There is some foolish afoot when Professor Olive Twist has come to Zinnia, Mississippi and plans to stir up a passel of trouble involving the beloved but mysterious "Lady In Red." But Sarah Booth, her partner and best friend TInkie Bellcase Richmond, and a few of their close friends are not going to put up with the scandal Twist is trying to expose, and they immediately become suspicious of this blunt and sneaky know-it-all. And when her young personal assistant turns up poisoned by a cup of coffee intended for her, Olive Twist becomes the prime murder suspect. Swearing that she is innocent, Professor Twist hires Sarah to find out who has an ax to grind with her, which turns out to be half the town.

As Sarah Booth and Tinkie struggle to put all the pieces of this puzzle together, they are forced to investigate a firebombing, a couple of kidnappings, and a century's old mystery that just might involve the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln. You can't say life is ever dull in Zinnia.

Carolyn Haines continues her charming mystery series with SMARTY BONES. She captures the heart of the South in her tales, without portraying the characters as dull or slow -- quite the opposite. Sarah Booth and her friends are intelligent, witty and very fast to get the gist of the problem and jump to finding solutions. Haines colors her tale with the quirky aspects of the South that give it the snap and pop that readers have come to expect from this series.

I was fascinated by the historical side note that is at the heart of this story -- the legend of "The Lady In Red." Haines explains in the beginning of the book that there actually was the coffin of a mysterious lady dug up in a field in Mississippi, and the body had been embalmed in alcohol, preserving it perfectly.

Carolyn Haines once again shows why she is considered one of the most beloved Southern mystery authors today with this bright and charming novel. You can read SMARTY BONES as a stand-alone novel, but do yourself a favor and check out the rest of the series -- you'll be so glad you did!

Book Summary