USA Today bestselling author Carolyn Haines will once again delight readers with Charmed Bones, the next sparkling Sarah Booth Delaney mystery. Zinnia, Mississippi is rife with quirky characters, but the arrival of three sister witches–and their intention to open a Wiccan boarding school–sets the small town on its ear. And bodies begin to accumulate as a result. Faith, Hope, and Charity … Faith, Hope, and Charity Harrington are sexy and smart. They’re setting up their boarding school in an old dairy–a piece of property with tremendous development potential. And they’re standing in the way of “progress,” according to some in the town.
When young Corey Fontana goes missing, Delaney Detective Agency is hired to find the youth–who’s well known as a local hooligan. His mother, Kitten Fontana, who is married to the kind of land development, believes the witches have abducted her son and makes no bones about it. She’s willing to pay hard cash to find her son, especially if she can implicate the witches in his disappearance.
When Sarah Booth Delaney and her partner, Tinkie Richmond, find Corey, unharmed, it is only the beginning of a series of events that include midnight dances under a full moon, love potions, and murder. Are the sister witches criminals… or victims? Do they truly have magical powers, as they claim? Sarah Booth and Tinkie must find the answer before more people are harmed.
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There are 18 books in this series but each time a new one comes out it feels fresh and unique. In this story private eyes Sarah Booth and her BFF Tinkie have been hired to investigate 3 wiccan sisters who have come to town to open a private school. The investigation becomes much more serious when pranks turn into murder.
The story started out fun and then became frightening. It was fast paced and had some very surprising twists. If you like scary parts in your mysteries this is a good 5 star read.
I received an ARC of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review.
I love all the Sarah Booth books. This is the latest in the series and I couldn’t wait to read it.
Can’t go wrong with this series!!
Carolyn Haines once again comes up with a fun book filled with mystery, mystics, and lots of things that bump into the night! Charmed Bones features detectives Sarah Booth and Tinkie as they help a trio of Wiccan sisters solve some mysterious occurances at their new home. The whole regular gang, including the ever dramatic Jitty, join in the adventure. The book is fast paced and fun, with enough twists, turns, and characters to keep you guessing until the very end.
I liked CHARMED BONES, the eighteenth book in the Sarah Booth Delaney series. With the focus on the three witches and the rather gothic Musgrove Manor, this installment leans to the darker end of the cozy mystery spectrum. Haines definitely knows her craft. The characters are well developed, the mystery is intriguing, and there is enough humor to balance the darker elements.
Sarah Booth seems a little off her game this time around. Perhaps she is distracted and frustrated with the progression of her relationship with Coleman, or maybe she is tired of Tinky’s obsessive want for a child, but, at times, she is mean, and that is out of character. Confusing reality with a dream like state is also not like her, and this left me scratching my head a little. Jitty, as always, provides great comic relief, but even she seemed different, talking in riddles instead of laying it all out there. Even Tinky is out in left field half of the time. But, don’t get me wrong, I still love all of the recurring characters.
The mystery itself is gratifyingly complex, though it gets off to a somewhat clunky start. About midway into the story, things really get going, and the final twist made for a satisfying ending. The story is a tangled web of greed, deceit, magic, and murder. I recommend CHARMED BONES to fans of Carolyn Haines, paranormal cozies, and readers looking for a nice balance of humor, zaniness, and darkness.
I received an ARC of this title from the publisher through NetGalley and voluntarily shared my thoughts here.
Not sure why the publisher is choosing a May release date. With the extra supernatural elements to this story, a Sept. or October release seems more appropriate. Besides the usual ghost, Jitty, we have witches and magic in this one.
The mystery aspect of Charmed was good and unexpectedly complicated, however, it didn’t really get going until about 65%. I’m also really tired of Jitty and her role. In this story, Sarah Boothe seemed a little mentally challenged. For some reason she starts confusing Jitty scenes with reality which made no sense, since she’d never had a problem before.
The pregnancy obsession has just gotten out of hand in this series. For 17 books, we’ve heard Jitty obsess about Sarah Boothe’s womb. Sarah Boothe is now talking about it a lot, Tinkie has her own issues with pregnancy that is a big part of this story. It was just too much and distracted from the mystery for me.
Strong mystery which starts late, but too much pregnancy/relationship crap for me.
I got my copy from Netgalley in exchange for my honest review.