Doggone Bones by Carolyn Haines Series: Sarah Booth Delaney #29
Published by Minotaur Books on May 27, 2025
Source: NetGalley
Genres: Mystery
Pages: 320
Format: eARC
Purchase at Bookshop.org
Add on Goodreads
The next 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.
I should probably not have started this series at #26. And probably not with the one dealing with dog thefts. Sara Booth and her partner at the Delaney Detective Agency, Tinkie, have been contacted about a dog that was stolen right out of someone’s backyard.
We had so many characters that it was hard to keep everyone straight. The author provided plenty of background, but I’m sure if I had read the previous books, I would have had a much better handle on who was who and how everyone is connected. Sara Booth has a good batch of friends, including her boyfriend sheriff, and several animals: dogs, horses, a cat and a crow. Oh, and she has a ghost haunting her house that often appears to her as historical figures.
The mystery this time around involved several dogs who were stolen from homes, including Sara Booth’s Sweetie Pie. There’s rumors of a dog-fighting ring, but Sara’s old nemesis, Gertrude, seems to be involved too. There’s was a lot going on and I didn’t quite understand where Gertrude’s character came from, just that she hated Sara. And I didn’t like being worried about the dogs. I like when my detectives have pets, but not when those pets are in danger.
The cover seemed more fun than the book turned out to be. Maybe I’d have a different opinion if I had followed the characters from the beginning, though.
About Carolyn Haines
Carolyn Haines is the USA Today bestselling author of over 70 books. In 2020, she was inducted into the Alabama Writers Hall of Fame. She was the recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Alabama Library Association, the Harper Lee Award for Distinguished Writing, the Richard Wright Award for Literary Excellence, as well as the “Best Amateur Sleuth” award by Romantic Times. Born and raised in Mississippi, she now lives in Alabama on a farm with more dogs, cats, and horses than she can possibly keep track of.
Reading this book contributed to these challenges: