney read between the lines and uncover the truth about this real-life murder mystery? Private investigator Sarah Booth Delaney and her friends are celebrating New Year's Eve at the party of the year, a smashing Winter Garden party at the Prince Albert Hotel. It's a dazzling success...until Frangelica "Sister" McFee walks through the door. Sarah Booth knew Sister in college, before Sister became a bestselling author and moved to New York, and fame and fortune don't seem to have tempered her arrogance and cruelty. Sister's latest book is a memoir about the death of her mother and brother many years ago. Now a film about the book is in the works, and a film crew has descended upon Zinnia, Mississippi, to tell the complete tale. When the film crew realizes there may be more to the story behind the scenes--and between the covers of Sister's book--they hire Sarah Booth to find out what really happened all those years ago. But soon Sarah Booth realizes that someone is desperate to keep a long-buried secret...and will do whatever it takes to make sure no skeletons come out of the closet. "Delightfully fun."--New York Post"A crazy cozy series] with a little something for everyone...plenty of Evanovich zaniness, and a cast of eccentrics."--Booklist

Waverley Mansion, a unique and lovely antebellum home in northeast Mississippi, offers the most dangerous challenge yet to Raissa James and her partner in the Pluto's Snitch private detective agency. They specialize in hauntings, possessions, and the occult. In the isolation of Waverley, Raissa's special gift, her ability to see and communicate with the dead, puts a target on her back. The entity that resides at Waverley Mansion covets Raissa's sensitivity. But Raissa is not the only one in danger. She and her partner Reginald Proctor must save eight-year-old Amanda Sheridan from the dark forces roaming the grounds of Waverley. The bitter past plays a major role in the nightmare of the present-and Raissa and Reginald must find the answers to who-or what--was Nora Bailey, a woman reputed to be not only a Union spy in the heart of the South, but also one whose promiscuity put the men who loved her at risk. Raissa and Reginald can trust no one-especially not the dead--because the dead lie.

BLOOD IS THICKER... Sometimes a unique talent is inherited-and such is the case for Trouble, son of Familiar the black cat detective. Trouble's rather indolent life in the sleepy town of Wetumpka, Alabama is upended when a serial killer arrives on the scene. Trouble begins to apply the skills he learned from his dad and his hero, Sherlock Holmes. When local bookseller Tammy Lynn is attacked at the site of an impact crater, Trouble realizes he must protect his human and solve the mystery of the Silk Stocking Killer. Aiden Waters, a local deputy, has tracked the SSK to Wetumpka. Since his wife's murder, Aiden won't risk romance, but when Tammy is endangered, everything changes. Especially their hearts.

Sarah is no stranger to drama. So when this talented actress and a P. I. hears that her best friend's husband is suddenly on his deathbed back home, she snaps into "action " and gets right on the case Turns out others in Zinnia, Mississippi, have fallen prey to the illness as well. The folks from the Centers for Disease Control are on the scene, but they can't find a cure for it or for the boll weevils that are decimating Sunflower County's cotton crop. With patients in quarantine and the whole town in crisis, Sarah will go out on a limb to stop the outbreak and try to save the only place she's been proud enough to call home."

It's time to catch a killer or walk the plank for P. I. Sarah Booth Delaney in Booty Bones, award-winning author Carolyn Haines's latest whodunit. Yo ho Sarah Booth Delaney's fianc , Graf, is recovering from a severe leg injury, and Sarah Booth knows just how to help him heal. She's arranged a romantic getaway for the two of them at a lovely beach cottage on Dauphin Island off the Gulf Coast. On the first day of their island adventure, they take a historical tour led by a woman named Angela, who is well-versed in local lore-including but not limited to rumors of pirate treasure hidden somewhere on the island... Delightful... a] satisfying beignet of a mystery.-Publishers Weekly Turns out that Angela's own father was a sailor and treasure hunter who was murdered just as he was closing in on the treasure. Angela's convinced that the wrong man was imprisoned for her father's murder, and soon she enlists Sarah Booth's help to catch the real killer. But as Sarah Booth digs deeper into the case, she realizes that there's much more going on than meets the eye. With untold amounts of treasure offering plenty of motive for murder, it's hard to know who to trust. How far is Sarah Booth willing to go to unbury the truth and find the killer...before he finds her first? Entertaining.-Booklist

Professor Olive Twist has come to Zinnia, Mississippi to study a mysterious grave wherein lies the Lady in Red, a perfectly preserved and stunningly beautiful but unnamed and unclaimed body. Olive claims she can not only identify the corpse, she can also prove the woman's scandalous role in the nation's history. Olive takes it a step too far, though, when she starts connecting elite Zinnia families with the same scandal. Dander up, Zinnia's society ladies know only one way to handle Olive: they call on the private investigative services of Sarah Booth Delaney. But Olive's real agenda is clear as Mississippi mud, and when Sarah Booth discovers a present-day dead body, she knows there's more than just family pride and Southern heritage at stake. If she can't find the murderer and fast, it might just be Sarah Booth's life on the line next. Carolyn Haines pulls out all the stops in Smarty Bones, the next charming, sassy, Southern-fried Sarah Booth Delaney mystery.

BONEFIRE OF THE VANITIESCarolyn HainesA porn-star-turned-psychic has made a business of reuniting grieving relatives with their dearly departed and it's up to detective Sarah Booth to find out...why? Her claim to beyond-the-grave fame aside, there's something suspicious about medium Sherry Westin, since all of her clients happen to be Southern billionaires. Is she preying on the emotionally vulnerable for profit? Or is something far more sinister in store? Take Marjorie Littlefield. Sarah Booth is convinced that Sherry is scheming to steal away Marjorie's fortune from her sole heir: a cat. Soon Sarah Booth is on the case, posing as a maid at Marjorie's estate. Between chores, she searches for clues of psychic manipulation, mingles with the other staff, and, lo and behold, finds a few dead bodies. With spooks and charlatans around every corner, which guest or staff member might be the killer? Even Jitty, Sarah Booth's personal haint, won't tell until Sarah Booth has uncovered all of Sherry's well-kept secrets. Before it's too late...

It's time for Sarah Booth to pack up her hound dog and her P. I. business and take a shot at stardom Soon 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 to be in Hollywood, 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. It's not long before rivalries flare, unexplained accidents occur, and this leading lady mysteriously finds herself in some steamy tabloids without turning up in a single frame of film."