The Aurora Teagarden Mysteries by Charlaine Harris
Charlaine Harris is most famous for the Sookie Stackhouse Novels that the HBO series Trueblood is based on.
Book 1: Real Murders
Though a small town at heart, Lawrenceton, Georgia, has its dark side-and crime buffs. One of whom is librarian Aurora "Roe" Teagarden, a member of the Real Murders Club, which meets once a month to analyze famous cases. It's a harmless pastime-until the night she finds a member killed in a manner that eerily resembles the crime the club was about to discuss. And as other brutal "copycat" killings follow, Roe will have to uncover the person behind the terrifying game, one that casts all the members of Real Murders, herself included, as prime suspects-or potential victims.
This was a book series that I loved. For a million reasons. I'll try to keep it to a reasonable synopsis though. The above synopsis is only for Book 1: Real Murders because it would take forever to write a synopsis and review for each of the 8 books.
Aurora Teagarden, daughter of a very wealthy real estate tycoon mother, is a librarian. Aurora is complex and a little misunderstood by her family and friends. She loves books and lives what looks like a very nondescript life until she meets 10 or so other people from her hometown who share a "True Crime" fascination with her. Aurora and these 10 other people found a club called Real Murders where the members get together and discuss old murder cases. After a while, members of Real Murders start being murdered one by one, and each member of Real Murders is at some point a suspect in the nasty murders of it's members.
The series has 8 books. In each book you learn a little more about Aurora Teagarden as a character, and you also get plenty of suspense and mystery. She goes through a lot of triumph, trials, near death, and tragedy. Harris makes Roe Teagarden as real as any character can get. Roe doesn't always get what she wants and it changes her view on the world and the town she lives in. The books in this series don't always wrap up in a neat little package which will just bring you back for more. As people, we want our happy ending, but these books tend to be based on a character that actually has to really live a life. The series is wrapped up nicely (but not perfectly) in the end, but Harris makes sure that Roe Teagarden does some living, growing, and maturing in the process.
All in all, these books are quick, easy, and suspenseful reads that aren't easy to figure out. Each book has an undercurrent of romance in them as well, but it's not overwhelming. You find yourself wanting her to find a boyfriend, but it's not the main story of each book. If you want a fast read that has major plot and character development, these are a great start. Aurora Teagarden is a protagonist that I think many women can relate to on some level, and each antagonist in each book is different but challenging to Roe. These books all have great rising action and conflict that make you keep turning pages. The plot climax is also strong in each book. While the resolution/falling action will bring each book to a close, it will also open up a whole new can of worms that makes a great segue into the next book.
On a sidenote, I've read pretty much everything Charlaine Harris has written. You can't go wrong with her books. Happy reading!
1 comment:
Thanks for the recommendation! I LOVE reading!
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