by Sandra Murphy

Details at the end of this post on how to enter to win a copy of the book and a link to purchase it from Amazon.

Tinkie’s new baby is named Maylin, and she might just be the most spoiled baby in the South. Only a few days old, and she has a wardrobe equal to a dozen or more adults. It’s Halloween time so you know she’s got a costume, too. Sarah Booth, Cece, and the rest of the gang are at Tinkie’s to decorate for the holiday, drink, eat, and take turns holding Maylin.

When there’s a knock on the door, Sarah Booth answers it and is surprised to see Frankie who had been best friend to Sarah Booth’s mother. Frankie is beyond distraught because both her daughter, Christa, and her roommate, Britta, are missing. The police aren’t doing much about it. Britta is a street artist, there one minute and gone the next. Christa, a journalist in the making and in hopes of a scholarship for her writing, is hot on the trail—until all clues, including Christa’s whereabouts, went cold. Frankie wants to hire Sarah Booth and Tinkie to find them.

Of course, as a new mom, Tinkie is restricted in how much she can help. However, Coleman takes a few days off work as Sheriff to go to New Orleans with Sarah Booth and Frankie. It seems every time they ask Christa’s friends about the missing women, a new fact slips out. Why can’t they just tell what they know from the start? It would save time and effort. There’s also the problem of the black SUV loitering wherever Sarah Booth is. Friend or foe?

The more they investigate, the more dangerous and eerie the situation seems—witchcraft, Marie Laveau, a promise of eternal youth, and possibly, human sacrifice. Will Sarah Booth be next? Will she find the women before the Halloween deadline?

This is book twenty-four in the series, and I think, the most complicated case Sarah Booth and Tinkie have ever had. No one is who they seem to be, and no one is telling the truth, or even close to it. No one can be trusted. Coleman and Sarah Booth work well together and Tinkie, though at a distance, is a big help. Cece, never one to miss a story for the Zinnia newspaper, is right in the middle of things. It was a nice change of pace to move the setting to New Orleans. Haines describes the city so well, you can almost taste the gumbo.

Look for their next escapade, Bones of Holly, coming in October.

To enter to win a copy of Lady of Bones, simply email KRL at krlcontests@gmail[dot]com by replacing the [dot] with a period, and with the subject line “lady,” or comment on this article. A winner will be chosen October 8, 2022. U.S. residents only, and you must be 18 or older to enter. If entering via email please include your mailing address in case you win, it will be deleted after the contest. You can read our privacy statement here if you like.

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Sandra Murphy lives in the shadow of the Arch in St. Louis Missouri. She’s editor for Peace, Love, and Crime: Crime Stories Inspired by the Songs of the ’60s, with twenty-two cozy stories. She also edited A Murder of Crows, twenty-one stories featuring animals and crime (no animals were harmed). She also writes for magazines, newsletters, and the occasional guest blog. Both anthologies are available at the usual outlets, print or ebook.

Disclosure: This post contains links to an affiliate program, for which we receive a few cents if you make purchases. KRL also receives free copies of most of the books that it reviews, that are provided in exchange for an honest review of the book.