Summer

13 July 2010

CROSSED BONES: Mississippi Delta Mystery #4 - Carolyn Haines, narr Kate Forbes

From the back of the BOCD: Best-selling novelist Carolyn Haines has earned a devoted following with her acclaimed "Bones" mystery series. In CROSSED BONES Southern belle and amateur sleuth Sarah Booth Delaney finds herself in the middle of a murder investigation with undertones of racism.
Zinnia, Mississippi divides along color lines when prominent black pianist Ivory Keys is stabbed to death in his own nightclub. The prime suspect is Scott Hampton, Keys' rich and white protege. Sarah is hired to prove Scott's innocence, but to do so, she'll have to navigate some treacherous waters. And she'll also have to do it while juggling three potential love interests.
Colorfully capturing the distinct appeal of Mississippi Delta country, Haines delivers a tale that Kirkus Reviews says "couldn't be more Southern if it were packaged with grits." Narrator Kate Forbes' down-home performance is the perfect complement to this lively mystery.
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CROSSED BONES is now my favorite of the Mississippi Delta Mystery series. Granted it's darker than the ones I've listened to previously, but it still maintained the touches of humor and had the wonderfully written characters, especially Sarah Booth, Jitty, and Tinky who have become friends I've grown to love and look forward to hanging with each visit.
Another part that made it such a great listen is the blues music that threads throughout. I don't know when I started listening to and loving the blues, but it's been a huge part of my music collection (and part of what brought DH and I together). So that added magic to the listening of this book, too.
In the description from the back of the audibook, it says that this is an amateur sleuth mystery. I disagree. Sarah Booth and Tinky have moved way beyond amateur. They are proven private investigators with a fairly solid track record. And they get paid! Not amateurs any longer. If the series requires a label, it's a suspense mystery with humor tucked in.
Five not amateur anymore beans.....




5 comments:

Carolyn said...

Thanks, Vickie, and I have to agree about Kate. She does a brilliant job. And I just found out she's going to read WISHBONES, GREEDY BONES, BONE APPETIT and the next Bones (tentatively BONES OF A FEATHER)! So I"m very excited. It's a strange thing to hear my words read by a professional--and such a relief.

Sherri said...

Hi Vickie! I have this one on my TBR mountain. Sounds like I'll have to move it up more towards the top! Thanks for sharing!

Vickie said...

Carolyn: Thank you for visiting my blog again. I love listening to Kate. I've come to think of her as Sarah Booth or maybe how she sounds in your cranium. I'm glad she is going to continue narrating the series. I am very pleased to keep finding them at Recorded Books.

Sherri: You really must. You won't be sorry.

SuziQoregon said...

Yay! good to hear you liked it. This is the next one in the series for me. Just a fun and entertaining series.

Vickie said...

SuziQ: It was superb! The best one yet.