Thank you so much to NetGalley and St Martin’s Press for my copy of A Garland of Bones by Carolyn Haines in exchange for an honest review. It published October 13, 2020.
I have to say, that I felt like I needed to read the previous books in this series to truly understand the characters, the relationships, background, and quirks. I was able to piece it together as I went, but it definitely would’ve made more sense had I had the background knowledge.
I didn’t particularly enjoy the characters in this book, especially the suspects. I was confused by the ghost sighting, and it was a little too into sex for your typical cozy.
On positive is that I liked learning about Mississippi.

A Garland of Bones, the twenty second book in the Sarah Booth Delaney mystery series by Carolyn Haines, takes the reader on another fantastical Delaney Detective Agency ride rife with suspense, intrigue, retribution, and infidelity…and that’s before the story even begins! Toss in a weeklong Christmas getaway for Sarah Booth, et al…and there can be nothing but twists and turns, red herrings, and the misdirections that Ms Haines crafts so masterfully to keep this long running series thrilling and unparalleled in providing then unexpected.

With a challenging and baffling “who done it” for Sarah Booth and Tinkie to tackle, it takes the ladies’ astute talents to unravel the machinations causing the mishaps and near misses that plague the Christmas celebrations. Once again, the moments spent with these Zinnia, Mississippi characters, driven by humor, banter, and a clever dialog, is what I’ve come to depend on from this entertaining series.

This ARC book was complimentary, provided by the Publisher and NetGalley. I am voluntarily providing my honest review.

this author weaves such an amazing and captivating story that you can't help but want to read it over and over again.

I sat down to read A Garland of Bones and did not put it down until I was finished.

Great job, loved this cozy mystery.

The gist: Sara Booth Delaney and all her friends set forth to Columbus, Mississippi to enjoy the holiday festivities—including a parade, a mumming, dive bar karaoke (my fave!) and shopping galore! Just when they start to let their hair down, Clarissa Olson (the Queen Bee of the mean girls swingers club) insists on hiring Sara Booth and her BFF Tinkie (the best PIs south of the Mason/Dixon line!) to investigate who’s behind the string of accidents that are plaguing her nasty clique of husband-stealing frienemies. Personally, I would’ve given this case a hard pass, but money talks!

What I liked: When it comes to prose, character development, dialogue and overall storytelling, Carolyn Haines is the best in the contemporary cozy mystery business. That’s right—I said it! She’s the best. I always feel like I’m visiting with old friends in gator country whenever I pick up a book in this series—and I’m glad it’s still going strong throughout all these decades.

Oh, and you know what else is cool about these mysteries? I didn’t think about this until recently, but this author is ahead of her time. She included a trans-character in the cast long, long before LGBTQ+ inclusion became trendy in the mainstream literary world. This was a really bold move considering the genre’s very white-bread target audience.

What didn’t work: My only gripe is that Jiggy (the resident ghost) needs to calm down about Sara Booth providing heirs to the plantation homestead. Her nagging about “dried up eggs” is getting tiresome.

Favorite character: Sara Booth will always be my No. 1 girl! She is a lover of animals and a kind-hearted soul. I’m just so glad she finally found love with the hunky Sheriff Coleman Peters! I hope they both decide against having children just to spite Jiggy—HA!

Least favorite character: There’s a whole slew of unsavory suspects in this particular mystery, but I will have to go with Clarissa, Sara Booth’s client from hell. She is just pure nastiness with way too many hidden agendas.

Overall: This is, yet again, another quality holiday-themed mystery that I highly recommend to any cozy lover who enjoys a Deep South setting and colorful characters.

I appreciate the publisher allowing me to read this book. I feel this is an interesting mystery that was easy to read.

A Christmas trip with Sarah and friends can only be full of humor and mystery. This is the 22nd book in the series and it's an entertaining read. Lighthearted with plenty of Southern wit, you can't help but be entertained. This was just a fun cozy.

This is a Christmas Cozy Mystery, and this is the 22nd book in the Sarah Booth Delaney series. I liked this book, and the characters where fun to be will. I did not think the mystery part was the best, and it got lost at times with everything else the characters where doing. I was kindly provided an e-copy of this book by the publisher (Minotaur Books) or author (Carolyn Haines) via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review about how I feel about this book, and I want to send a big Thank you to them for that.

I have tried to read this book on several occasions and have really struggled. I even picked up the audiobook to see if that would help me get through the book. I only made it about 39% in before I decided that this would need to be a do not finish for me.

The story is extremely slow. There is no excitement. There is no draw to bring you into it. I love a good mystery and unfortunately this is not it for me.

This was my first read in the Sarah Booth Delaney series but I was not lost when starting this book. I picked up and was able to follow along so I think this one can be read as a stand-alone as well as a series.

Sarah has decided to forgo the usual Christmas party and festivities that she throws and go on a trip with her partner and friends. The Delaney Detective Agency decides to go to Zinnia and attend some of the traditions that go on there. Tinkie, Sarah's partner, has planned out all the activities for them and is anxious to get on with it. When strange things start happening though and little "accidents" take place, there start's to be questions asked.

One of the locals decides to hire the detective agency to find out what or who is causing all of these little "accidents". So much for some downtime for the group, they are now put back to work to figure out what is going on around them. I did enjoy this cozy Christmas mystery and can read a great Christmas book anytime of the year!

I voluntarily read and reviewed this book and all opinions are my own. Thanks to Netgalley, the publisher and the author for an advanced copy.

I really enjoyed this book. Comedy mixed with mystery, it had me laughing out loud in places. It’s the first in this series that I’ve read but I would like to read more after this!

by prolific author Carolyn Haines. Although this is a lengthy series, it is not necessary to have read the entire series as each story can stand alone, and does so, with brief mentions of characters or threads so the new reader feels right at home.

In this story, Tinkie Bellcase Richmond has planned a wonderful holiday getaway for her closest friend as they travel a few hours away from their homes in Zinnia, Mississippi, to Columbus, where they will partake in the local holiday celebrations. Tinkie has booked the whole Bisonnette House B & B for their group.

At one of the first outings the group attends a local lady has a close call with an errant microphone and suffers quite a shock. At another event soon after another local has her brand new Cadillac convertible destroyed. At the third event, a different local takes an unexplained tumble down a flight of stairs. It is at this point local socialite Clarissa Olson hires Sarah Booth and Tinkie to figure out who is committing these crimes. Even though none have been deadly, the injuries have been substantial and Clarissa wants to catch the culprit before one outward strike is deadly, especially if she is the ultimate target. As the self proclaimed queen of the loose swinger group, Clarissa has good reason to expect she will be.

This is another wonderfully woven mystery by seasoned mystery writer Carolyn Haines. Each mystery she writes has multiple twists and turns and this one is no different. Once again, Ms. Haines has penned a twisty-turny mystery that will keep the reader guessing until the very end and then leave her readers awaiting the next edition! I did enjoy this book and I do recommend it!

A Garland of Bones by Carolyn Haines is an entertaining light read about a group of friends, including private detectives, Sarah Booth and her friend, Tinkie, who were on a week's vacation in a town near their home with their boyfriends and husbands. Sarah Booth was looking forward to this time away with Coleman, the love of her life. They were staying in a lovely B&B; in fact they had taken it over for the week. Tinkie had it planned down to the moment. This was to be her last childless vacation and she intended to make the most of it. This wonderful town had its own issues, of course, not the least of which appeared to be a group of cheating spouses. Of course, the detectives got involved to the tune of $15,000. Sarah Booth bought Coleman a saddle. She had to do this job now that the money was spent. The problem was past simple cheating and people were getting hurt. She would not give up her vacation. They would do both.

This is such a cute series. It is a cozy despite the fact that Sarah Booth and Twinkie are professionals. Murder is really not part of what they do on a daily basis. The clues are all there, but random. The author takes us on a merry journey, figuring this one out. It is well plotted and despite the number of characters, easy to follow. The vacation was fun as well. There is implied sex, but it is not overt so no worries, there. Clean as a whistle, except for murder. Sarah Booth, Twinkie, and Coleman are the only ones of the vacationers that get much page time. Oh, and a fun part of the story is Jitty, Sarah Booth's resident ghost who gets great glee out of appearing from nowhere in the guise of a movie character. She gives clues, which is all she is able to do, but often they are so obscure as to be of no use at all. She is fun, though. Good book if you love cozies or other light reading. I recommend it.

I was invited to read a free ARC of A Garland of Bones by Netgalley. All opinions contained herein are solely my own. #netgalley #agarlandofbones

This is book 22 in the Sarah Booth Delaney series and I sad to see there is only 1 more book for this series. Sarah Booth and her boyfriend Colman are joining their friends on a weekend get away to Columbus where a series or accidents don't seem all that accidental. Christmas shopping was on the agenda for everyone but now the owner of the B&B where they are staying is in the middle of major problems. Can be read as a stand alone but the catching up with all the previous characters adds a lot to the story. I received a copy of this ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review.

A Garland of Bones by Carolyn Haines is a Sarah Booth Christmas mystery. I always look forward to catching up with Sarah Booth, Jitty, Tinkieand the gang in Zinnia and the Mississippi Delta.. This year, they go on a Christmas trip to Columbus, full of vices and infidelity, where, as lways, they find themselves in the middle of it all. Gossip, murder, and mayhem. When Sarah Booth and Tinkie are on the case, they are sure to find the truth.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an ARC of this book.

This book is a good mix of humor, mystery and family. It was an excellent addition to the series about characters Sarah Booth and her friends.

This installment in the series was a nice change in scenery. I had an idea about who the culprit was, and thought it played out well. Christmas getaways with this bunch always sound so fun and make the reader want to go along on the adventure. I look forward to each book in this series and Jitty is a must have in every household!! Can't wait until the next, thank you NetGalley and the publisher.

I love love this series. It is by far my favorite southern mystery series. This is a perfect read during the holidays. I loved seeing the gang take a road trip and enjoy Columbus MS. which of course included a lot of shopping. I liked that the plot was not about a murder but who was after the popular group in town I highly recommend this book and it would make a perfect stocking stuffer

December in the Mississippi Delta is not the snow-covered trees kind of holiday season. However, towns each have special celebrations. Sarah Booth Delaney is happy to travel to nearby Columbus for a few days of alone time with her honey, Coleman, the local lawman. Of course, alone time is a relative term since the trip is funded by Sarah Booth’s PI business partner and pregnant at last best friend, Tinkie. Along for the trip is Tinkie’s husband Oscar, CeCe the reporter, her boyfriend, Jaytee, a jazz player, Millie from the diner, and Harold. And even though this is a vacation, there still shouldn’t be any thoughts of sleeping in. Tinkie is unrepentantly a morning person and wants to shop, sightsee, and enjoy herself as much as possible before the long-awaited baby arrives.

Tinkie has rented the entire hotel and hired a limo for their group. One of the activities is the flotilla of holiday decorated boats. The weather is cold, the water icy, but the excessive amount of lights and decorations on the boats is heartwarming. When the boat they’re on has an underwater collision, people are thrown off their feet. Two women disappear overboard. Only one is rescued.

Donna, the boat and hotel’s owner, has lost her best friend. The other victim hires Sarah Booth and Tinkie to find out who’s trying to kill her. The boating incident isn’t the first time.

Then all the pranks start—a faulty wire, concrete poured into a convertible, a fall down the stairs—they seem random, but with a bit of investigation, Tinkie and Sarah Booth are able to find out they’re aimed at society women who are not too choosy about who they sleep with, married or not.

Despite their reluctance to accept the job, Tinkie and Sarah Booth are determined to do a good job, make the most of their time away from home, and have a merry Christmas when home again.

This is book twenty-two of twenty-three. It looks like everyone has figured out what matters most and are on the verge of having it. Sarah Booth has Coleman—and Jitty, her resident ghost. Tinkie’s baby will fulfill her dream. CeCe and Millie have a new column in the paper and are having great fun with it. The romance between Coleman and Sarah Booth is hot enough to catch the page on fire.

Look for book twenty-three, Independent Bones, in May, 2021, available for pre-order now.

I love this series and this Christmas addition was great. Sarah and her friends are off on a Christmas trip for some fun but of course they run into a mystery to solve. I loved the story and visiting again with the characters.
Many thanks to Minotaur Books and to NetGalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion b

I have been provided with a review copy of A Garland of Bones from NetGalley for an impartial review. This is the twenty second book in the Sarah Booth Delaney Mystery series and I just loved getting to reenter this world. I was just drawn into this wonderful story and I just couldn’t get enough of it. It was just so easy to get lost in this great story. I just didn’t want it to end. I just lost myself in and I just couldn’t get enough of these interesting characters. I can’t wait to see what’s next from this author.