Book Review: Them Bones

Reviewed By: Harriet Klausner

Them Bones     Amazon US PB Amazon Canada PB
Carolyn Haines
Class/Genre:   Mystery   Woman Main Character   Cozy
Series: Southern Belle Mysteries
Bantam, Nov 1999, $5.99, 318 pp.

Southern belle Sarah Booth Delaney was born and bred to capture a wealthy husband. However, Sarah shocks her friends and family in Zinnia, Mississippi because she insists she will only marry for love. Sarah desperately needs capital to save Dahlia House from repossession, but refuses to marry banker Harold Erskine, a rich individual who could keep the estate within the family.

Instead of taking the easy way out by marrying Harold, Sarah devises several ingenious (or perhaps ingenuous) schemes to gain funds. She kidnaps a friend’s dog and receives $5,000 for the canine’s safe return. She takes a $10,000 fee to investigate the Garrett clan. Over eighteen years ago, an ugly scandal rocked the Garrett household. Everyone believed Hamilton Garrett killed his mothers, but the police investigation was non-existent. His father died under suspicious circumstances and his mother died when someone cut her car’s brake line. Since the incidents, Hamilton’s sister has resided in a mental institution. Sara’s initial inquiries lead her to conclude that the official version of events has to be bogus. Her investigation deepens, which leaves her at odds with Hamilton, whom she likes.

The eccentric characters turn THEM BONES into a warm, humorous tale. Sarah’s great-great grandmother’s nanny who died in 1904 haunts Dahlia House and the heroine whom she wants married with children. In spite of the pressure from her blue blooded peers, the delightful Sarah marches to her own tunes. Surprisingly, she makes a credible private investigator. Carolyn Haines demonstrates her abilities to provide more than just a fluffy mint julep of a story line. Instead, the author provides readers with a wonderful who-done-it populated by an entertaining cast that will leave the audience ready to devour the next tale.

Harriet Klausner

Reprinted with permission. Do Not repost without permission from the author, Harriet Klausner