A fun read, especially if you’re an Elvis fan…
I had read and really enjoyed a lot of the early Sarah Booth Delaney books, especially since my mother was from the South. But I lost track of the series in recent years. So I was happy to have a chance to read a review copy of Blue Christmas Bones, by Carolyn Haines, which is the latest Sarah Booth book, coming out in a couple of days. And, although IMO mid-October is still a bit early for curling up with cozy holiday mysteries, I enjoyed this one.
Sarah Booth, Tinkie, and a couple of girlfriends – and Jitty – have decamped from Zinnia to a winter Elvis festival in the King’s hometown of Tupelo, Mississippi. They’re planning to watch, and even enter, some Elvis contests, and also do some holiday shopping. But this is a mystery series. So, sure enough, shortly after they arrive, a one-of-a-kind replica of one of Elvis’ jeweled belts is stolen, and Sarah Booth and Tinkie are asked to find it before it disappears for good. Of course they take the job, and after a lot of leg work and investigation, and working their way through a lot of emotional outbursts and entanglements between the many suspects, they figure out what happened.
But the real fun in Blue Christmas Bones is everything Elvis – bazillions of Elvis impersonators running around (including the eight-year-old Elvis Tots), the Elvis trivia contest, the Elvis dance contest, and even an impersonator (or another ghost?) of Elvis’ nasty manager, Colonel Tom Parker. Personally, I’m not a huge Elvis fan, but even I was able to get into the mood. And if you already ARE a big Elvis fan, I suspect you’ll be even happier. (So – four stars if you like Elvis, and three-and-a-half if you’re more like me.) And finally, a big thank you to St Martin’s Press/Minotaur Books and NetGalley for the review copy!
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