Review: The Devil's Bones by: Carolyn Haines

Title: The Devil's Bones
Author: Carolyn Haines
Publisher: Minotaur Books
Series: Sarah Boothe Delaney #21
Format: Hardcover ( 368 p.) personal purchase

Description:

Spunky southern private investigator Sarah Booth Delaney tackles a thorny murder while away on a girls' weekend.

Sarah Booth and Cece are in Lucedale, Mississippi, where the newly-pregnant Tinkie is treating her friends to a girls' weekend at the fabulous new Bexley B&B. The facials, organics, food, and fitness coaches are supposed to be phenomenal, but Tinkie's primary aim is to attend the Sunrise Easter Services at the incredible Palestinian Gardens, a miniature Holy Land that spreads over 20 acres and has recreations of all parts of Jerusalem—and to speak with the Biblical scholar, gardener, and creator of the Palestinian Garden Daniel Reynolds.

After waking up at the crack of dawn for the service the three friends wander around the gardens, taking in the wonder of entire cities in miniature and the acres of the Holy Land, with the River Jordan winding through it all. The day is brightening when the find themselves at the Mount of Olives—with a dead body.

Daniel identifies the dead man as local lawyer Perry Slay, who was well known for his sly and underhanded dealings, and had plenty of people out for his blood. When Erick Ward, a local pharmacist, is arrested, Sarah Booth takes the case.

As the bodies pile up like a pillar of salt and the suspect list grows as long as the River Jordan, Sarah Booth, Cece, and Tinkie must resurrect the truth before their own lives—and that of Tinkie's unborn child—are endangered. 

My Thoughts: 

Sarah Booth and Cece and Tinkie are on a mini retreat to Lucedale Mississippi enjoying a treat Tinkie gave them Easter weekend!  When the bodies start pilling up Sarah is up to eyes figuring out whose killing people and making it look like the local pharmacist is up to no good.  The problem is Sarah can't see to keep Erik the pharmacist out of trouble or with an alibi as the bodies stack!

This book had everything and Jitty dressed as all sorts of characters.  It was such fun to watch Jitty and Sarah try to figure their way out of this.  Definitely a great Easter story for those who love holiday theme mysteries!

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Review: Murder Once Removed by: S. C. Perkins

Title: Murder Once Removed
Author: S. C. Perkins
Publisher: Minotaur Books
Series: Ancestry Detective #1
Format: Paperback ( 319 p.) Personal Purchase

Description:

S.C. Perkins' Murder Once Removed is the captivating first mystery in the Ancestry Detective series, in which Texas genealogist Lucy Lancaster uses her skills to solve murders in both the past and present.

Except for a good taco, genealogist Lucy Lancaster loves nothing more than tracking down her clients’ long-dead ancestors, and her job has never been so exciting as when she discovers a daguerreotype photograph and a journal proving Austin, Texas, billionaire Gus Halloran’s great-great-grandfather was murdered back in 1849. What’s more, Lucy is able to tell Gus who was responsible for his ancestor’s death.

Partly, at least. Using clues from the journal, Lucy narrows the suspects down to two nineteenth-century Texans, one of whom is the ancestor of present-day U.S. senator Daniel Applewhite. But when Gus publicly outs the senator as the descendant of a murderer—with the accidental help of Lucy herself—and her former co-worker is murdered protecting the daguerreotype, Lucy will find that shaking the branches of some family trees proves them to be more twisted and dangerous than she ever thought possible. 

My Thoughts: 

This book follows Lucy Lancaster who works at finding history for her clients.  While working on her latest job when a friend of hers winds up dead thinks it's connected to her work and is determined to unearth who really killed Seth Halloran back in 1849.  Which leads Lucy all over the place to library and ancestry.com to Texas state records going way back to see what happened.  But someone else is determined Lucy get to the truth and quick?  Will she figure it out or will her time run out?

I enjoyed this story with so much going everything from murder to cute agents hanging around her to keeping secrets senators ask her to keep quiet on.  How will Lucy widdle through it all to solve this one.  Well she does and is totally amazing to watch in action an adventure that is worth the risk to read and see if you can solve it before she does!

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