Hallowed Bones

March 1, 2004
Amour and a murder make this Mississippi Delta whodunit from Haines (Crossed Bones
, etc.) sure to please. Since PI Sarah Booth Delaney's most spiritual aspect is her live-in ghost, it's more than surprising when a nun hires her to help a "healer" who was raised in the sister's orphanage. Doreen Mallory, tarot card reader, charismatic teacher and object of a large following's devotion, sits in a New Orleans jail cell, accused of murdering her baby. Was it a case of "if you can't heal 'em, kill 'em," or was someone else responsible for the crime? Sarah Booth's associate Tinkie Richmond joins the hunt, and the two set off for the Crescent City, intent on finding the truth. The trail forces Sarah Booth into close quarters with Sheriff Coleman Peters, whose almost-indiscretion with the Southern belle turned detective has left them both wondering what might have been, barring Coleman's wife's first dibs on the lawman. But, par for the course, it's either feast or famine in Sarah Booth's love life, so re-enter her former flame, Hamilton Garrett. Between her own problems and delving into an impressive trio of could-be sperm donors for Doreen's daughter, a number of reasons for wanting the child dead reach the surface. The twists and turns take the reader through the labyrinth of the charming French Quarter and into the settings of high and low society. When the dots are connected, the conclusion is both clever and impressive.

April 1, 2004
Owner of a ghost-inhabited plantation in Zinnia, MS, series sleuth Sarah Booth Delaney (Crossed Bones) investigates a case of infant murder brought against an unmarried charismatic New Orleans woman with ties to Zinnia. The alleged perpetrator, one Doreen Mallory, runs a lucrative healing "ministry" but also had three lovers at the time of the child's birth, all of whom have reasons for wanting the baby dead. Family secrets pop up everywhere as Delaney sleuths, dallies with an old love, and agonizes about a married one. Haines's comfortable prose, familiar characters, Southern settings, and fascinating plot makes this a good choice for fans of cozies and comic regional mysteries.

Copyright 2004 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

February 15, 2004
The newly formed Delaney Detective Agency of Zinnia, Mississippi, consisting of southern belles Sarah Booth Delaney and her friend Tinkie Richmond, is hired by Sister Mary Magdalen to prove miracle worker Doreen Mallory didn't murder her infant daughter as charged. Doreen denies she placed the sleeping pills in her severely handicapped infant's bottle, so Sarah Booth and Tinkie investigate Rebekah's three possible fathers: a married politician, a well-known televangelist, and the man who handles Doreen's accounts, although all deny being the baby's father. While working on the case, Sarah Booth must also deal with two additional issues: her feelings for the married Sheriff Coleman Peters, whom she loves but whose wife has deliberately become pregnant to keep from losing him, and her concern that Tinkie may have breast cancer. Sarah Booth makes an endearing heroine, and her first-person narration draws readers close to her. Jitty, the ghost of Sarah Booth's great-great-grandmother's nanny, adds humor to this story of faith and hope, the fifth in the series.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2004, American Library Association.)