Haines, Carolyn 1953- (Caroline Burnes, Lizzie Hart)

PERSONAL:

Born May 12, 1953, in Hattiesburg, MS; daughter of Roy (a journalist) and Hilda (a journalist) Haines. Education: University of Southern Mississippi, B.S., 1974; University of Southern Alabama, M.A., 1985. Hobbies and other interests: Horseback riding.

ADDRESSES:

E-mail—cehaines@mindspring.com.

CAREER:

Writer. Formerly worked as a journalist for the George County Times, Mobile Register, Hattiesburg America, and Mississippi Press; University of Southern Alabama, Mobile, AL, Public Relations Office, staff member.

WRITINGS:

NOVELS

Summer of Fear, Windsor (New York, NY), 1993.

Summer of the Redeemers, Dutton (New York, NY), 1994, published in England as Season of Innocents, Headline (London, England), 1994.

Touched, Dutton (New York, NY), 1996.

Judas Burning, River City (Montgomery, AL), 2005.

Penumbra, St. Martin's Minotaur (New York, NY), 2006.

Fever Moon, St. Martin's Minotaur (New York, NY), 2007.

"BONES" SERIES

Them Bones, Bantam (New York, NY), 1999.

Buried Bones, Bantam (New York, NY), 2000.

Splintered Bones, Delacorte (New York, NY), 2002.

Crossed Bones, Delacorte (New York, NY), 2003.

Hallowed Bones, Delacorte (New York, NY), 2004.

Bones to Pick, Kensington Books (New York, NY), 2006.

ROMANCE NOVELS; UNDER PSEUDONYM CAROLINE BURNES

A Deadly Breed, Harlequin Intrigue (New York, NY), 1988.

Measure of Deceit, Harlequin Intrigue (New York, NY), 1988.

Phantom Filly, Harlequin Intrigue (New York, NY), 1989.

The Jaguar's Eye, Harlequin Intrigue (New York, NY), 1991.

Deadly Currents, Harlequin Intrigue (New York, NY), 1992.

Fatal Ingredients, Harlequin Intrigue (New York, NY), 1992.

Hoodwinked, Harlequin Intrigue (New York, NY), 1993.

Flesh and Blood, Harlequin Intrigue (New York, NY), 1993.

Cutting Edge, Harlequin Intrigue (New York, NY), 1994.

A Christmas Kiss, Harlequin Intrigue (New York, NY), 1996.

Midnight Prey, Harlequin Intrigue (New York, NY), 1997.

Remember Me, Cowboy, Harlequin (New York, NY), 1998.

(With Rebecca York) After Dark: Counterfeit Wife, Harlequin (New York, NY), 1999.

Texas Midnight, Harlequin (New York, NY), 2000.

Midnight Burning, Harlequin (New York, NY), 2001.

(With Anne Stuart and Joanna Wayne) What Lies Beneath (contains "Primal Fear"), Harlequin (New York, NY), 2002.

"CAT FAMILIAR" SERIES; UNDER PSEUDONYM CAROLINE BURNES

Fear Familiar, Harlequin (New York, NY), 1990.

Too Familiar, Harlequin (New York, NY), 1993.

Thrice Familiar, Harlequin (New York, NY), 1993.

Shades of Familiar, Harlequin (New York, NY), 1994.

Familiar Remedy, Harlequin (New York, NY), 1994.

Familiar Tale, Harlequin (New York, NY), 1995.

Bewitching Familiar, Harlequin (New York, NY), 1995.

Familiar Heart, Harlequin (New York, NY), 1997.

Familiar Fire, Harlequin (New York, NY), 1998.

Familiar Valentine, Harlequin (New York, NY), 1999.

Familiar Christmas, Harlequin (New York, NY), 1999.

Familiar Obsession, Harlequin (New York, NY), 2000.

Familiar Lullaby, Harlequin (New York, NY), 2001.

Familiar Mirage, Harlequin (New York, NY), 2002.

Familiar Oasis, Harlequin (New York, NY), 2002.

OTHER

(Under pseudonym Lizzie Hart) Shop Talk, KaliOka Press (Semmes, AL), 1998.

(Editor, with Rebecca Barrett) Moments with Eugene: A Collection of Memories, KaliOka Press (Semmes, AL), 2000.

My Mother's Witness: The Peggy Morgan Story, River City (Montgomery, AL), 2003.

ADAPTATIONS:

Books have been adapted for audio format, including Crossed Bones, Recorded Books, c. 2003.

SIDELIGHTS:

Carolyn Haines's first novel for Dutton Publishing, Summer of the Redeemers, was perceived by some reviewers as a work for young adults. Supporting this perception is the fact that its protagonist, Rebekkah Rich, is a thirteen-year-old girl. Set in the tumultuous year of 1963, Summer of the Redeemers finds Rebekkah coming of age during a summer spent in rural Mississippi. As if burgeoning adolescence is not enough to deal with, her parents are liberal intellectuals surrounded by reactionary people responding to the first years of the civil rights movement. Rebekkah also realizes that her sophisticated, horse-owning—and therefore very attractive—neighbor is behaving strangely, this on top of the fact that a bizarre religious cult has moved in just down the road. Rebekkah's natural curiosity soon finds her discovering that horrible things are going on in the usually peaceful countryside, including child-selling and murder.

Though a writer for Kirkus Reviews felt that Summer of the Redeemers "is severely hindered" by having an adolescent protagonist, the critic added that the author's "evocation of a particular place and time are certainly masterful." A Publishers Weekly reviewer was enthusiastic, hailing the novel as "harrowing, richly atmospheric and sharp-edged," and asserting that it "maintains suspense until its final pages." Pat Dole, writing in Kliatt, noted: "The sense of setting is outstanding, the plot gripping, and the pace brisk."

For Touched, published in 1996, Haines uses roughly the same setting, four decades earlier. In the book, sixteen-year-old Mattie arrives during the 1920s as a mail-order-bride to the cruel and abusive Elikah Mills, who serves as the barber to the small town of Jexville, Mississippi. Mattie's only real friends in Jexville are the McVays, a couple with a young daughter, Duncan, who come from a more sophisticated place. When Duncan survives being struck by lightning and subsequently develops the ability of prophecy, the residents of Jexville, including Elikah, begin to suspect that she has been touched by Satan. Mrs. McVay rightly begins to fear for her family's safety, and she convinces Mattie and some of the community's other outcasts to attempt escape together. First, however, she and Mattie must rescue some of their small group, who have been captured by irate townspeople. Finally, the readers are given a report of Mattie's final revenge on Elikah, twenty years later.

Katherine Alberg, writing in the New York Times Book Review, cited the novel's "undeniable intensity" and noted that "it's impossible to shake its brooding atmosphere." A reviewer for Publishers Weekly also enjoyed Touched, praising its "languid sensuality" and "quirky, fully developed characters involved in an unpredictable story."

Haines's "Bones" books followed Touched. The mystery series stars Southern belle Sarah Booth Delaney, who runs her own detective agency in Zinnia, Mississippi, while keeping up acquaintances with a resident ghost nicknamed Jitty. In the third entry, Splintered Bones, Sarah investigates the death of a horse breeder who was stomped to death—allegedly—by his prize stallion. Her sleuthing brings Sarah into contact with a sexy stable hand, a trio of gangsters, and a would-be country-music diva. A Kirkus Reviews contributor found in Splintered Bones "something for everyone—spandex-wearing ghosts, horses and more horses, southern-fried dysfunctional families." To a Publishers Weekly reviewer, the author is "long on accent if short on clues that help elucidate the mystery." The reviewer added, however, that Haines's sense of humor saves the day, "holding the reader's attention and internal laugh track right down to the last snicker." Splintered Bones, wrote Rex E. Klett in Library Journal, "certainly offers welcome escape."

The next book in the series, Crossed Bones, finds Sarah and her partner, Tinkie, who exemplifies the "southern" woman, trying to clear the name of white blues guitarist Scott Hampton, who has been arrested for the murder of her husband. The two have numerous suspects to consider, including a black supremacist, racist bikers, and a blues collector. Along with the support of their dogs Sweetie Pie and Chablis and the resident ghost in Sarah's house, the duo discover that the murder may have something to do with recordings of the blues duo Elvis and Ivory that have never been released and are worth a fortune. "This cozy read is the next best thing to curling up with a mint julep on the porch swing on a lazy afternoon," wrote a Publishers Weekly contributor. A Kirkus Reviews contributor called Crossed Bones "a down-home valentine … that couldn't be more southern if it were packaged with grits." Sue O'Brien, writing in Booklist, referred to Sarah as "a charming, likable hero."

Hallowed Bones features the murder of a handicapped, infant girl, as Sara and Tinkie set out to clear the girl's mother, a supposed miracle worker named Doreen Mallory, of the crime. It turns out that the infant had three possible fathers, and Sarah and Tinkie set their sights on them as the primary suspects while Sarah deals with her love of a local married sheriff and the possibility that Tinkie has breast cancer. Sue O'Brien, writing in Booklist, noted that Sarah's "first-person narration draws readers close to her." A Publishers Weekly contributor wrote that "the conclusion is both clever and impressive."

In Bones to Pick, Sarah investigates the murder of Quentin McGee after McGee's life partner, Allison Tatum, is arrested for the murder. With the help of her partner, Tinkie, Sarah soon learns that the Quentin and Allison, both of whom graduated from the Carrington School for Well-Bred Ladies, have made plenty of local enemies by ruining reputations. However, as the investigation goes on, Sarah and Tinkie come to realize that they are chasing a serial killer focusing on graduates of the Carrington School for Well-Bred Ladies. "Non-southerners will find the madcap adventure an informative peek into an alien culture," wrote a Kirkus Reviews contributor.

Haines leaves Sarah Booth Delaney behind for her novel Judas Burning, although the story remains set in the Mississippi Delta area. Journalist Dixon Sinclair has just returned to Jexville to live in the family house and buys the local newspaper. Dixon, who has a drinking problem and numerous other problems that plague her psyche, is soon delving into the disappearance of two teenage girls and the desecrated statue of the Virgin Mary. Eventually, the mutilated body of one of the missing girls is found in a local swamp, along with a mysterious religious shrine. Jenny McLarin, writing in Booklist, noted that the author "crafts a story as rich as a thick slice of Mississippi mud pie." A Kirkus Reviews contributor wrote: "Sympathetic characters and an unblinking look at the banality and breathtaking evil below Jexville's surface make this a must-read."

Haines's novel Fever Moon, set in Louisiana at the end of World War II, features Deputy Raymond Thibodeaux on the trail of a murderer who killed the wealthy Henri Bastion. Thibodeaux does not pay much attention to the fact that a local woman, Adele Hebert, who believes she is possessed, has confessed to the crime. Meanwhile, the superstitious locals believe that Adele may be a werewolf. A Publishers Weekly contributor noted the author's "powerful sense of place" and called Fever Moon "an engaging, memorable story."

Haines is also author of the nonfiction My Mother's Witness: The Peggy Morgan Story, which tells the story Peggy Morgan, her mother Inez, and the role they played in the helping bring to justice the murderer of civil rights leader Medgar Evers in 1963. A Publishers Weekly contributor called the book "powerful storytelling." In addition to the books published under her own name, Haines has produced numerous romance and intrigue novels under the pseudonym Caroline Burnes. One of her series books has a cat-detective as protagonist. That feline, Familiar, is based on the author's own pet, a black cat named E.A. Poe.

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Booklist, June 1, 1996, Nancy Pearl, review of Touched, pp. 1674, 1676; February 1, 2003, Sue O'Brien, review of Crossed Bones, p. 975; February 15, 2004, Sue O'Brien, review of Hallowed Bones, p. 1042; September 15, 2005, Jenny McLarin, review of Judas Burning, p. 35.

Kirkus Reviews, April 1, 1994, review of Summer of the Redeemers, p. 419; December 15, 2001, review of Splintered Bones, p. 1724; February 1, 2003, review of Crossed Bones, p. 187; January 15, 2004, review of Hallowed Bones, p. 63; August 1, 2005, review of Judas Burning, p. 818; May 15, 2006, review of Bones to Pick, p. 497.

Kliatt, September, 1995, Pat Dole, review of Summer of the Redeemers, p. 10.

Library Journal, February 1, 2002, Rex E. Klett, review of Splintered Bones, p. 135; March 1, 2003, Rex Klett, review of Crossed Bones, p. 122; April 1, 2004, Rex Klett, review of Hallowed Bones, p. 126; February 1, 2006, Jo Ann Vicarel, review of Penumbra, p. 56.

New York Times Book Review, September 22, 1996, Katherine Alberg, review of Touched, p. 25.

Publishers Weekly, April 18, 1994, review of Summer of the Redeemers, p. 45; June 3, 1996, review of Touched, p. 62; February 11, 2002, review of Splintered Bones, p. 164; March 3, 2003, review of Crossed Bones, p. 57; September 22, 2003, review of My Mother's Witness: The Peggy Morgan Story, p. 100; March 1, 2004, review of Hallowed Bones, p. 53; August 15, 2005, review of Judas Burning, p. 28; February 27, 2006, review of Penumbra, p. 35; December 4, 2006, review of Fever Moon, p. 37.

ONLINE

Alabama Bound,http://www.alabamabound.org/ (April 18, 2002), "Carolyn Haines," profile of author.

Carolyn Haines Home Page,http://www.carolynhaines.com (March 8, 2007).

Crescent Blues,http://www.crescentblues.com/ (March 9, 2007), Dawn Goldsmith, review of Hallowed Bones.

Mystical Unicorn Bookstore,http://www.myunicorn.com/ (March 29, 2007), bibliography of Haines.