Greedy Bones

Sarah Booth Delaney #9

by Carolyn Haines

Sarah Booth Delaney, a Southern belle known for abiding by tradition only when it suits her, is no stranger to drama. A talented actress and a P.I., she's chosen to pursue a career in Hollywood when she hears that her best friend's husband is suddenly on his deathbed back home in Mississippi---and he's not the only one. The vicious illness begins with burning fevers and delirium, quickly plunging its victims into a coma. The Centers for Disease Control is on the scene, but they can't find a cure for it or the boll weevils that are decimating Sunflower County's cotton crop. With patients in quarantine and the whole town in crisis, Sarah drops everything to stop the outbreak and save the only place she's ever been able to call home.

From feuding scientists to ailing locals, there is no shortage of bad blood coursing through the little town of Zinnia, Mississippi, as Carolyn Haines's often steamy and always charming series turns equally intense in Greedy Bones.

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

320 pages, Hardcover

First published July 7, 2009

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

[Barbara · Rating 3 out of 5]

In this 9th book in the 'Sarah Booth Delaney' series, the private detective - who runs an investigative agency with her partner Tinkie Richmond - investigates the cause of a mysterious illness in her home town.



It's best to read the books in order, but the mystery can be read as a standalone.

*****

Hollywood actress and private detective Sarah Booth Delaney hurries back to her home town of Zinnia, Mississippi when a mysterious disease breaks out there. Several people, including Oscar - the husband of Sarah Booth's best friend and detective partner Tinkie Richmond - are in the hospital, seriously ill.



All the patients got sick after visiting Zinnia's run-down Carlisle Plantation.



Each human victim experienced a burning fever and delirium before falling into a deathlike coma. The cause of the sickness is unknown, though it seems to be connected to the plantation's bioengineered cultivar. The Carlisle Plantation, which is no longer a profitable working concern, is being used to grow an experimental cotton crop that - in addition to being plagued by boll weevils - may harbor some unidentified infectious agent.




The Carlisle estate is a source of contention between its two co-owners, brother and sister Luther and Erin Carlisle. Luther wants to sell the land to developers, while Erin wants to keep it in the family.




Either way, the 'disease situation' may affect the plantation's future.

The doctors in Zinnia do everything they can to treat the comatose patients, to no avail.



Thus the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) sends two Ph.D. scientists to help. One of them - a gorgeous blonde named Bonnie Louise - immediately gloms onto Sarah Booth's ex-boyfriend, Sheriff Coleman Peters. Sarah Booth, who's dating a Hollywood actor, tells herself she doesn't care.....but she seems very concerned. 😑



Though two trained scientists are now on the scene, Sarah Booth insists on investigating herself. The detective is determined to find out what's causing the disease, so she can save Oscar's life. (In real life, this would be ludicrous. Highly trained doctors and scientists can take years to identify the cause of a new disease. An amateur - who isn't even a biologist or physician - wouldn't have a chance. 😏)

In any case, Sarah Booth's other best friend - the fashionable transgender journalist Cece Dee Falcon - also offers to make inquiries. Sarah Booth's and Cece's interference leads to serious problems for both women.



As all this is going on, Sarah Booth gets regular visits from her personal ghost Jitty, who haunts Sarah Booth's ancestral home, Dahlia House. Jitty is always changing her outfits, which is fun. She's also constantly pushing Sarah Booth to have a baby, which gets old.



After considerable drama and trauma, everything is discovered in a climax I didn't predict.

This is an enjoyable addition to the series, recommended to fans of cozy mysteries.

You can follow my reviews at https://reviewsbybarbsaffer.blogspot....

[Cheryl · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sarah is an actress and pursuing a career in Hollywood when she hears that her best friend back home, husband is at death’s door. Three others are also sick ,all 4 were at the same plantation and nothing seems to work to bring them back to health. Sarah gets doctors, scientists and the CDC involved trying to find answers. Her romance deepens, while she puts her life in danger several times. Jitty her personal ghost gets involved also.

[Cheryl · Rating 5 out of 5]

I shouldn’t really call this a cozy, because it was rather intense. Actually well written, once you ignore the improbable aspects. Not a fan of these southern names though.

[✴ Cindy ✴ · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thought it pretty dump of Sarah Booth not to know she was pregnant. She had sex one time with another guy back a few books and thought his super sperm could have gotten through. She was throwing up this time and having cravings. She behaved irresponsibly. And to be able to kick a door down only a few hours after you were hit in the stomach and knocked out and lost soooo much blood from a miscarriage. I didn't believe it. Writers need to remember that their readers a logical people. I can suspend belief only so far.

[Deedee · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 Stars...

[Ellen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Whoa. That took a turn. On to the next!

[Catherine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting but still a quick cozy read.

[Evelyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good story.

[Mary Kennedy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Carolyn Haines has been called the “Queen of Cozies” and the ninth release in her Sarah Booth Delaney series (Greedy Bones, Minotaur, July, 2009) is as fresh and vibrant as the first.

The “ghost” in the series isn’t a detective, but she’s an intriguing character named Jitty, who pops up to offer words of advice and solace to the main character, Sarah Booth. (But only if she feels like it, of course.)

Jitty, the resident haint of Dahlia House, gives new meaning to the word “feisty.” She’s fun, fearless, totally unpredictable and most importantly, she cannot be summoned at will. When she does pop up, usually wearing an outrageous costume, she invariably says something that’s both witty and perceptive. Sometimes her comments ”drive too close to home,” as Sarah Booth ruefully admits and Jitty has a way of getting to the heart of the matter.

This delightful series is set in Zinnia, Mississippi, but the eighth release, (Wishbones, Minotaur, June 2008 ) takes place in Costa Rica. A film company is doing a remake of Body Heat and Sarah Booth finds herself caught up in a murder mystery (as well as a romantic liaison.) The dialogue is crisp and lively and the description of the movie set is spot on.

Ham Bones (Southern Belle Mysteries, Minotaur) June 2008, is another winner. When the New York cast of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof comes to Zinnia, Sarah Booth finds herself once again involved in a murder investigation, with the trusty Jitty providing ghostly guidance and support.

Why are ghostly mysteries so popular? As Gail Link, romance writer (LUCK OF THE DRAW, Dorchester, 2006) and bookseller states, “These books have timeless qualities of love, loss and redemption. The ghostly detective is there to help, or work though something that was left unfinished on earth." For mysteries that have captivating characters, compelling plots and a touch of the supernatural, you won't want to miss this terrific series by Carolyn Haines.

[Lyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sara Booth Delaney and Tinkie Richmond are back in Zinnia, Mississippi where Tinkie's husband Oscar has succumbed to a plague-like illness that has even the U.S. Center for Disease Control and Prevention stumped. Tinkie is afraid to leave Oscar's bedside. Sara Booth is on her own as she searches for clues that will help diagnosis this life threatening illness. Meanwhile, the number of victims increases.

All the patients have in common is a visit to the Carlisle cotton plantation run by Agri-Team, a farming consortium. The cotton there is two feet tall while the rest of Sunflower County cotton is barely breaking ground. The Carlisle heirs are at odds about whether to sell the plantation to a land developer. Each accuses the other of prior bad acts, including murder.

How does an unproven murder at the Carlisle Plantation fit in with an unknown illness, genetically altered cotton, and mutated boil weevils? Haines' twisty plot will keep you guessing until the end. Readers will also be surprised at the changes in Sara Booth's private life.

[Linda Smatzny · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sarah Booth has returned to Zinnia, Mississippi because the husband(Oscar) of her best friend and partner, Tinkie is dying and no one knows from what or how to cure him. Tinkie asks Sarah Booth to find out what is happening so Oscar can be saved. The case involves disease both to humans and to a cotton crop. It also involves murder but the motives are murky with side issues blurring the real villain. The book was a quick easy read.

[Sara · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have loved all the others in the series but this one had a little something more for me. I thought the plot was really interesting, the details, etc. I also thought I had figured out the whodunit but there was a suprise twist. Not sure why this book was different, maybe because it seemed like Sarah Boothe's life is changing for the best, finally. Nonetheless, I couldn't put it down.

[Clare · Rating 1 out of 5]

Genetically modifying bol weevils and causing a CDC epidemic? Stretches credibility a bit. Then Sarah Booth is married to Hollywood hunk Graf Milieu. Add this one to the ridiculous pile.

[Mandy Burkhart · Rating 4 out of 5]

Maybe not the best book to read during a pandemic outbreak... I did really enjoy this one, though.

[Rita · Rating 2 out of 5]

Cozy mysteries require a certain suspension of disbelief: a caterer, a mystery writer, a bookshop owner are all going to be able to solve crimes better than the police. Fine, no problem. I am quite happy to oblige and curl up away from my chores for awhile.

In this book Sarah Booth Delaney takes it upon herself to solve a mystery disease that the town doctor and the CDC are struggling to identify. Moreover everyone cries out "We're counting on you, Sarah Booth!" Really?? Even after the whole covid-19 debacle I'm going to put more stock in my doctor and the CDC than a failed actress turned private eye. Also, without being actually hired by anyone, she just turned up at a woman's apartment, several hundred miles away, insisting on knowing about money she was receiving. It's really none of your business, Sarah Booth. She seems to be getting aggressively more pushy and less sensible as the books go on. I was enjoying them, but this is my last one.

[Sandy · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of the better of the 9 books in the series I have read. Sarah Booth Delaney returns home to Zinnia in the Mississippi Delta after starring in a movie in Costa Rica. Her partner in the Detective Agency, Twinkie, is frantic when her husband Oscar falls I’ll from an unknown malady. Multiple people fall I’ll and other friends are hurt. Sarah has left her movie star boyfriend who is on location to help unravel the mystery. Lots of red herrings, quirky characters, dysfunctional families, love and loss and the bonds of friendship tested and strengthened in the midst of the Delta and its history abound. This series just gets better and better.

[Taylor Williams]

I am working my way through the Sarah Booth Delaney series by Carolyn Haines and recently finished Greedy Bones, Bone Appetit, Bones of a Feather, Bonefire of the Vanities and Smarty Bones. I am really enjoying this series. The characters are fun with a few surprises, the plot keeps you guessing, and as you finish one book, you will want to pick up the next and start right in. I rarely read paranormal stories, but this one is so much fun. My library doesn’t have any of the novellas, so I have requested they get them, as I am sure they are as good as what I’ve read so far.

[Becki Basley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Greedy Bones (RB digital library audiobook loan). (Sara Booth Delaney book series) by Carolyn Haines A call from the local sheriff sends Sara rushing back with Tinkie to their hometown when they hear that Tinkies husband along with a few other people have fallen sees Sara and Tinkie go through some devasting times and Sara suffers a loss that no woman should ever have to face. But through it all their friendship remains strong as they help the sheriff get to the bottom of the sickness. Overall still a good story though it was a little too close to home for me to read without emotion. I’m off to the next one.

[Michelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

Decent enough story to listen to. But once again, Sarah Booth drags herself into another mystery that she's not being paid for and puts herself in danger with no real ability to defend herself. And I still dislike many of the main characters: Jitty is just mean and never does anything to help and it's bad when the reader/listener actually pulls for a character to be the dead body - I was really hoping CeeCee would have been killed off. So cute enough story to listen to but Sarah Booth needs a real job that actually pays the bills.

[Linda · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is my second read in the series and I have to say I liked #13 better. Some of the plot points in this novel were pretty obvious and I found it ludicrous that someone who had been beaten to bloody unconsciousness would be able to hop out of a hospital bed the next day. It would not have hurt the plot one bit if she had rested a day or two. Nice to see the quirky characters again but, overall, this installment seemed rushed and had too many dropped threads.

[Jeannine · Rating 2 out of 5]

Although this is a well written series, it is too much of a romance cozy mystery than just a Southern cozy so the two stars is a statement of my personal taste. If you are into romance cozies that you will like this one. Also, Sarah Booth, a detective, misses some very important clues that I don't think she should have overlooked. So, without spoiling it for others, I will just say that it was out of line with the character.

[Thom · Rating 4 out of 5]

A haint, a mysterious illness, several dead bodies, a transgendered friend, some mutant boll weevils, a movie star, and a Southern Belle collide in this somewhat funny mystery set in Mississippi. Picked it up because the cover caught my eye, I didn’t know it is further down the line is a series. Will most likely check out the previous installments.

[Mary Corso · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well duh

Part of this plot was obvious, again, but still a good story. This book focused on Tinkie's husband who was gravely ill and the answers that were sought. It was hard to put down because I just had to know what would happen next. I think the next p!or was introduced as well.

[L S Hardy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I like these stories, but I am getting tired of Sarah Booth running off getting in trouble when she knows she should not go alone. This time there was absolutely no need for her to go to a lonely place to face a killer, and I cannot believe all her friends let her go. Let's get real for a change.

[Julia · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love this series! I listen to the audiobooks because Kate Forbes does such an amazing job as narrator. Between Carolyn Haines' incredibly witty and funny well-designed plots and Kate Forbes' incredible Southern voices, this series is such a treat.

[Sandra · Rating 3 out of 5]

Busy who dun it. Lot's of suspects. I enjoyed the book and I've read others in this series. Some of the questions I had in here did not seem to be answered by the end. It was fast pace and entertaining.

[Nancy Moore · Rating 5 out of 5]

always a good story

You can always rely on Carolyn Haines for a rousing mystery. Lots of skullduggery and nastiness. Also a bit of Jitty’s humor and charades and some scary stuff for all. A fun read.

[Liisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great for-fun read....

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

She got me. The murderer and reason for it all was a total surprise.

I love to spoil it for you but that is wrong.

[Susan Corey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Like this mystery series and author