annieb123's Review of Bones of Holly (Sarah Booth Delaney Mystery)

by Carolyn Haines

Sarah Booth and Tinkie, along with baby Maylin, are in Bay St. Louis, Mississippi for Christmas this year, as judges for the annual library tree decorating contest.

The other two judges are writers Sandra O'Day and Janet Malone. They're bestselling Mississippi authors, but bitter competitors. In fact, the feud between them is the stuff of legends. For years, they've brawled, their sales skyrocketing with each cat fight. Sandra's most recent true crime book documents the 1920s rum-running era of Al Capone, who built a mansion in BSL and a distribution network for his liquor. Janet's book, scheduled to be published in January, is a fictional account of the same material-which only heightens their bitter rivalry.

Sarah Booth and Tinkie are shopping with little Maylin when they see Sandra and Janet outside a bookstore, fur flying, and when Sandra vanishes from her own gala later that night, suspicion turns to Janet. Janet accuses Sandra of attempting to manipulate the media by a fake disappearance, but is it a stunt, or is something more sinister at play?

Sarah Booth and Tinkie will have to dive deep into the history of Bay St. Louis, and even Al Capone himself, to get to the bottom of this case. But the trail in fact leads them back to several prominent families still residing in the area. Families who may not want their secrets known.

Originally posted on my blog Nonstop Reader.

Bones of Holly is the 25th Sarah Booth Delaney cozy mystery by Carolyn Haines. Released 11th Oct 2022 by Macmillan on their Minotaur imprint, it's 352 pages and is available in hardcover, audio, and ebook formats. It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links throughout. I've really become enamored of ebooks with interactive formats lately.

This is a very long-running cozy series with well established characters and fun convoluted mysteries which are enjoyable and full of light humor. There's a strong paranormal element (the main character is sort of haunted by her great-great grandmother's nanny, a black woman named Jitty who has Opinions and lots of cryptic advice). MC Sarah Booth Delaney is also a PI and this installment sees her drawn into a mystery around a disappearance, feuding local authors, and all set in a local holiday destination where she and her BFF Tinkie are guest judges at a Christmas tree decorating competition.

It's a very light cozy and readers should be prepared to bring a prodigious suspension of disbelief to the read. Although the mystery is self contained in this volume, the characters have developed over a very long time and if read as a standalone, expect some spoilers for earlier books in the series. With 25 (!!!) books extant at this point, it would be a great choice for a very long binge read. Readers who are already fans of Donna Andrews, Jenn McKinlay, and Ellery Adams will likely already have the series on their radar, but if not, it's a fun one.

Four stars. Cozy mystery comfort food.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.

Bones of Holly (Sarah Booth Delaney Mystery)

by Carolyn Haines

Reviewed by annieb123 on Dec 25, 2022

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