Bones of a Feather

Sarah Booth Delaney #11

by Carolyn Haines

When PI Sarah Booth Delaney and her partner and best friend, Tinkie, take on Monica and Eleanor Levert as clients, they don’t have much hope of solving the case. The wealthy heiresses of Briarcliff in Natchez, Mississippi, claim that a family necklace worth four million dollars has been stolen, and they think that they can hurry the insurance payout if a reputable PI investigates. Sarah Booth has her doubts, and not just about the payout. All of the evidence suggests that the sisters might be committing fraud.

But when they have just started scratching the surface on the sordid past of the Levert family and the blood money that all of their wealth was founded upon, Monica goes missing. The police suspect that the heiresses are playing more games, and Eleanor isn’t doing anything to make them think any different.

But how can she? If she says or does anything besides pass on the insurance money to the kidnappers, they’ll kill Monica.

With a family history that runs deep and dark and a twisting plot where no one is exactly what they seem, Sarah Booth and Tinkie are the Levert sisters' best and only hope in Bones of a Feather, the latest in Carolyn Haines sparkling Southern mystery series.  

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

340 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2011

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

[Christi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun as usual! My favorite quote: Sarah Booth snubbing pedigree- "I was found floating in a rush basket on the MS River wearing a coat of many colors. I have prophetic dreams and I sense I was a priest in a past life. That's all I know."

[Julia · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this book over the course of a week at work. I had to read this in bits and pieces during the slow periods. This book held my interest, and was fun to return too. The story of an insurance investigation that turns into a kidnapping case. Private investigators Sarah and her partner Tinkie make a good team. As characters, they were interesting.

I did not like the way Sarah is always referred to as "Sarah Booth." It annoyed me and I wish they could have just called her Sarah. No one else is referred to by two names. Also, much time was spent with the characters saying "we need to call the police." But did they. No. Any sane person would have called them into the kidnapping case.

For all the flaws, I still enjoyed reading this and would be interested in reading other books in this series.

[Janet · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am a fan of this series and have read the entire series; this title, however, was a little slow for me in the first 100 pages, but then it did pick up the mystery angle. However, this title had alot of gothic overtones which I did not care for. Carolyn, please bring back more of the "southerness" of the Mississippi Delta in your next novel and when is that wonderful character of Sheriff Coleman Peters going to take a starring role in this series? I certainly miss the interaction between Coleman and Sarah Booth Delaney.

[Candace · Rating 1 out of 5]

I've enjoyed the series very much until now. This is certainly the weakest plot and (I won't ruin it for other readers), the most unbelievable. I won't give up on Sarah Booth just yet, but I can only hope for improvement.

[Chris Levine · Rating 1 out of 5]

I am puzzled as to why these two women are considered investigators, they did no investigating just jumped from conclusion to conclusion. I usually like these books but this one wasn't up to par.

[Sandy · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.75 stars for me. I found this book and story the most convoluted of the stories I have read so far. It started easy with “just” an insurance claim on a 4 million dollar ruby necklace and turned into mess with a kidnapping, a black horse running amok, a few love stories, ancient family history and Sarah Booth and Tinkie all caught in the middle. Like quicksand, they get pulled in deeper and deeper. Sometimes I felt the author just threw in the kitchen sink to distract and confuse and confound both the characters and the reader. Still I enjoy the characters of the Mississippi Delta and will come back for more. It is addicting.

[Lucía · Rating 4 out of 5]

Such a good and relaxing tale.

[Debra Scott · Rating 4 out of 5]

Spoiler. Other then the “ random supernatural “ appearance. Which served no purpose I could see. It was a very good book. Will read more by her.

[Linda Smatzny · Rating 4 out of 5]

This time Sarah Booth & Tinkie are hired to write a report about a stolen necklace owned by twin sisters in Natchez. However the case quickly becomes something else that puts both women in danger. The book was a fast easy read.

[Alison C · Rating 2 out of 5]

Bones of a Feather is one of a long series by Carolyn Haines, featuring Mississippian ex-belle Sarah Booth Delaney, her best friend (and partner in their detective agency) Tinkie, Cece the columnist who used to be Cecil, and Jitty, Sarah Booth's "haint." I read probably five or so of these early on, then lost interest, so I don't know how many books I've missed, but I picked this particular volume up for its light reading qualities. Here, Sarah Booth (yes, she's always called by both names) and Tinkie are hired by gracefully aging, aristocratic twin sisters, Monica and Eleanor of Natchez, to provide a report to their insurance company about the theft of an extremely valuable ruby necklace. They're happy to do so, particularly when an extremely handsome, and brooding, man, Barclay, makes an appearance, but neither he nor the sisters are what they seem and when Monica is abducted, all bets are off.... I was a bit surprised by this book, in that although it had the Southern charm and humour that I remembered from earlier books in the series, there are also some very dark and violent scenes as well, which would not do for the faint of heart. I can attest that one can dip in and out of the series without needing to read each and every one, but I'm not sure who would bother. Some of the writing is just sloppy - for instance, in one tense scene Sarah Booth finds herself in possession of the camera of another person; a scene or two later, she's looking for that camera, which is now somehow located under a bush. As I said, just sloppy. A minor read, and it'll probably be another 10 years or so before I pick up another in the series.

[Kimberly Ann · Rating 1 out of 5]

Tinkie & Sarah Booth are P.I.s in a Southern Belle manner... They have both promised their respective companions that they would never endanger themselves again....

Twins, Monica & Eleanor Levert hire Tinkie & Sarah Booth to investigate the theft of their family heirloom, a gaudy ruby necklace.... But it looks like a scam and the insurance company does not want to pay. Then one of the sisters goes missing & the other begins to receive ransom demands.....

Instead of trusting their instincts, Tinkie & Sarah Booth become involved with the delivering of the ransom & collecting the kidnapped sister.

Now both Tinkie & Sarah Booth know that Eleanor is LYING Through Her Pearly Whites...yet they continually go against their better judgment and play the fools, endangering both themselves, Oscar's (Tinkie's husband) banking reputation, and their dogs with each lie..... This is very Out of Character for each of them.....

Now you all know, I rarely HATE a book.... But I do HATE this one....so much so, that I'm thinking that I will not be purchasing the next one for the Library.

I am sick to my gills that all of a sudden Female Mystery Writers think that they have to have their female protagonists become STUPID and act out of character in order to write a good mystery! This is Exactly what Haines did in this book..... and I figured out mid-way through what was going on.

Do NOT Waste your money nor time reading this book.....

[Kathy · Rating 2 out of 5]

The storyline on this one just dragged too much for me, got too convuluted, and Sarah did a horrible job of discerning the truth. The Levert sisters hire Sarah and Tinkie to investigate and file a report on the theft of a 4 million dollar necklace. They are the great, great daughters of a miserable, cruel, selfish man pre-civil war, and apparently bad blood tells. then Monica is kidnapped... and... after following a lot of red herrings, at the end we find out the sisters were scamming Sarah and Tinkie, to get the insurance money, to validate the death of one sister for more insurance... and they miss death a few times. hmmmm

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read through books very quickly, and knew that I wanted to save this for the beach, so I ordered it and sat on it until I was in the car headed to Florida. What a great treat it was.

I love Sarah Booth Delaney cozy mysteries, and I think that Carolyn Haines' stories get better with each one. This one takes place in Natchez, and it serves as a great backdrop to a fun, crazy, wild story.

Two sisters with a sordid, murky family history call Sarah Booth and Tinkie to investigate an insurance claim. Of course, the case is that and much more, and hi-jinx ensue. Fun, clever and quirky.

Great series - can't wait to read the next one.

[Michelle · Rating 1 out of 5]

I found this book in the series boring. Sarah Booth & Tinkie spent too much of the book trying to decide if they should be PIs & in danger or not. Neither one has any qualifications at all to be a PI and it definitely showed in this book - they didn't figure out anything at all. They survived by dumb luck and only understood what occurred when the villains explained it to them. From the beginning they should have walked away after the initial "investigation" was complete; they had so many times that they should have left & been done but they were dumb enough to stay even though they weren't even paid for it. Really bad PIs and a rather boring story.

[Darla · Rating 4 out of 5]

As a Good Reads Giveaway winner I'm thrilled to be able to read/review this one! This was the second Sarah Booth book that I've read and I thoroughly enjoyed both and will definitely been looking for more of the series! "Bones of a Feather" is a fantastically enjoyable read! The story moves along, keeping the reader guessing right up to the very end with some unexpected twists along the way. As a huge fan of Janet Evanovich, I have to say that Sarah Booth is right up there with Stephanie Plum in my list of favorites!!

[Kim Klei · Rating 2 out of 5]

I won't be moving any further in this series. I liked it because Sarah Booth shows growth in each book and she is intelligent. I don't like series where the main female continues to make the same stupid mistakes over and over again.

In this book, Sarah Booth and Tinkie continue to make mistake, after mistake, after mistake. I'm also annoyed at how they have no respect for their partners.

I recommend books 1-10, but it has now hit the point where I have lost interest.

[Jody Dixon · Rating 1 out of 5]

Is it possible to give a negative rating? This may possibly be one of the worst books I’ve ever read. I like the characters of Sarah Booth & Tinky. That’s the best I can offer. This book is beyond stupid. The level of unbelievable bad choices is impressive. Over & over I wanted to scream @ them. Kind of like a horror movie where the idiot walks into the hands of the monster.

[Sallee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really liked this mystery. So many twists and turns in the plot that it keep me gasping with surprise. The book had a great location that was spectacular in its description and made for a creepy story that made me want to keep looking over my shoulder. Great entertainment.

[Carol Stanley-Snow · Rating 5 out of 5]

Holy mother of pearl!!! This is the wildest case so far, for Sarah Booth and Tinkie~!

More twists than a pretzel and a couple of sisters (twins) who are nuttier than a fruitcake!!

All made for a fab read....a real page turner! And...a wild ending....that's all i'm gonna say!!!

[Mary Alice · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun, quick read! Love this whole series, and this one is just as great as the others.

[Susan Webb · Rating 5 out of 5]

You can never go wrong re-reading books with Sarah Booth Delaney as the main character! It is like visiting with old friends

[Ann Adams · Rating 1 out of 5]

YUK! Hokey. Would give it 1/2 star, if I could.

[Cakki · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love this series!

[Jennifer · Rating 2 out of 5]

Deceit!

[Becki Basley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bones of a feather by Carolyn Haines (RB Digital Library loan). holy manipulation Batman! Tinkie and Sarah Booth really sink into a pile of horse excrement in this one! Just when you think you got the story figured out. You’re Wrong try again! This time The girls are off to Natchez MS to investigate an insurance claim for the wealthy sisters of a mad pirates fortune.. but the claim turns into a kidnapping and murder case with questionable suspects all around. This one was frustrating in the little snips of info given out til the end and at times confusing.., However, the next book is already downloaded and ready for the listening.

[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.

[Mahala Church · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Levert sisters are in dire need of a good detective to free their four million dollars from the insurance company. Sarah Booth and Tinkie, intrepid novice PI's, are on the job when shocking events whisk one sister away. What's going on? Is the son really the son? Is the gardener a good guy or the trouble maker? Ghost horses don't leave hoof prints, do they? Once again, they find themselves in a high-risk situation, the very thing the men in Tinkie and Sarah Booth's lives want them to give up and come home.

[Amanda Holiday]

Started slowly with a request for a report to back an insurance claim for the theft of a $4 million dollar emerald necklace stolen. Sarah Booth and Tinkie struggle with decisions about the case until they get shot at. Then it goes downhill faster than a car going downhill when it misses the turn on a mountain road. The girls pull it out of it's dive by the end of the book, so rest easy. There are many more books in the series.

[Larry · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book, from the trouble Sarah Booth always finds herself into, to Jinty, her pesky and persuasive ghost. The main characters are fun, endearing, and very believable. The plot is twisted unbelievably so, at times, yet easy to follow. The ending always teaches us that you can't always plan ahead, but can believe you are right in your endeavors. I highly recommend this book and well over half of the series. I have yet to read a book I didn't like by this author.

[Jeanne · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked Haines approach to mystery. She likes to keep the reader slightly off kilter. I liked Sarah Booth and Tinky. As a crime fighting investigative team they balance each other very well. There are a lot of characters in this book and I had to pay close attention to keep them straight but that was some of the fun.