Sticks and bones

Book Cover
Average Rating
Publisher
Minotaur Books
Publication Date
©2017.
Language
English

Description

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. The film crew soon realizes there may be more to the story than meets the eye—or is told in Sister’s memoir—and they hire Sarah Booth to discover the absolute truth about those deaths so many years ago. But Sarah Booth quickly realizes that someone is desperate to keep the truth hidden and will go to any lengths necessary to protect a long-held secret.Carolyn Haines's next Sarah Booth Delaney novel, Sticks and Bones, is sure to delight series fans and newcomers alike.

More Details

ISBN
9781250085269

Discover More

Also in this Series

Excerpt

Loading Excerpt...

Author Notes

Loading Author Notes...

Similar Series From Novelist

NoveList provides detailed suggestions for series you might like if you enjoyed this book. Suggestions are based on recommendations from librarians and other contributors.
The Mississippi Delta and Sofie Metropolis mysteries are chick lit mysteries that feature zany women sleuths who are always getting involved in murder. The humorous stories are fast paced with intricate plots and eccentric characters. -- Merle Jacob
These quirky, atmospheric, and humorous cozy mystery series both feature intelligent women investigating crimes with the help of an unusual and colorful non-human partner. These novels feature witty dialogue, zany plots, and vividly atmospheric portraits of the American South. -- Derek Keyser
Strong, competent women -- one a professional detective and daughter of a wealthy mystery writer in Regan Reilly, the other a desperate Southern belle in Mississippi Delta -- star in these fast-paced mysteries. Both series are simultaneously funny and suspenseful. -- Mike Nilsson
The sleuths in these lively and suspenseful mysteries are haunted, whether by the sometimes all-too-present specter of Sherlock Holmes (Baker Street Brothers) or the interfering family ghost (Mississippi Delta Mysteries). Humor and danger blend entertainingly in these fast-paced stories. -- Melissa Gray
The Mississippi Delta and Bubbles Yablonsky mysteries have a cozy feel and feature zany sleuths who get involved in murder. The stories are fast paced, intricate, and funny with eccentric characters and a touch of romance. -- Merle Jacob
Fans of Mississippi Delta Mysteries' intelligent, adventurous protagonist Sarah Booth Delaney might want to check out the Stephanie Plum Mysteries; though set in New Jersey, it's another humorous and suspenseful cozy series featuring a tough and resourceful female investigator. -- Derek Keyser
Both are quirky, humorous, and light-hearted cozy mystery series featuring strong female protagonists partnered with long-dead, sassy ghosts. The gripping, fast-paced mystery plots also delve into fascinating chapters in America's past history. -- Derek Keyser
These quirky, fast-paced, and humorous cozy mystery series feature intelligent female investigators who can communicate with the spirits of the dead. The colorful characters, zany plots, and deft blends of humor and suspense will keep readers laughing and turning pages. -- Derek Keyser
These series have the appeal factors atmospheric and strong sense of place, and they have the genres "cozy mysteries" and "gentle reads"; and the subject "women private investigators."

Similar Titles From NoveList

NoveList provides detailed suggestions for titles you might like if you enjoyed this book. Suggestions are based on recommendations from librarians and other contributors.
Muzzled: a Kate Turner, DVM mystery - Brady, Eileen
These books have the appeal factors leisurely paced, and they have the genres "cozy mysteries" and "gentle reads"; and the subjects "women private investigators" and "women amateur detectives."
These books have the appeal factors upbeat, amusing, and conversational, and they have the genres "cozy mysteries" and "gentle reads"; and the subjects "women private investigators," "women authors," and "women amateur detectives."
These books have the appeal factors upbeat and amusing, and they have the genres "cozy mysteries" and "gentle reads"; and the subjects "women private investigators" and "women amateur detectives."
These books have the appeal factors upbeat, amusing, and conversational, and they have the genres "cozy mysteries" and "gentle reads"; and the subjects "women private investigators," "delaney, sarah booth (fictitious character)," and "women amateur detectives."
NoveList recommends "Baker Street brothers" for fans of "Mississippi Delta mysteries". Check out the first book in the series.
These books have the appeal factors upbeat, conversational, and intricately plotted, and they have the genres "cozy mysteries" and "gentle reads"; and the subjects "women private investigators" and "women amateur detectives."
These books have the appeal factors upbeat, amusing, and conversational, and they have the genres "cozy mysteries" and "gentle reads"; and the subjects "women private investigators" and "women amateur detectives."
These books have the theme "culinary mysteries"; the genres "cozy mysteries" and "gentle reads"; and the subjects "women private investigators" and "women amateur detectives."
NoveList recommends "Psychic eye mysteries" for fans of "Mississippi Delta mysteries". Check out the first book in the series.
NoveList recommends "Regan Reilly mysteries" for fans of "Mississippi Delta mysteries". Check out the first book in the series.
NoveList recommends "Stephanie Plum mysteries" for fans of "Mississippi Delta mysteries". Check out the first book in the series.
These books have the appeal factors upbeat, amusing, and conversational, and they have the genres "cozy mysteries" and "gentle reads."

Similar Authors From NoveList

NoveList provides detailed suggestions for other authors you might want to read if you enjoyed this book. Suggestions are based on recommendations from librarians and other contributors.
Both authors write witty, quirky, and light-hearted cozy mysteries featuring strong female protagonists, snappy dialogue, and paranormal elements more likely to elicit laughter than chills. Their fast-paced and intricately drawn mystery plots also include prominent romantic elements. -- Derek Keyser
Readers looking for fast-paced, gripping, and humorous cozy mysteries should check out the novels of Carolyn Haines and Maddy Hunter. Both authors have a flair for creating sassy dialogue, colorful characters, and strong female characters who form meaningful friendships. -- Derek Keyser
Both authors write fast-paced, witty, and vividly atmospheric cozy mysteries set in the American South. The light-hearted tone, eccentric characters, quirky plots, and strong female protagonists will appeal to cozy fans looking for charmingly offbeat mysteries in vividly rendered Southern communities. -- Derek Keyser
These authors' works have the appeal factors strong sense of place, and they have the genres "cozy mysteries" and "gentle reads"; and the subjects "women private investigators," "murder suspects," and "small town life."
These authors' works have the genre "southern fiction"; and the subjects "women private investigators," "ghosts," and "murder suspects."
These authors' works have the appeal factors upbeat, and they have the genres "cozy mysteries" and "gentle reads"; and the subjects "women private investigators," "murder suspects," and "innocence (law)."
These authors' works have the appeal factors funny and amusing, and they have the genres "cozy mysteries" and "gentle reads"; and the subjects "women private investigators," "murder suspects," and "small town life."
These authors' works have the appeal factors funny and amusing, and they have the genres "cozy mysteries" and "gentle reads"; and the subjects "murder investigation" and "small town life."
These authors' works have the appeal factors upbeat and strong sense of place, and they have the genres "cozy mysteries" and "gentle reads"; and the subjects "women private investigators," "murder suspects," and "women amateur detectives."
These authors' works have the genres "cozy mysteries" and "gentle reads"; and the subjects "women private investigators," "ghosts," and "murder suspects."
These authors' works have the appeal factors upbeat, funny, and evocative, and they have the genres "cozy mysteries" and "gentle reads"; and the subjects "women private investigators," "murder suspects," and "innocence (law)."
These authors' works have the genres "cozy mysteries" and "gentle reads"; and the subjects "women private investigators," "murder suspects," and "innocence (law)."

Published Reviews

Publisher's Weekly Review

Hollywood comes to Zinnia, Miss., in Haines's enjoyable 17th cozy featuring PI Sarah Booth Delaney (after 2016's Rock-a-Bye Bones). Filmmakers are scouting locations for a screen adaptation of the memoir Dead and Gone by snooty, self-absorbed Frangelica "Sister" McFee, a former Zinnia resident who has achieved fame and fortune as a bestselling author in New York. They also have some doubts about the book's truthfulness and want to get the real story behind the deaths of Sister's mother and brother. Sarah Booth and her partner in the Delaney Detective Agency, Tinkie Richmond, take on the job of investigating the sordid history of the less-than-loving McFee clan. Clearly, Sarah Booth and Tinkie are getting too close for comfort when the bullets start to fly and the bodies drop. Jitty, the headstrong ghost who shares Sarah Booth's family home, is just one of the many well-drawn characters who help bring this Southern tale to colorful life. Agent: Marian Young, Young Agency. (May) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Powered by Syndetics

Kirkus Book Review

Hollywood roars into Zinnia, Mississippi, along with several less welcome blasts.The first unexpected arrival is Frangelica "Sister" McFee, who crashes Harold Erkwell's hitherto perfect New Year's Eve party to announce that her bestselling book about the death of her mother is about to go before the cameras. Sarah Booth Delaney and Tinkie Bellcase Richmond, the two halves of the Delaney Detective Agency, are both scandalized and somehow reassured to see that Sister is as abrasive, combustible, and generally unbearable as ever. The highflying partners in Black Tar Productions, director Marco St. John and his cinematographer wife, former actress Lorraine St. John, soon follow with a surprising offer Sarah Booth can't refuse. Sister's tell-all account of Cleo McFee's drowning after her son, Daryl, whom everyone calls Son, drove into the Sunflower River may not tell the whole story after all, especially since she has no good explanation for why Son's body never turned up. So would the Delaney Detective Agency please accept a retainer of $10,000 to reopen their own independent investigation of the 5-year-old case? Fans of this long-running series (Rock-a-Bye Bones, 2016, etc.) won't be surprised that what follows is not so much detective work as barely controlled chaos as Sarah Booth bounces like a pinball from her familiar, her ancestor Jitty Delaney, who this time around amuses herself by masquerading as a varied series of spies, to her almost-boyfriend, Sunflower County Sheriff Coleman Peters, to Colin McFee, Cleo's widower, who's torn between running a senatorial campaign by denouncing Vladimir Putin early and often and coping with the pregnancy of Susan Simpson McFee, the mistress he married. The mystery, past and present, isn't up to much, and Haines doesn't know any more about filmmaking than you do. But who else would create a climactic scene of which one witness observes: "I've never seen a woman give birth and do a vault onto a man's shoulders"? Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Powered by Syndetics

Publishers Weekly Reviews

Hollywood comes to Zinnia, Miss., in Haines's enjoyable 17th cozy featuring PI Sarah Booth Delaney (after 2016's Rock-a-Bye Bones). Filmmakers are scouting locations for a screen adaptation of the memoir Dead and Gone by snooty, self-absorbed Frangelica "Sister" McFee, a former Zinnia resident who has achieved fame and fortune as a bestselling author in New York. They also have some doubts about the book's truthfulness and want to get the real story behind the deaths of Sister's mother and brother. Sarah Booth and her partner in the Delaney Detective Agency, Tinkie Richmond, take on the job of investigating the sordid history of the less-than-loving McFee clan. Clearly, Sarah Booth and Tinkie are getting too close for comfort when the bullets start to fly and the bodies drop. Jitty, the headstrong ghost who shares Sarah Booth's family home, is just one of the many well-drawn characters who help bring this Southern tale to colorful life. Agent: Marian Young, Young Agency. (May)

Copyright 2017 Publisher Weekly.

Copyright 2017 Publisher Weekly.
Powered by Content Cafe

Reviews from GoodReads

Loading GoodReads Reviews.

Staff View

Loading Staff View.