Reviews

Wishbones by Carolyn Haines

git_r_read's review

5.0

I love this series! I want to be friends with Sarah Booth and Tinky. I want to visit Zinnia and meet everyone in the town.
This read like my favorite Nancy Drew mysteries, albeit a grownup version. Old mansions filled with spooky atmosphere in an exotic locale.
Not only a mystery to solve, Sarah Booth has a chance at stardom, acting in a remake of 'Body Heat', filming in Hollywood and Costa Rica.
She also has a dilemma of the heart. Her heart is trying to heal from the betrayal of former (still?) love back in Zinnia, but she is in the film with current beau, Graf Milieu, who she's known since her days in New York.
She needs to be cautious with both her heart and her life....
Highly recommended!

mdlaclair's review

4.0

I actually liked see this other side to Sarah Booth. I felt like there was some repartitions in the previous book. While I love the home grown Characters. It can get a little boarding reading the same story over and over. In this book the setting is different. we get to see new characters and a better understand of Sarah's New york days. I like Sarah with Graf. Not that I would like them to be long term. However the whole Hamitlon/coleman/ man of the week makes Sarah's character seem flick and flighty. Also its very immature at times. with Graf I think Sarah acts more grown up at least a little. Don't worry all the 2nd characters make an appearance (Cece,TInker,Millie)! The mystery also keeps you guessing in this story. Overall a good read.

plantbirdwoman's review against another edition

1.0

Needing some light reading as a palate cleanser, I turned to Carolyn Haines. It doesn't come any lighter and fluffier than her Southern belle private eye series featuring Sarah Booth Delaney (hereafter referred to as SB). It turned out this one didn't so much cleanse my reading palate as poison it, or at least curdle it. Let me not mince words: This is not a good book.

In this entry, we have SB heading to Hollywood, on the basis of one turn as a star in a production of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof in Zinnia, Mississippi, to star in a remake of Body Heat, with her in the Kathleen Turner role and her lover, Graf Milieu (that name - really???), in the William Hurt role. So, we have two complete unknowns starring in the remake of this movie.

Oh, yes, and Ashton Kutcher is in a supporting role.

In Hollywood, SB and Graf seem to spend most of their time making sweet, sweet love and very little time working. They roll onto the movie set around midday, after spending the morning in bed, and play hot, hot scenes, getting it all done in one take.

But soon, even stranger things start happening to people involved in the movie. One woman falls to her death. A man falls from a balcony and is seriously injured. Rumors start circulating that the movie is cursed.

Before the police investigation of the death and injury are complete, the whole mob is allowed to decamp to Costa Rica where most of the movie will be shot at a home that is owned by the director. And when we get to that house, weird things REALLY start happening.

The house seems to be haunted by the mournful spirit of the director's long dead wife who apparently died of anorexia nervosa. She starved herself to death thinking she was not thin or beautiful enough. It also seems to be haunted by the very much alive daughter of the dead woman and the director, who blames the director for the death of her mother.

Of course, SB is very much at home with "haints" since she has her own personal family ghost, Jitty, back in Zinnia, Mississippi. In fact, Jitty actually turns up in Costa Rica when SB calls on her for help. Moreover, all of SB's Mississippi gang of friends drop everything and travel to Costa Rica to support their friend and SB and her PI partner Tinkie get busy trying to solve the mystery of what's going on with this movie set.

Oh, did I mention that people were getting pushed down stairs, tied up on rocks by the ocean and left for the tide to drown them, conked on the head with various instruments, there are mysterious moans and whimpers coming from somewhere in the walls of the house, and a woman in red keeps materializing for SB, although nobody else seems to have seen her? Yeah.

This plot is a mess. It just flails around and it seems that the writer is just throwing everything up against the wall in the hopes that something will stick. Nothing does.

Perhaps the silliest thing about the book is all the name-dropping. We have Robert Redford and Brad Pitt dropping by the set - just because they have nothing better to do, I guess. Ben Affleck and Matt Damon (because you can't have one without the other of course!) turn up at a party. Charlize Theron gives SB and Tinkie a plane ride back to Hollywood from Costa Rica.

No, I take it back. The silliest thing about the book is that SB and Graf are continually referred to - and refer to themselves - as movie stars, even though neither of them has ever been in a movie before. And everyone is continually gobsmacked by the prodigious talent of SB. She's "brilliant!" The director is "brilliant." Graf is brilliant and off-the-charts sexy and his only desire in life is to settle down with SB and raise a family.

The early entries in this series were entertaining and had a certain charm. The last two that I've read just seemed like the writer had lost interest and was phoning it in. This was the last one of the series that I had in my reading queue. I can't imagine a circumstance where I will be adding any more.

rlbasley's review

4.0

Wish Bones (a Sara Booth Delaney Series) (Rb digital library loan). Sara Booth and Sweetie Pie head to Hollywood! Sara is going to star in a major motion picture.. things seem to be looking up..until mysterious things start happening on the set as the crew head to secondary location. It’s Tinkie and her little dog to the assistance of Sara and Sweetie Pue as they try to figure out just who or what is causes all these weird happenings. Lots of laughs, a good ending and a seamless flow into the next book. In fact I’d be pretty mad about it if I didn’t already know I could check out the next book immediately.. still loving the series

rainweaver13's review

2.0

The least of the Delta "Bones" series thus far. Plot more far-fetched than usual and the entire movie shoot/namedropping random movie stars thing was just, well, silly.

But I've enjoyed all the books up until this one, and so I'll keep giving them a try. Every writer shoots a blank now and then. :D

aunt_t's review against another edition

3.0

Fickleness, thy name is Sarah Booth. The ridiculous nature of SB's love life is overpowering the mystery. Maybe I'm just jaded.

murderbydeath's review

4.0

Ok, I expected to really dislike this book, based on the reviews of others who reported it to be the weakest book in the series. But even though I dislike taking characters out of their setting most of the time, I still really enjoyed this book. I think it was underlying question of 'is there a ghost or not?" that sort of kept me interested. The author did a great job of leading you to the murderer - giving you enough clues at the right time. Great series.

laurafalls's review

4.0

I love the Sarah Booth Delaney mysteries. As a Mississippi girl, I love how Carolyn Haines can wrap up the essence of the South and weave it into a great story.

I've kinda jumped around story wise, but I can't wait to get back on track with these funny books.