Delacorte, Apr 2004, 23.95, 352 pp.
ISBN: 0385337787
The Delaney Detective Agency moves into its new office in Zinnia, Mississippi. Owner Sarah Booth Delaney and her friend Tinkie Richmond are delighted with their new setting including a Kinky Friedman inspired red phone. They get a client right away when New Orleans based Sister Mary Magdalen hires Sarah to prove that healer Doreen Mallory did not kill her ten week old daughter Rebekah, who suffered from major birth defects.
After receiving unwanted advice from her roommate Jitty the 1850s circa ghost, Sarah and Tinkie begin making inquiries into the life of the “good soul” Doreen. They find the healer has been quite promiscuous as she provided heavenly love to financier Michael Anderson, televangelist Oren Weaver, and married Senator Thaddeus Clay. Each one prayed that the infant victim did not come from their seed. The case turns bizarre as other previous deaths seem linked and each of the lovers has plenty in their respective closet that could destroy them; the child would be one more nuke to someone's reputation.
This is an intriguing private investigative case that as the heroine finds a clue it spins concentrically away from resolving who killed Rebekah so that the audience wonders which of the three men or even Doreen committed the crime. Sarah is a delightful protagonist whose investigative abilities are much better than her male relationship skills. Though Jitty is supposed to provide amusing asides, the specter seems more like an unnecessary subplot that fails to augment the case while being a pain in the butt involving Sarah's personal life. Still, Carolyn Haines provides a delightful Big Easy who-done-it.
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Ratings are on a 1-10 scale (Low to High)
Plot
Composition of Book descript. of violence and chases - 10% Planning/preparing, gather info, debate puzzles/motives - 20% Feelings, relationships, character bio/development - 50% How society works & physical descript. (people, objects, places) - 20%
Tone of story
- suspenseful (sophisticated fear)
How difficult to spot villain?
- Very difficult--no foreshadowing/clues
Time/era of story:
- present (2000-2010)
What % of story relates directly
to the mystery, not the subplot?
- 70%
Kind of investigator
- hard boiled/private eye
Kid or adult book?
- Adult or Young Adult Book
Any non-mystery subplot?
- ghost buddy
Crime Thriller
Yes
Murder Mystery (killer unknown)
Yes
Main Character
Gender
- Female
Profession/status:
- private investigator
How much violence does he/she use?
- a little
Ethnicity/Race
- White/American
How sensitive is this character?
- sensitive to others' feelings
Sense of humor
- Mostly serious with occasional humor
Intelligence
- Very much smarter than other characters
Physique
- average physique
Main Adversary
Identity:
- natural phenomena
Age:
- 40's-50's
Profession/status:
- business executive
How much of work is main antagonist actually present in:
- a moderate amount
Motive of antagonist
- revenge
How sensitive is this character?
- hard edged
Sense of humor
- Mostly serious with occasional humor
Intelligence
- Smarter than most other characters
Physique
- very athletic
Setting
United States
Yes
The US:
- Deep South
Style
Person
- mostly 3rd
Accounts of torture and death?
- generic/vague references to death/punishment
How many deaths?
- 3-4
Amount of dialog
- significantly more dialog than descript
