I was so excited to read another Sarah Booth mystery. There was nothing to disappoint in this jewel of an episode of her life. Sarah Booth is approached by Tameeka a friend and a medium who says she’s being awaken by nightmares of a beating heart. They’re not sure what to make about this. Then Elisa Redd approaches the detective agency to help find her daughter Lydia. Lydia has been missing for almost 7 years having fled an abusive husband. Tope, her husband, is trying to file for Lydia’s death to collect her hefty inheritance. As Sarah Booth and Tinkie search for Lydia and her friend, they encounter more mysteries and red herrings. I love the characters in this series. I love how Sarah Booth and Coleman’s love and trust in each other is growing. #TellTaleBones #netgalley

Sarah Booth, Tinkie and the gang have another local mystery to unravel. A seemingly well-to-do husband's wife has been missing for years and now he wants to declare her dead. Seems reasonable, until the missing woman's mother steps in to thwart his mission to inherit his wife's money, land, etc. Mom claims her daughter is alive and hires Sara and Tinkie to find her, and prove the "grieving" husband is actually an abusive snake. Their psychic friend, Tammy, gives them a clue to work from--albeit abstract.

Sara and Tinkie drive all over the South to solve this mystery. From Natchez to Memphis and back to Zinnia more than once. I always love Haines' description of the South-both the good and the bad. I also love how Sarah and Tinkie have evolved over the last 26 books. They are more of a team then ever, plus they trust and work in tandem with Sheriff Coleman and his team.

It is always a delight to visit Zinnia.

Thank you Minotaur Books for the early copy!

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/5168920663

I don’t think Carolyin Haines can write a bad or boring book nor I think I will stop enjoying Sarah Booth mysteries.
They’re entertaining, well plotted and compelling but there’s also a more serious side and I learned a lot about historical fact or places.
This solid mystery is a bit darker than usual as it talks about missing persons and family violence.
Don’t expect a gritty story, Ms Haines delivers a very entertaining story with food for thought.
Sarah and her friends are as lovely as usual and it’s like meeting old friends and catching up.
Another winner I read in one sitting.
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to Minotaur Books for this arc, all opinions are mine

A long running really entertaining series.Really have enjoyed the latest episode.Well written great characters always look forward to the latest in the series.#netgalley #telltalebones

In the earlier books, I’d never have figured Sarah Booth and Tinkie would end up as such good friends let alone private investigator partners. And Tinkie’s a mom too, shut the front door! But she’s a really good mom and loves that baby like crazy. I liked how she always put her baby’s needs first, but she’s never a slacker in the investigation either.

This author did an amazing job of creating the most loathable character I’ve ever read about. I mean seriously, he needed a posse of good ol’ boys to just take care of him out in the north pasture. But I actually love what happened to this character eventually. Can’t really reveal a whole lot other than yup, baddies get their comeuppance in the Sarah Booth Delaney series. And sometimes that awesome hound Sweetie Pie gets to help!

What an epic showdown/takedown of the perp in this story. Don’t ya just love when a plan comes together?
I voluntarily read and reviewed an ARC of this book provided by St. Martin’s Paperbacks via NetGalley, and my opinions are my own.

Sarah Booth, private investigator extraordinaire, is hot on a cold case. Lydia Redd Maxwell has been missing almost 7 years. Her abusive husband has decided to file for her death certificate, without a body no less. He is determined to gain her fortune to get him out of some bad investments. But Sarah Booth and her partner, Tinkie have other ideas!

I have been a fan of Sarah Booth for quite awhile. And there are tons of books in this series and no I have not read all of them.

Sarah Booth is a hot mess and I just love her! She is definitely entertaining and I can so see me and a couple of my friends pulling off some of her high jinks! This book is full of her antics! But don’t worry…SHE GETS THE JOB DONE!

I love how Carolyn Haines places little tidbits of history about Mississippi in her books. It’s just perfect for this Mississippi girl. Add in all the Southern characters ( and half of them live down the street from me!), and you have a cute mess of a read!

Need a good southern mystery…THIS IS IT! Grab your copy today.

I received this novel from the publisher for a honest review.

Cozy mysteries is a new found favorite genre for me so I am jumping into this series as a fresh reader. What I liked about series like, A Sarah Booth Delaney Mystery, is you can jump in and out and it doesn't affect your ability to understand things.

Sarah Booth and Tinkie are hired to find out the truth behind the disappearance of Lydia Redd Maxwell. With a husband wanting to marry his new fiancé and cash in on Lydia's life insurance policy, it is up to Sarah and Tinkie to find out if Lydia is actually dead and if so who killed her or where she has been hiding for the past seven years.

The comedy of these characters kept me rolling and I enjoyed the addition of their pets. There were some chapters that were a bit heavier than others, so if domestic violence is a trigger be warned, but I thought Carolyn Haines wrote it well.

Overall I came away from Tell-Tale Bones impressed. Thank you St. Martin's Press for giving me access to this ARC!

This is book 26 in the Sarah Booth Delaney series and could be read as a stand alone but you’ll want to add more context to the characters by reading some of the previous books. Sarah Booth Delaney live down south and has a large group of friends in her small town. She lives with her pets and her haunt, Tinkey. Tinkey appears to Sarah as different people and this week it’s Edgar Allan Poe. When her partner in their PI business has a dream about the Tell Tale Heart Sarah gets a feeling that something bad is about to happen. I enjoy this series and the characters are all unforgettable. An easy read without too much thought and violence. Enjoy this one.

Sarah Booth and Tinkie take on the cold case of the missing Lydia Redd Maxwell. Lydia and her best friend Bethany disappeared almost 7 years ago, and Lydia's abusive husband wants to have her declared legally dead so he can marry his new fiance and claim his dead wife's sizeable inheritance. Elisa Redd, Lydia's mother, hires the dynamic duo to see if they can either track down an alive Lydia, or find out if Lydia is dead. Sarah Booth and Tinkie are in for a wild ride as they chase leads from Elisa's tip line across Sunflower County and the Delta clear to Lousiana and beyond. DId Tope kill her? Did the two women flee to Afghanistan? Or something else?

This was...a weird one. Bouncing between abortion is bad and the patriarchy kills women (and also abortion is fine as long as it's by a conjure woman?), between drugs are bad and medical weed is good. There were a lot of conflicting opinions at war in this book. Also, these women seem to really love to put their pets in peril, carting around both dogs and a cat nearly everywhere with them. Sarah even considers bringing her dog on a stakeout (which she didn't, and I'm glad she didn't because you can't really stake anyone out when you have to constantly take a dog out to pee and poop, can you?). There were also some parts of the story where the author seems to forget that the characters were already doing something--like Tinkie and Sarah Booth decide to have Elisa publicly fire them...while she was definitely not in a position to do so. Also, everyone lies to everyone lol. Is no one in the Delta truthful about who they are? Things were a bit wobbly, story-wise, at times. But the rest of the story was well told, and I was really invested in Sarah and Tinkie finding not only Lydia, but several other missing characters in the story.

Anyway, if you've enjoyed this series, you will enjoy this installment. I generally love a good cozy mystery, and this is a definitely a solid series and I'm looking forward to Sarah Booth and Tinkie's next adventure.

The fun cover of this book didn't prepare me for the more serious mystery that unfolded. Sarah Booth Delaney and her partner Tinkie are Private investigators who have been hired to try to find missing persons Lydia and Bethany. Lydia's husband, Tope, is believed to have been abusive and the big question throughout the book is are the women still alive and hiding from him, or did he kill them. As Sarah Booth and Tinkie dig deeper into their investigation other missing women cases come to light and they must work through each of them to determine if the disappearances are related. The author pulls together lots of threads to create and unique and satisfying story. I was quickly invested in the fate of the missing woman. This is book #26 in the series, but the story was still interesting and fresh.

Thank you Minotaur Books and NetGalley for the advanced reader copy. This is my honest review.

This has been a fun series. I always enjoy spending time with Sarah Booth, Jitty, Coleman, and company. I was a bit put off by the domestic violence topic in this book.

Thanks to Minotaur Books and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this book.

Twenty-six books in this series and I've been reading them since day one. Sarah Booth feels like family by now. She and Jitty, her mischievous ghost (with an attitude) never disappoint me. In Tell-Tale Bones she and her best friend Tinkie have a new case that is six years cold. Elisa is in quite a state and needs the help of a private investigator (or in this case two) to find the slightest bit of information about her missing daughter so the police can re-start their investigation. Time is of the essence. Elisa has always held out hope that her daughter, Lydia, had fled an abusive marriage with the help of her best friend. Both women supposedly went to Afghanistan but were never seen again. That was six years ago and now her husband has a new woman in his life and he wants Lydia declared dead. He's filled the paperwork. The catch? There was no prenup and he will get his hands on her very large estate if he succeeds. If Lydia and her friend, Bethany, didn't leave the country might this be a case of murder?
Reading this series is a wonderful escape full of people I would love to call friends. Sarah Booth is a caring, strong and clever woman with close ties to her roots and her community, Zinnia, Mississippi. The puzzle is always well constructed. I never try to figure out who done it, I just go with the flow.
My thanks to the publisher Minotaur and to NetGalley for giving me an advance copy in exchange for my honest review.

With it being the 26th installment, it took me a bit to understand that most of these MC's were animals. I didn't know that there were so many books previously, otherwise I probably wouldn't had requested it. It took me a little while to really get into the book. I do love a good mystery, but it's always a hit or miss with me when it comes to these cozy ones.

Private Investigator Sarah Booth Delaney and her partner Tinkie are hired by Elisa Redd to reopen the cold case of her daughter's disappearance. Lydia Redd Maxell disappeared along with her friend Bethany nearly seven years ago. Now Lydia’s husband, Tope, is set to inherit the fortune, and Elisa believes he’s behind the disappearance. Sarah Booth and Tinkie soon connect the case to a series of mysterious disappearances over the years. With another woman’s life at stake, the friends follow an increasingly twisty trail all over Sunflower County, leading them to a tree and an empty grave in the county cemetery. A grave that’s said to be haunted…

This is book #26 in the series. I have only read a few of the previous books but I did enjoy those fairly well, so I was looking forward to reading this one. Unfortunately, I hard time getting into this one. I can't pinpoint exactly what it was about this book that I didn't enjoy other than I felt it lacked in the paranormal elements if it were to be a paranormal cozy mystery. So I would classify this more as just a cozy mystery. Overall, I rate it a solid 3.

Sarah Booth Delaney & Tinkie Richmond are back with a case of a missing socialite, Lydia Redd Maxwell. At Elisa Redd's behest, Sarah Booth and Tinkie must search for Lydia and her friend, Bethany, who disappeared 7 years ago. Lydia's husband, Tope, is most definitely to blame for this disappearance, but time is of the essence, when Tope files to have Lydia declared dead so he can collect her inheritance. Will Sarah Booth and Tinkie figure it out in time? And what about the strange disappearances of a few local girls as well? Are they linked with Lydia and Bethany? With Sarah Booth and Tinkie on the case, this mystery will be solved in no time.

*Special thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for this e-arc.*

Tell-Tale Bones is the 26th installment in Carolyn Haines's popular and long-running Sarah Booth Delaney mysteries.

P.I. Sarah Booth Delaney and her partner Tinkie take on a cold case at the behest of a woman whose daughter Lydia has been missing for almost seven years. Lydia was married to an abusive man who now wants her legally declared dead so he can inherit her fortune and remarry. In trying to discover what happened to Lydia, Sarah and Tinkie uncover a string of disappearances and an empty grave, said to be haunted.

Having skipped around in this series and being reminded how fun it is, I am determined to catch them all up after reading this one! It's a well-written paranormal cozy set in Mississippi. And it delivers with two smart and likable female investigators, a collection of larger-than-life characters, southern sass, an unpredictable ghost, a psychic friend who is having disturbing dreams, a twisty mystery, and literary references, including Edgar Allen Poe's Tell-Tale Heart. Throughout the book, the ghost appears in the image of famous authors who have passed on, which I thoroughly enjoyed!

Even though this is a lighthearted read, the story is a bit grittier than a typical cozy and touches on some very serious topics, including domestic abuse and other women's issues, but all are handled respectfully. Well-paced and entertaining with a touch of Southern gothic fun! A great addition to the series!

Thank you to NetGalley, St. Martin's Press, and Minotaur Books for the opportunity to review this ARC.

A private investigator, Sarah Booth, her partner, Tinkie, and their eccentric ghost friend, Jitty, seek help from Sarah's soulmate, hunky Sheriff Coleman, to find a wealthy heiress who disappeared almost seven years ago. They must face down Tope, Lydia's violent husband, who is the prime suspect in two previous murders as well as the disappearance of Lydia. Author Carolyn Haines is the USA Today, bestselling author of the Sarah Booth Delaney Mystery Series and several other books in mystery and crime. She is the recipient of the Harper Lee Award for Distinguished Writing. She is also a former journalist, bartender, photographer, farmhand, and college professor who lives on a farm.

I'm amazed at the many ways that Haines grabbed me initially and let me come up for air just long enough to breathe, then pulled me under again for another breathtaking twist. The title caught me before I realized it was Jitty teasing Edgar Allen Poe. The characters Jitty stirs up make me feel playful. I was taken aback when Edgar Allen Poe showed up in his period clothing. Jitty's apparitions amazed me. I just sat there and laughed and read. The way the author brought so many brief comments to flesh out the characters and settings is terrific.

The mystery was the focus all the way through. At the same time, there were occasional walk-ons from the dogs, romance, and mysteries other than the immediate attention to Lydia, who is missing but with no clues about whether she was off on a mission in Afghanistan or had been killed. There's just too much to tell you. It would be best if you read this yourself.Thanks to NetGalley and publisher Minotaur Books for offering me this ebook. This review is voluntary, and the opinions are my own.

I recommend this book to the many fans of Carolyn Haines. Readers of cozy Southern mysteries, southern United States fiction, and cozy ghost mysteries will also enjoy it.

PI Sarah Booth Delaney and her partner Tinkie are hired by Elisa Redd who is seeking answers to the unsolved disappearance of her daughter Lydia Redd Maxwell. Lydia's abusive husband Tope is determined to declare Lydia legally dead in order to inherit her vast fortune.

Did Lydia really travel to Afghanistan with her best friend Bethany to work on as human rights organizers? Sarah Booth & Tinkie question Tope's current fiancee Vivian Dantzeler who dies of a mysterious fall a few days later. Was her death really a suicide or was Vivian pushed? They finally decide on asking their friend Madama Topeeka to hold a seance at the mansion to summon Lydia's spirit & get some answers.

I normally enjoy reading books in this long-running series but struggled a bit with this one.

I received a digital ARC from Netgalley and St. Martin's Press/Minotaur Books. All opinions are my own.

Sarah Booth and Tinkie find themselves confronting a topical issue when they agree to look for Lydia, who disappeared almost 7 years ago along with her friend Bethany. Lydia's mom Elise is certain that Lydia's husband did something very bad and that he wants her declared dead so that he can not only inherit her money but also marry Vivian his new fiance. Sarah Booth and Tinkie discover there's more than meets the eye and, along with their pal Madam Tomeeka, they investigate. I've enjoyed this series from the beginning- although this will be fine as a standalone- because each installment is like spending time with friends in a happy place. Make no mistake, there are rats here but Sarah Booth and Tinkie always make me smile. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. A good read- I'm looking forward to the next one.

I was hoping I could easily jump into this series, but I feel like my unfamiliarity with the characters negatively impacted my reading experience. We have little to no character development, and certain things, such as a recurring ghostly presence, weren’t explained.

The tone of the book is light and fun, while skirting some dark content. I appreciate that the author took on heavy subject matter, giving readers something to think about without being heavy-handed.

As with many cozy mysteries, the plot is far-fetched, but not so much that I couldn’t make the leap.