Teaser Tuesday & A Ramble : Them Bones by Carolyn Haines

(44%)

Title: Them Bones
Author: Carolyn Haines
Publication: 1999 - Bantam
First Lines: Women in my family have a penchant for madness and mysterious "womb" disorders. It's never been clear to me whether one if the result of the other, or if both maladies are a curse upon the Delaney women for acts of desperation, usually associated with a man more deeply involved with either a bottle or a gun than a female.

Faves on 4s:
4%: The Garretts were notorious for all of the Faulknerian vices -- drinking, killing, barn-burning, insanity, morbidity, raging jealousies, incest, and other dangerous passions. They were no different than any other family in our circle, but they had been caught out.
24%: "Tell me about Mr. Guy and Mrs. Veronica," I said, forking another bite of pie. I was having an excellent time. Being a private investigator was great work.
34%: Daddy never denied me the freedom to listen to the criminal trials, though Mama did her best to discourage it. She felt exposure to the baser human acts would warp me. Perhaps she was right.
74%: Forrest Gump had it wrong. Life is not a box of chocolates; it's a kaleidoscope. In the flip of a wrist, realities are shredded and the world takes on a totally new shape.
94%: The clang of metal on skull was totally satisfying.

Ramble: Years ago I randomly picked up several books by Carolyn Haines without realizing that there were several books before them in the series. I finally acquired the missing books and then, of course, got distracted for another year or two. The sixteenth book in the series was just released couple of weeks ago. I thought when I first grabbed it that maybe I wouldn't bother since I've already got so many series in progress. Well, now I have one more.

Sarah Booth Delaney is technically a "Daddy's Girl" -- brought up well-off in the South where the girls typically all end  up going to the right college primarily to join the right sorority and marry the right man with the right bank account. Sarah's nothing like that. She did go to the right college, but soon after went to New York to become an actress.When that didn't happen she ended up back at the family plantation at 33 years old with no job, no money, no love life, and no real prospects at changing any of those. What she has is Jitty -- the ghost of her great-great-grandmother's nanny living with her and offering advice (often unsolicited) at every turn.

Oh, and she also has spunk. Lots of it. And, of course, I love a character with a lot of spunk.

Thanks to a scheme cooked up by Jitty, Sarah becomes wrapped up in a decades-old mystery that threatens lives, friendships, sanity and, yes, even womb. Maybe the Delaney women are cursed after all? Of course, since this is the first book of sixteen (so far) you already know that Sarah survives at least the life-threatening ordeals ... but it's so much fun seeing how it all happens! I loved getting to know her and Jitty and her friends and neighbors. No one is entirely what they first appear to be which results in twists and turns and surprises along the way. And humor. Oh so much humor! One second I was holding my breath in suspense and the next I was losing it from laughter. I'm looking forward to seeing what Sarah and Jitty get up to next!