After a long debate with myself I’ve decided to start with a book series by my absolute favorite author, Charlaine Harris. Before her Sookie Stackhouse series (which I’m sure I’ll talk about later) became popular with the spawn of the HBO series True Blood, Ms. Harris wrote a mystery series about Aurora Teagarden and several “Real Murders”, we’ll start there.
The first installment in the series was written in 1990, I was nervous about how that would affect the way it read almost 20 years later. Honestly after getting into “Real Murders” I didn’t think much about it. Although Ms. Harris mentions clothing and hair styles it’s not so much that I couldn’t picture the story happening in present time.
We meet Aurora (Roe) Teagarden in Lawrenceton, Georgia. She’s a feisty little thing, little being the key word. Roe, one of several librarians in her small town, is 4’11” and loves a good serial killer. It just so happens that there is one on the loose and strikes during the monthly meeting of the Real Murders Club she is a member of. In the eyes of the police she is a suspect, in her own eyes she’s a possible victim. It’s quite the adventure as we help Roe solve the crime all while her love life starts to really develop and she finds herself torn between 2 very different (and hunky) men. This book obviously reads slightly slower than the following 7, I mean we have to have a little bit of character development. All and all it’s a bloody mess but in the end Roe lives to see another day (I mean this isn’t really a spoiler, there’s 7 more books people!!!)
“A Bone to Pick” picks (haha) back up where “Real Murders” left off…several months down the road of course. Little Miss Teagarden has been busy. Not only has she been seeing before mentioned (hunky) Arthur, we find out he’s a lying cheating dirtbag of a man…well of course he is…we have 6 more books to fill. On the plus side a very special lady from book 1 has passed away, leaving Aurora some money, her 2 bedroom home and quite surprisingly a hidden skull and a new mystery to solve. Now we get to witness Roe juggling some dead persons head and dating the local Episcopal priest. This one is a must read, Ms. Harris dives a little deeper into Roe’s brain and we get to know her better.
I love when a books name works ridiculously well with the story. The third installment “Three Bedrooms, One Corpse” means exactly what is says. Aurora is struggling to find herself and where she truly belongs. She decides to take a shot at the family business, working for her (complete opposite of Roe) Mother’s real estate company. I have to take a side note here and just say this poor girl is ALWAYS in the wrong place at the wrong time, I’d lock myself in my room. Anyways, there’s a body in the first house she shows…big surprise right? At this point the detectives in the town think she’s bad news…poor thing. Especially when she happens to be driving by her friend’s house and stops to find another murder victim…geez Louise. The best part about this one? We get to meet Martin Bartell, a yummy piece of older man (think Richard Gere), that Roe is immediately smitten with. Sorry Aubrey, there’s a new guy in town!!
I always tell people you have to get past the first 3 books in a series and then it really starts to get good. The same is true with “The Julius House”. Wedding bells ring for Roe in this 4th, and so far best, in the series. Martin (I want him) buys his new bride a wedding gift she can’t refuse, a house on the outskirts of town that just happens to have a mystery tied to it. The so called Julius House was once home to the Julius family who had disappeared from it several years prior. Of course Roe isn’t interested in finding out what happened to them…hehe just kidding. With the help of her new friend(bodyguard) Angel, Mrs. Teagarden-Bartell starts to literally ‘uncover’ some of her new homes secrets. Unfortunately her new hubby has some secrets he’s been hiding as well. *queue the dramatic music here*
Ok Book 5 “Dead Over Heels” I’ll try to make this one short. The Book starts with Roe chillin’ in a lounge chair while Angel mows the lawn, and then oh it’s a bird, it’s a plane, it’s Superman? Nope, just another dead guy falling from the sky. This time it’s Detective Jack Burns. Oh great the guy who blames Roe for everything, should I be happy or sad about this??? Well people start dropping like flies around Roe, including before mentioned lying cheating dirtbag ex. Remind me to steer clear of small towns in Georgia.
“A Fool and His Honey” is my favorite in the series, hopefully I don’t give too much away. After a man strips naked in the couples front yard, Martin’s niece, with newborn son in tow, show up on their doorstep claiming they need to stay…the weird day gets weirder when Roe and Martin come home to a dead guy on the stairs *Gasp*, the baby under the bed and Regina, Martin’s niece, m.i.a. not to mention some random dude asleep on the couch. Martin and Roe head to Martin’s home town in Ohio to get some answers and find more than they bargained for. I would recommend having tissues nearby because the ending is heartbreaking. If you want to be surprised STOP READING NOW!
I didn’t think I could continue after the ending of the previous book, I did and I’m quite glad. “Last Scene Alive” (another clever title) finds Roe alone…again…I mean the woman is in her 30’s can she ever catch a break?!! But guess what, her luck is about to turn…kinda. After being gone since the first book, Robin makes his long awaited return to film his adaptation of the ‘Real Murders Mystery”. *Jump up and down with excitement*. Unfortunately, the shooting turns deadly, pun intended. Once again someone’s trying to kill half the town and Roe’s in the middle of it all. Oh and she gets some new, trendier eye wear…that’s a plus!
Here we go, “Poppy Done to Death”. The final installment is upon us. We find Aurora and Robin still moving along quite nicely and everything seems to be falling into place. That is until Roe’s sister in Law turns up dead. Now I was confused at when Roe even aquired a sister in law, but it’s actually her new step brother’s wife. Not to be confused with her half brother, who we do meet again many years older than he was in book 1, but not old enough to be married. Although the book has a great mystery to solve it’s really all about tying up loose ends. I’m very happy with the ending of this book and altogether this series. It’s generally a happy ending for a character that deserves nothing but the best. So get to reading!!
“A Bone to Pick” picks (haha) back up where “Real Murders” left off…several months down the road of course. Little Miss Teagarden has been busy. Not only has she been seeing before mentioned (hunky) Arthur, we find out he’s a lying cheating dirtbag of a man…well of course he is…we have 6 more books to fill. On the plus side a very special lady from book 1 has passed away, leaving Aurora some money, her 2 bedroom home and quite surprisingly a hidden skull and a new mystery to solve. Now we get to witness Roe juggling some dead persons head and dating the local Episcopal priest. This one is a must read, Ms. Harris dives a little deeper into Roe’s brain and we get to know her better.
I love when a books name works ridiculously well with the story. The third installment “Three Bedrooms, One Corpse” means exactly what is says. Aurora is struggling to find herself and where she truly belongs. She decides to take a shot at the family business, working for her (complete opposite of Roe) Mother’s real estate company. I have to take a side note here and just say this poor girl is ALWAYS in the wrong place at the wrong time, I’d lock myself in my room. Anyways, there’s a body in the first house she shows…big surprise right? At this point the detectives in the town think she’s bad news…poor thing. Especially when she happens to be driving by her friend’s house and stops to find another murder victim…geez Louise. The best part about this one? We get to meet Martin Bartell, a yummy piece of older man (think Richard Gere), that Roe is immediately smitten with. Sorry Aubrey, there’s a new guy in town!!
I always tell people you have to get past the first 3 books in a series and then it really starts to get good. The same is true with “The Julius House”. Wedding bells ring for Roe in this 4th, and so far best, in the series. Martin (I want him) buys his new bride a wedding gift she can’t refuse, a house on the outskirts of town that just happens to have a mystery tied to it. The so called Julius House was once home to the Julius family who had disappeared from it several years prior. Of course Roe isn’t interested in finding out what happened to them…hehe just kidding. With the help of her new friend(bodyguard) Angel, Mrs. Teagarden-Bartell starts to literally ‘uncover’ some of her new homes secrets. Unfortunately her new hubby has some secrets he’s been hiding as well. *queue the dramatic music here*
Ok Book 5 “Dead Over Heels” I’ll try to make this one short. The Book starts with Roe chillin’ in a lounge chair while Angel mows the lawn, and then oh it’s a bird, it’s a plane, it’s Superman? Nope, just another dead guy falling from the sky. This time it’s Detective Jack Burns. Oh great the guy who blames Roe for everything, should I be happy or sad about this??? Well people start dropping like flies around Roe, including before mentioned lying cheating dirtbag ex. Remind me to steer clear of small towns in Georgia.
“A Fool and His Honey” is my favorite in the series, hopefully I don’t give too much away. After a man strips naked in the couples front yard, Martin’s niece, with newborn son in tow, show up on their doorstep claiming they need to stay…the weird day gets weirder when Roe and Martin come home to a dead guy on the stairs *Gasp*, the baby under the bed and Regina, Martin’s niece, m.i.a. not to mention some random dude asleep on the couch. Martin and Roe head to Martin’s home town in Ohio to get some answers and find more than they bargained for. I would recommend having tissues nearby because the ending is heartbreaking. If you want to be surprised STOP READING NOW!
I didn’t think I could continue after the ending of the previous book, I did and I’m quite glad. “Last Scene Alive” (another clever title) finds Roe alone…again…I mean the woman is in her 30’s can she ever catch a break?!! But guess what, her luck is about to turn…kinda. After being gone since the first book, Robin makes his long awaited return to film his adaptation of the ‘Real Murders Mystery”. *Jump up and down with excitement*. Unfortunately, the shooting turns deadly, pun intended. Once again someone’s trying to kill half the town and Roe’s in the middle of it all. Oh and she gets some new, trendier eye wear…that’s a plus!
Here we go, “Poppy Done to Death”. The final installment is upon us. We find Aurora and Robin still moving along quite nicely and everything seems to be falling into place. That is until Roe’s sister in Law turns up dead. Now I was confused at when Roe even aquired a sister in law, but it’s actually her new step brother’s wife. Not to be confused with her half brother, who we do meet again many years older than he was in book 1, but not old enough to be married. Although the book has a great mystery to solve it’s really all about tying up loose ends. I’m very happy with the ending of this book and altogether this series. It’s generally a happy ending for a character that deserves nothing but the best. So get to reading!!
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