ARC Review: Joy to the Bones by Carolyn Haines

Joy to the Bones
Author: Carolyn Haines
Series: Sarah Booth Delaney Mysteries (Book 31)
Publication: Minotaur Books (October 27, 2026)

Description: In this final installment of the series, sassy Southern private investigator Sarah Booth Delaney is up against her biggest―and most personal―mystery yet.

Still reeling from the discovery that her parents’ deaths, decades ago, might not have been an accident, Private Investigator Sarah Booth Delaney doesn’t know who to believe anymore. Her best friend and business partner, Tinkie, purposefully kept her in the dark; her lover, Coleman, intentionally lied to her; and her meddlesome ghost-turned-spiritual-guide, Jitty, kept more secrets than she can count. Now, even the people Sarah Booth once trusted more than anything are suspect.

Armed with new knowledge about her parents’ car crash, Sarah Booth sets out to solve her biggest case yet: her parents’ murder. And she’s prepared to do it alone if she has to.

But the Mississippi Delta doesn’t pause for anyone, not even Sarah Booth. While trying to untangle the truth about her parents’ fate, Sarah Booth gets roped into investigating the DeLonge Mansion, a magnificent old house with seemingly no one left alive to claim it. With the return of her nemesis, Gertrude Stromm, looming over her head―and the pieces of her failed relationships still scattered around her―Sarah Booth has her work cut out for her this holiday season.

My Thoughts: The final episode in the Sarah Booth Delany mysteries finally solves the mystery that has been in the background for the whole series. Sarah Booth has learned that her parents' car accident when she was only twelve was not an accident at all. They were murdered. She is determined to find out what happened.

The case she and her partner Tinky are investigating doesn't seem to have any relation to her parents' deaths at first. They are hired by a land developer to find out who own the old DeLonge Mansion so that he can buy it for his development. 

The DeLonge Mansion has been falling apart for years and has been the site for teenage parties filled with ghost stories. The family has been gone since the Civil War and good riddance to them since they had a reputation for abusing their slaves and their horses too. Sarah Booth and Tinky run into roadblock after roadblock in their investigation since the records are buried in a bunch of LLCs. 

Exploring on the grounds doesn't help either as they find themselves chased by masked men with assault weapons and they discover a previously unknown air strip that is likely being used for illegal things. 

And Sarah Booth's illusive enemy Gertrude has her fingers all over the case. She's determined to kill Sarah Booth, her animals and her friends. Law enforcement including her boyfriend have been unable to find Gertrude. 

This was an excellent conclusion to a long-running series that brings answers and closure while indicating a happy future. 

I received this one in exchange for an honest review from NetGalley. You can buy your copy here.

ARC Review: Midnight in Memphis by Thomas Dann

Midnight in Memphis
Author: Thomas Dann
Publication: Crooked Lane Books (November 18, 2025)

Description: In this Southern noir, two detectives forge an unlikely alliance as they strive to bridge the racial divide and catch a killer hell bent on revenge.

Set against a historical backdrop of mid-century racial inequality and political turmoil, this thriller is perfect for fans of William Kent Krueger and Greg Iles.

1955, Memphis. Homicide detective Burdett Vance is trying to outrun his past, but working in the homicide division always ends up bringing in new waves of horror. Now an unknown killer is reaping retribution for decades of lynching by targeting the daughters of rich white families in Memphis. When Vance is assigned to the case, he’s also put in charge of a new trainee, Officer Eustace Johnson.

Eustace Johnson has been recently "promoted" and as one of the few Black men on the force this is the latest publicity stunt of the police department. Forced to work together, Vance and Johnson must catch the rampaging killer in a city roiling with racial injustice and a fight to control the crumbling local politics.

Then Emmeline Bryce, Vance’s old flame, becomes the killer’s next target. With Emme’s life on the line, Vance and Johnson must confront their deepest fears and darkest desires before the city ignites into chaos and the blissful vision of a better future disappears forever.

Readers of James Lee Burke will delight in this bitingly smart thriller full of intrigue and age-old animosities.

My Thoughts: It's 1955 in Memphis, Tennessee, and homicide detective Burdett Vance is dealing with a case of white women being discovered floating. They have nylons tied around their necks holding a beer bottle and a note which seems to indicate they were killed in tribute to the many lynchings of Black men. The note is signed the Mound Builder.

The death of the local kingpin has resulted in a new scramble for power. Burdett's captain wants his share. To claim the Negro vote, he has advanced Eustace Johnson, one of the few Negro cops on the force, to be Burdett's partner in the investigation. He's pulled Burdett's former partner into his own squad supposedly hunting down Communists but actually looking for the kingpin's cash stache. 

Eustace has his own agenda. He joined the police force after his World War II stint as a Tuskegee airman in order to track down the men who murdered his younger brother Caleb. He has been working on unsolved Negro murders in his free time since he joined the force. He did tip off Burdett about one of the two men who killed his brother resulting in the man's imprisonment. He has his eye on the second man and is hoping to maneuver Burdett into arresting him too.

As Burdett and Eustace hunt for the killer, it soon becomes apparent that Burdett's old girlfriend Emme is in the middle of things. After dumping Burdett, she took up with the kingpin and then was shunned by all her cronies when the kingpin died. Now she's back and hoping to rekindle things with Burdett.

This was an engaging historical mystery. I liked the Memphis setting. Burdett was an interesting character: a lover of the Blues, a man with a strong sense of justice, and a man with secrets and heartaches as a big part of his past. I also liked Eustace who was willing to take all the abuse by White officers in order to get justice for his brother. 

Fans of historical mysteries set in the deep, dark South will enjoy this one. 

I received this one in exchange for an honest review from NetGalley. You can buy your copy here.

ARC Review: Doggone Bones by Carolyn Haines

Doggone Bones
Author: Carolyn Haines
Series: Sarah Booth Delaney Mysteries (Book 29)
Publication: Minotaur Books (May 27, 2025)

Description: The latest novel in the series that Kirkus Reviews characterizes as "Stephanie Plum meets the Ya-Ya Sisterhood" featuring sassy Southern private investigator Sarah Booth Delaney.

After a dog belonging to local pet activist Tilly Lawson is snatched right out of her backyard in Sunflower County, MS, Sarah Booth and the Delaney Detective Agency are up to their ears in concerned pet owners. Could Tilly's work liberating abused animals have come back to bite her, or was this a random act of dognapping?

Delaney Detective Agency has their work cut out for them, especially as a troublesome online pet detective agency tries nosing their way into the investigation. But as Sarah Booth and Tinkie start to sink their teeth into the mystery, they discover there's much more at play than they thought: neighborhood rivalries, questionable dog breeders, and an illegal dogfighting operation.

As their digging churns up dangerous attention—and with their own beloved dogs, Sweetie Pie and Chablis, possibly next in line to be dognapped—Sarah Booth and Tinkie are in a race against time to track down the thieves and return the missing pets home.

My Thoughts: The Delaney Detective Agency takes on a case of dognapping when the beloved pet of a pet activist is stolen from her yard. Both Sarah Booth and Tinkie are pet lovers too and are going to do their best to get Jezebel back. Then another pet is stolen from another older lady.

The detective duo has lots of suspects including a shady police chief, the mayor, the second lady's ne'er-do-well grandson, and a villain who has plagued Sarah Booth for some time and is on the lam from various law enforcement agencies in Mississippi. Then there is the local boy who made it good in pro wrestling and might be dipping into dog fighting and drugs with maybe a side of gambling. 

Things get even more tense when Sarah Booth's and Tinkie's dogs are dognapped too. 

This was a fun story filled with all sorts of Southern sayings. It also features "assistance" from Sarah Booth's ghost Jitty who makes appearances as famous historical dog lovers. And her boyfriend Coleman has a large role to play too. 

This is the 29th book in this series. I've only read one other, but will be putting the series on my TBR stack. 

I received this one in exchange for an honest review from NetGalley. You can buy your copy here.