I received this ARC via Netgalley and St. Martin’s Press/MinotaurBooks, in return for an honest review. This is the latest book in a long-running series. This book is an homage to Christmas in the Mississippi delta. The protagonist, Sarah Booth goes on a road trip with her best friends, exploring each town’s unique take on the holidays. While it’s supposed to be everything fun about the holidays, the trip rapidly takes a turn as events keep happening and people are getting hurt. When Sarah and her detective partner, Tinkie, are hired to discover the antagonist, they exchange their holiday hats for deerstalkers and get to work.
Fans of this series should enjoy the latest offering by Ms. Haines. Sarah’s intrepid team is back on the case and bringing their unique perspectives to the story. The series features a ghost, as well as boyfriends and spouses so there’s a large cast of characters to keep straight in the storyline.

A great read, but not the best of the series. The characters are fantastic as always. Even the ones you love to hate. The mystery was okay. I figured out the who early but not the why. I was honestly more invested in the mystery of where the guys kept disappearing to. While I've found the different settings in the last couple books interesting, I'm more than ready for more Zinnia. I loved the scenes with Jitty. Her as Madea had me rolling. I'm ready for the next book!

Sarah Booth and friends are off to a pre-Christmas week in Columbus, MS. As usual Tinkie has planned this excursion with detailed activities. This is, of course, her last Christmas before the baby. Somehow, amidst all the activities Sarah Booth and Tinkie end up with a job. The “in crowd” seems to be swing but someone is out to get them.

This is one of my favorite series and this book does not disappoint. A great Christmas addition to your reading.

Thank you Carolyn Haines-I thoroughly enjoyed "Garland of Bones" your latest undertaking featuring Sara Both Delaney! I was given a copy of "Them Bones" your first installment in this series and I have been hooked ever since. I have enjoyed how the characters in these books have evolved and how you are able to weave lessons into the storyline through their experiences. Garland of Bones, a hot cup of coffee and a comfy couch transported me out of this troubled time into a mystery full of fun, danger. love and laughter!

This definitely was not the best book in this series. I was quite surprised, usually I enjoy the new additions that come out. As the 22nd book in this series, I was hoping for a stronger, more puzzling mystery.

Not the best in the series by far; this mystery seemed to drag on. Die hard fans of Sarah Booth Delaney will likely enjoy this title but new readers would be better served with a different title in the series.

Sarah Booth and Tinkie head out of town with the gang for some pre-Christmas relaxation. As usual it’s interrupted and the Delaney Detective Agency is called in to solve some mysteries. I enjoyed the book however I would say you need to read series from the start. I would not consider this a stand alone. It was a fun holiday mystery with great writing.
#A Garland of Bones #NetGalley

I received this book in exchange for an honest review. You can purchase your copy here on October 13th:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B084M1R3JX/ref=dp-kindle-redirect?_encoding=UTF8&btkr=1
I am on a streak of Christmas books! This one is near and dear to my heart, as I simply love and adore Carolyn Haines! Her covers are simply entertaining enough. I think this is how I was drawn in. I had taken one of my kids to a drop off class and had an hour to myself- what to do for an hour all alone. I am a bibliophile, where else would I go, but a bookstore. I normally go for the bestsellers to see what has made the list and see what I am missing out on while I am behind on all of my ARCs. I think one of her pink covered books called to me and I quickly went to the cashier to pay for it and went back to the drop off class to sit and read my book while I still had some quiet time left. I finished this book and well, I was then hooked on her books. This will be my seventeenth book that I have read by her. I have gotten my Aunt and my mother hooked on her books. They love to hear when I get the ARCs because that means they know that they can preorder the book!
We begin this book in December in the Mississippi Delta. After a nice morning ride on Reveler, Sarah Booth Delaney starts to prepare to decorate Dahlia House for Christmas. This chapter would not be complete without an appearance by Jitty, the local haunt in another form. Jitty is always talking about the shelf life of Sarah’s eggs. Jitty wants Dahlia House filled with kids and sooner than later so she would have Heirs to haunt. We learn about the trip that Tinkie has planned for everyone. Columbus, MS; the birthplace of Tennessee Williams, born as Thomas Lanier Williams, but adopted the pen name as Tennessee Williams. He is considered one of the foremost playwrights of the 20th Century, known for A Streetcar Named Desire, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, The Glass Menagerie, just to name a few of the more predominant ones. We all know that Tinkie and Sarah can go nowhere without shenanigans. Trouble seems to follow them, but this time they are bringing along Coleman, Sarah’s boyfriend, Oscar, Tinkie’s husband, Cece, Tinkie and Sarah’s bestie who is a journalist, Jaytee, a hot blues musician, Harold, Oscar’s colleague, and Millie, the best cook in the Southeast. UM, can I be Tinkie’s friend? A trip for Christmas with a bunch of Christmas activities- yes please- where do I sign up? Did I mention that Tinkie rented a limo? One that was “ honking big limo” – yup author’s words, I know, sounds like I wrote it, but nope, all Ms. Haines! Sarah has so much to worry about as she leaves her house, as she has a slew of animals, cats, dogs and horses, oh my! Coleman, Sarah’s beau arranged for his colleague, DeWayne to feed all of the animals, he actually enjoyed enjoying them. Tinkie is quite the planner. She has the week planned perfectly, including keeping the limo for the entire week and not have to worry about directions and wrangling everyone getting places. Plus, for everyone except Tinkie, who is with child or in the delicate way as the southern say, they don’t have to draw the short stick and get stuck driving while everyone else is imbibing. They even stocked the limo with champagne. Yup, I want to be BFFs with Sarah and Tinkie! While on vacation, Tinkie and Sarah, also known together as the Delaney Detective Agency were discretely hired to investigate a situation; a snake in a mailbox, a person who may or may not have been pushed. What vacation wouldn’t be made more exciting by a case to be solved. We are taken on the ride of the investigation, I cannot wait to see this up on the big screen in my living room, whether it be in TV series or movie form! I loved this book with all the sites to be seen in Columbus. Maybe there will be a trip in the post-virus to Columbus!

This southern mystery was a great read. They travel across Mississippi for a holiday getaway but when unexplained accidents keep happening they are drawn into solving it. This book kept me guessing until the end. I love books set in the south especially my home state of MS when we are not portrayed as uneducated rednecks. It was fun to read about places I am familiar with. This was my first book by this author but will definitely not be my last.

A Garland of Bones is book 22 in the Sarah Booth Delaney Mystery series by Carolyn Haines.

This is the first book I’ve read in this series and it was easy to read as a stand-alone book.

Tinkie plans pre-Christmas trip to Columbus, MIssissippi for Sarah Booth and their friends from Zinnia. While enjoying their holiday, Tinkie and Sarah Booth end up taking a complex case with a lot of distasteful suspects.

Jitty is something else. I definitely want to read the previous books to get more of that history.

Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the free copy of this book and I am voluntarily leaving a review.

Sarah Booth has gone on a Christmas road trip with her best friends. Each little Delta town has a special Christmas activity, and Sarah Booth’s bff and detective partner, Tinkie, has arranged to rent a limo for the gang and drive to Columbus, MS, to stay in a B&B. Visions of Christmas shopping, parade floats, and romantic rendezvous are already dancing in their heads. But Christmas cheer soon turns to Christmas fear when, at one event after another, people keep getting hurt. Christmas karaoke gets ugly when one singer’s microphone gives her an electric shock. A party during a historic home tour ends with a fall down the stairs for one of Columbus’s most disreputable “players.” And when the woman who hires Sarah Booth to find the villain behind the so-called accidents is nearly killed with an arrow during a holiday mumming, Sarah Booth knows something more sinister is at work.

This was another delightful entry in this series that I have followed from the first book. I always look forward to a new volume in the series to see what Sarah Booth, Tinkie, Oscar, Coleman, Cece, Jaytee and Millie are going to get themselves involved with events. I want to thank NetGalley and the publisher for the chance to read and review this book.

A Garland of Bones is the latest in a long series by Carolyn Haines about Sarah Booth Delaney, a southern belle and detective. Having never read any of the previous books, I did not know what to expect when given this book by Net Galley, I had picked it for its Christmas theme, thinking a fun mystery might be a great opening to the season.

The book opens with Sarah, her new boyfriend and her friends going to Columbus for a week of holiday festivities. The descriptions of the events and the city made me want to put it on my list of places to visit, especially at the holidays. Of course, being a detective story, it doesn’t take long for the group to find that all is not simply holiday cheer in this small town. A game of revenge or jealousy is starting to look deadly.

Perhaps if I was a long term reader of this series, I would have been more invested in the characters but I didn’t know the back story and felt there were times when it might be needed. I was confused by Jitty’s appearance, not knowing who she was or why she was involved in the book and felt the larger friend group was largely just decorative. The plot was interesting though a bit uneven. This was not a good book for me even as a fun diversion. The writing felt too obvious and I found myself rolling my eyes often.

For fans of the series, I am sure it will be a fun holiday addition. It was just not my kind of book.

Love the adventures of Sarah Booth and Tinkie.
In this installment, our main characters go to another town for a winter holiday.
There is a lot going on, the plot is filled with unique characters and situations right out of a movie. There is jealousy, infidelity and a lot of twists.
Enjoyed this book till the very end.

Great cozy with paranormal elements
Sarah Booth and friends plan a fun holiday in a neighboring town, but are drawn into a local mystery. Property damage and odd 'accidents' have a local hiring the detectives to find out who is responsible. Working with lots of suspects and motives and few clues, the ladies dig in with the help of Sarah's beau, Coleman, a police chief in their town, eventually find more than they expected while still enjoying their vacation. There are enough twists and turns to keep one truly engaged.
I requested and received a NetGalley ARC gratis and offer my opinion in the same way.

Friendship, love, and attempted murder all great themes to help get you in the mood for the holidays. I did feel that the story dragged a bit in the middle, but over all it was an cute easy read. Perfect for a cold early holiday weekend read.

Sarah Booth and her friends are enjoying a pre-Christmas vacation in Columbus Mississippi when a group of "players" begin experiencing unexplained accidents. Although Sarah Booth is disgusted by the lives of this group, she ends up taking the case and hoping to find the guilty party before she heads home. Meanwhile, Coleman and the other men are working on a Christmas surprise for the ladies. Full of fun Christmas activities this book is a great addition to this series.

I had a hard time getting into some of this book. I felt like the middle was bogged down. I did enjoy it and was very surprised by who the bad guys were. I really like them. #A Garland of Bones #NetGalley

When Sarah Booth, Tinkie and friends all get together there is sure to be fun. And a mystery or two. This latest book by Carolyn Haines is no different.
When Sarah Booth, Tinkie, their friends and partners all decide to go to Columbus, Mississippi for a week of Christmas shopping, fun and relaxation in a B and B, they end up in the middle of a string of accidents that they end up helping to solve.
A microphone with a short in it, an arrow flying at people during a Mummers parade and a person overboard during a boat parade are just a few of the happenings. Why were these people targeted? Who wants to really hurt people? Fun and adventures abound as the whole gang tries to get to the answers. If you are a fan of these books, you will be very happy. If you've never read these books, you really need to begin. You won't regret it!
Thanks NetGalley for an advanced copy of A Garland of Bones in exchange for an honest review.

I loved this zany crazy fun book!! Lots of characters that have great connections with each other and a story full of plot twists that just kept coming!!! Tinkie and Sarah Booth and their crew decide to take a holiday but find themselves completely in the mix of a cast of any-of-them- could have done it!! Each interaction leaves you with the answer, until it’s not the correct one, this story just keeps moving and it’s enjoyable and mysterious until the very end!!#AGARLANDOFBONES#NETGALLEY

It’s Christmastime and Sarah Booth Delaney is ready to soak up as much Christmas cheer as she possibly can. Presents are bought, decorations hung, and her best friend and detective partner, Tinkie, has arranged a Christmas road trip for the two and their friends. Sarah Booth is excited about the visit to the charming Columbus, MS B&B but she’s even more excited about the few days of uninterrupted cozy time with the ever so handsome, Sherriff Coleman Peters.
With a warning from Jitty, the loveable ghost that haunts Sarah Booth’s home in Zinnia, she packs her bags and off they go in a limo. Things go from good, to bad, to worse when at more than one of the holiday events they attend, someone gets hurt. Luckily, it’s no one from their circle, and most of the injuries are minor at first, but Sarah Booth quickly realizes that these incidents are no accidents. Although they agreed not to work on this trip, Sarah Booth and Tinkie can’t help but take on the case before someone is seriously injured, or worse. A large paycheck doesn’t hurt their efforts either, but mostly they just want to find the bad guys and get back to enjoying their holiday. As they begin to ask questions, they come to the realization that there are far more people on the naughty list in this town than they anticipated and it is no easy task for them to finish their job.
An electrocution, a fall—or push—down a grand staircase, two women overboard and a handful of winter wonderland style activities are just a few things that you’ll experience while reading “A Garland of Bones.” I showed up late to Carolyn Haines’ Sarah Booth Delany series but you can bet I’ll be racing to catch up. This was such a fun read!

Reviewed by Abbey Peralta for Suspense Magazine