Blue Christmas Bones
Sarah Booth Delaney Mysteries Book 28
Carolyn Haines
Minotaur Books
October 15th, 2024
“Blue Christmas” Bones by Carolyn Haines is a play on the famous song by Elvis Presley.Sarah Booth Delaney and her friends “can’t help falling in love” with Christmas this year, which they plan to spend celebrating the King of Rock n’ Roll at the annual Elvis Festival in Tupelo. The main attraction is an Elvis impersonator competition, drawing impersonators from all over the world to honor the king.
But before the revelry can get underway, a priceless jewel-encrusted replica of a belt once worn by Elvis is stolen from its display case. Private investigators Sarah Booth and Tinkie are roped into one of the biggest heists in the history of Mississippi. Soon “Suspicious Minds” are lurking around every corner, with one eyewitness even claiming to have seen Colonel Tom Parker, Elvis’s long deceased and highly questionable manager, prowling around the festivities. Sarah Booth will have to find the devil in disguise, or she might just end up singing “Jailhouse Rock” herself.
Fans of Elvis and cozy mysteries will enjoy this book.
Elise Cooper: How did you get the idea for the story?
Carolyn Haines: I grew up in Lucedale, Mississippi with three older female cousins who loved Elvis. I listened to him and fell in love a little bit myself. He was something Mississippi could be proud of, a man with talent and a generous heart. Elvis was born in Tupelo, and each summer they have a big Elvis festival, complete with hundreds of impersonators. I thought this was so cool, but I moved it to Christmas so it would fit in with the Zinnia gang’s regular holiday mystery! I love the name Grace Land because I am silly like that. And I didn’t want a violent crime so I thought a theft might be fun. But it had to be something big and expensive. What’s better than a replica of Elvis’s belt. That was the seed of the story, and then I just had a blast with Jitty appearing as various Vegas acts. I had such a good time writing this and I hope readers enjoy it too.
EC: Why Blue Christmas and Elvis?
CH: “Blue Christmas” is not my favorite Elvis song, but it lent itself perfectly for a title. My favorite Elvis song is “Love me Tender,” but Tender Bones sounded a little cannibalistic! LOL. This will be the 28th Bones book and while I also include things about Mississippi that aren’t so positive, I also like to include the best things, and Elvis is one of the best.
EC: Is there a reason you also brought in Wayne Newton?
CH: This is a nod to my younger brother, who was rock and roll 100 percent of the time. But for some crazy reason he adored Wayne Newton. And Newton is so much a part of Vegas and the whole Elvis experience in that city. My brother died in 2022, but his love of music still makes me smile.
EC: Can you explain the backstory behind Grace’s mother?
CH: Grace’s mother wants to “be somebody” and she wants that for Grace too. Her mother disappeared for a while, leaving Grace to believe the worst. She was off trying to create the Hollywood dream for herself and the man she seemed to care about. So Grace feels-and has been—on her own for a long time.
EC: How would you describe Grace’s mother?
CH: She is ambitious. And in the end devoted to Grace. She’s been dishonest in the past, which makes us wary of believing her in the book, or so I hope.
EC: How would you describe Grace?
CH: Grace has been indoctrinated into the Elvis culture with a lot of expectations put on her. She’s not the most pleasant character, but she also has pressures that some people don’t understand. I mean her mother named her Grace Land, which is quite an expectation. Grace has some failings as a character, but the reader must decide what they are, and if they are “fatal” flaws,
EC: What is the role of the stolen belt?
CH: The stolen belt is the reason to engage Sarah Booth and Tinkie in the Elvis festival. The girls are in Tupelo to compete for the amateur title of best Elvis performance, but that’s not a big enough stake to hang a mystery novel on. To be a compelling book, there must be more at stake than a simple contest. So the stolen belt, which is very valuable, becomes that.
EC: Next book?
CH: Doggone Bones is the next book and involves a ring of dog thieves. Are they selling the dogs to labs or as bait dogs, or is something else going on? Sarah Booth and Tinkie must solve the case and save the canines.
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