Booty Bones

Sarah Booth Delaney #14

by Carolyn Haines

Sarah Booth Delaney's fiancé, Graf Milieu, has become depressed while recovering from a severe leg injury, but Sarah Booth knows just how to help him heal. She's arranged a romantic getaway for the two of them at a lovely beach cottage on Dauphin Island off the Gulf Coast. On the first day of their island adventure, they take a historical tour led by Angela Trotter, a young woman well-versed in local lore, including rumors of pirate treasure hidden somewhere on the island. In fact, Angela confides to Sarah Booth and Graf that her father, a sailor and treasure hunter, was murdered just when he thought he was closing in on the treasure. Angela's convinced that the wrong man was imprisoned for her father's murder, and she manages to persuade Sarah Booth to take the case. And Sarah Booth soon realizes that there's much more going on than meets the eye. With untold amounts of treasure offering plenty of motive for murder and a fiancé falling deeper into depression, Sarah Booth's peaceful island vacation is quickly spinning out of control.

In Booty Bones, Carolyn Haines will once again delight readers with her trademark blend of clever plotting, witty prose, and Southern charm.

Genres: Mystery, Cozy Mystery, Fiction, Audiobook, Paranormal, Cozy, Murder Mystery

368 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2014

About the author

Carolyn Haines is the USA Today bestselling author of over 70 books. In 2020, she was inducted into the Alabama Writers Hall of Fame. She was the recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Alabama Library Association, the Harper Lee Award for Distinguished Writing, the Richard Wright Award for Literary Excellence, as well as the "Best Amateur Sleuth" award by Romantic Times. Born and raised in Mississippi, she now lives in Alabama on a farm with more dogs, cats, and horses than she can possibly keep track of.

Reviews

[Darcy]

I have never been a fan of Graf and with this book he proved that he isn't worth Sarah Booth. I get that with the last book and being shot made him feel vulnerable, however all he kept doing was push Sarah Booth away. Then when she takes him away so that they can be alone and re-connect he pulls away again. I could tell right away what as going on with him. He should have told Sarah Booth right away what was going on, not wait.

The mystery with this one was pretty see through, but I did like how the island itself played into things. I also loved that we got to learn some of Jitty's history.

With who showed up at the end, Sarah Booth's life is about to be shaken up again.

[Laura]

WOW! I had figured out Graf's secret, but the pushing and pulling of their relationship was a bit tiring--let Sarah Booth...oh well, like the author explains in her newsletter, the characters go their own way--sigh-
the plot ran "round + round"; I came to a point where I wasn't going to figure out anything, I just wanted "to watch it unfold"
This was definitely a thriller and what a surprise to discover Jitty's past!

[Ellen]

Well, poop. I was just warming up to him too. Guess I'll go onto the next one and see what's what.

[Patty]

Another great book by Carolyn Haines, but I found this book very depressing. I love the emotions this series makes me feel, there was not enough ups to balance the downs. Hope the next book is better.

[Sara]

Two of my favorite things---buried treasure and pirates. Jitty never disappoints with her "ghostly dress-up."

[Joan]

Pirates and treasure, an African princess haint and a hurricane, oh my! Another roller coaster ride with Sarah Booth Delaney and Tinkie.

[✴ Cindy ✴]

I didn't like how Graf treated Sarah. It was unforgivable.

[Ike]

I enjoyed it want to read other books

[Ellen]

"Booty Bones" by Caroline Haines.

The unbeatable team of Sarah Booth Delaney, Tinkie and Jitty are back with a bang.

Sarah Booth Delaney is away from Dahlia House and spending time with Graf on Dauphin Island. Graf is recovering from a gunshot wound in his leg...is that all that's going on with Graf?

Sarah Booth is trying her best to help Graf as he recovers but Jitty is sending signs of impending doom her way. Doom of what or who is out to hurt Sarah Booth?

Sarah Booth decides on an historical tour of the island with all the rumors of pirates and their booty. Angela Trotter is their guide and it turns out she needs more than just tourists to go on a sightseeing tour. Angela's father was a treasure hunter who had been murdered...shot in his own cabin aboard the Miss Adventure. Now Angela wants to hire Sarah Booth to get to the bottom of who the killer really is.
The unbeatable team of Sarah Booth, Tinkie and Jitty are on the hunt of their lives...or at least Sarah Booth and
Tinkie are. This fantastic tale is one of the best ever in this unbeatable series. Loved it.

[Jeanie Jackson]

Awesome and stress filled! This adventure may be the best Sarah Booth Delaney Mystery ever. When Sarah Booth takes her fiance to coastal island to recuperate from an injury she plans to devote her time to helping him in his recover. As always things don't turn out quite as she expects, but also like always, the twists are unpredictable.

When a woman approaches her to ask Sarah to investigate her fathers murder, the private investigator refuses until she discovers that a man may be serving time unjustly. Her heritage and her personal code call to her. Her fiance is glad for her to have something to while he works to get his head past recent changes. Sarah realizes that he isn't sure if he will fully recuperate and that could change his future. That is a lot to think about.

I won this book from the author at a Facebook party.

[Sandra]

The mystery was interesting, but Sarah stands around while she knows something is up with her own fiancé. And then, when she knows he's been going down the beach to meet up with a woman, she just stands back. This might be the way they do it in the South, but in my neck of the woods, it's confrontation time. You spend the whole book listening to her moan about her relationship with her fiancé and not until the very end do you find out what's going on. So the man had a child from a relationship from the past and didn't know it. You gonna tell me he can't have a life with the child AND his soon to be wife? Really. Kind of made the whole book drag on.

[Kelley Chinappi]

I have been a huge fan of Sarah Booth for a few years now and I feel like she's a close friend. I laugh when she's being sarcastic, I sigh when she's being difficult and I cry when she takes her walks down memory lane. This book was different then the others and I enjoyed the change in pace. Jitty is one of my favorite characters and I loved learning a bit more about her. I cried for Sarah Booth multiple times and am still wiping away tears that fell during my reading. I highly recommend this book and this series to those that love a good cozy mystery.

[Sharon Chance]

If you are looking for a mystery that features Southern hospitality, a bit of romance, a feisty ghost, and a cast of quirky but charming characters, then Carolyn Haines' "Sarah Booth Delaney" mystery series should be right up your alley! In this installment of the series, in addition to all of the above, there are pirates and treasure too!

I love this series and am always thrilled when a new story flies from the pen (or keyboard)of Carolyn!

[Joyce]

Sarah Booth Delaney and her friends have again solved another mystery. This is a fast paced and enjoyable tale with the setting being on Dauphin Island off the Gulf Coast. In the story a man in prison is set free for a murder he did not commit and the murderer is found as well as the pirate treasure. Enjoy this charming
story with its twists and turns and learn how Sarah Booth Delaney loses one fiancé and may find love again in another upcoming tale.

[June]

Consumed the book. I have always loved Dauphin Island. We went every summer when I was a child. Many of the things I remember have been washed away by hurricanes, but the beauty is still there. It has been years since I last went. Booty Bones makes me want to take a trip there again. This book was a typical Sarah Booth book. I loved every minute of it. I was not upset with the Graf story line(I like Coleman). Waiting for the next in the series.

[Jennifer]

Another enjoyable entry in this series. I enjoyed the island setting and the historical pirate subplot. I was glad that Jitty had more of a reason to keep popping up in this one. It sometimes feels like she is a throw in that the series doesn't quite need anymore. My only quibble is that Sarah Booth and Tinkie really do not solve the crime. They bumble into the solution when the perpetrator reveals himself or herself at the end

[Mary Ann]

It was over too quickly, as these books usually are. This one was full of great intrigue and lots of new characters. It was great to figure out some of it but not everything. Those are my favorite type of reads. My favorite character in this one was Jitty and her ever changing personas, I loved trying to figure out who she was right along with Sarah Booth.

[Gloria]

Score! I want to be Sarah Booth when I grow up. This reflects on the previous book in the series but could stand alone. Sarah Booth handles solving a cold case murder, figuring out her fiancé's problems and an approaching hurricane. Didn't hurt that I was finishing it as Arthur was approaching.

[Susan]

I won this book in a Goodreads giveaway and will read more of Carolyn Haines' books. It was full of action and suspense with interesting characters and plot. I thoroughly enjoyed the book and would recommend it!

[Beckym]

Fun and light with a mystery added in. I love Jitty and the pets. I have visited Dauphin
Island several times do the places in the book were familiar. I've read very book on the series and they always end with a twist.

[Nancy H]

Another in the Sarah Booth Delaney series, this book kept me turning pages so fast that I read the whole thing mostly in one sitting. The ending, however, makes me so eager for the next one that I can't wait for it to be published! I hope the author is hurrying to get it to publication.

[Jen]

So much fun! I stumbled across this book by accident and am now in hot pursuit of the other 14 in the series. What a refreshing read! Granted, I figured out a few things early on- but not all. Great writing (but so many typos!), fast action, clever concepts.

[Kati]

3.5 stars I never thought of Sarah Booth Delaney as a coward until now. The plot was interesting and so was the personal drama except I hated SB reaction to it.

[Natasha]

These books are pleasant, quick reads. I thoroughly enjoyed this one!

[Georgiana Huizenga]

I liked this, but not quite as much as the other books in the series. Still, it's always fun to see what Sarah Booth and Tinkie are up to.

[Frances Driscoll]

I've enjoyed all the Bones books,but this one was my favorite. It has a beach, pirate treasure and Sarah Booth fighting for love.

[Melissa]

I love Sarah Booth and Tinkie, and I like the direction this book is going....:)

[Ruth Ellen]

first one of these I have read. and I really enjoyed it. I will have to check out more of them.

[Vickie]

Sarah Booth and Tinkie are forces of nature. This is first and foremost what I love about this series. Their friendship and the way they go through life is a joy to watch. The mystery is always good, but the anchor is the relationship between these two strong women.
Which is why I wasn't as fond of this book as the others in the series I've read. It's the same as I feel about the first part of the season of Buffy the Vampire Slayer when Buffy goes to college and seems to lose her mojo. I don't like seeing my favorite strong chickies getting emotionally tossed about with self-doubt.
Sarah Booth takes her fiance, Graf, to a nice vacation so that he can rehab from his gunshot wound in peace and quiet. He is distant and starts disappearing for hours on end. There's another woman in the picture.
I was glad that there was a satisfying mystery to solve and treasure to find to keep me reading. I love this series and I didn't want to give up just because I wanted to smack Graf and Sarah Booth about to clear their craniums and get off the pity-wagon. I know characters have to grow and develop so that they don't become one-dimensional, but I really got fed up. I was glad that Tinkie was there to smack Sarah Booth upside the cranium, metaphorically and otherwise.
I can recommend this book and definitely this series and anything that Carolyn Haines would like to write.

[Joy]

So boringly repetitive! This book drags n drags between repetitive useless attempts of talking to her guy who is acting like a child having a tantrum ..but less intelligent .

Her whining in her thoughts about tepid man. And her being babbled about about being. " strong tough successful " yet i see no strength and no backbone to confront wimpy guy the 1st time . Just self pitying rambles taking up pages for zero reason,making my brain bleed .

And repetitive useless chicken w head cut off / waste of time running/ driving in circles.She and her equally stupid assistant are
Not very intelligent...confused how she's a p.i.

And the ghost ? Nor amusing just a clunky not humorous interruption in a almost no action book .

Confused how this is ,a mystery series ..more like annoying chick lit book series .Because, skimming another book years about..again half the book was drama with another dumb guy.

How this is considered a humorous witty smart series boggles the mind .Boggles it more its even a series.