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3.47 AVERAGE
3.47 AVERAGE
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
I don't usually read Cozy Mystery type books, but another series of hers was a favorite of mine years ago, so I decided to give this one a shot for spooky season. I don't know if I would have enjoyed it as much reading it, but listening to the audio, I got through the story quickly, and I didn't get hung up on any little details. I never suspected the one who actually did it until it was revealed. She did well in keeping the mystery concealed until then. I don't know that I'll listen to the whole series, but I decided to give book 2 a go as well since I enjoyed this one.
I love Harris' style. She writes about real people in unreal situations. This particular series is just fun. Seems strange to say this about stories revolving around murders, but it's not the catalystic death that creates the fun, it's Aurora and her friends and family. Anyone who has read the Sookie Stackhouse series will know how perfectly Harris captures the mood and pulse of a place and that's the true magic in her storytelling. Her characters are believable and real because where they live is so grounded. It could be the next town over. Their news stories could be on our 6 O'clock and not seem out of place.
I look forward to more Aurora. She will join Harper and Sookie on my shelves as a dear friend.
I look forward to more Aurora. She will join Harper and Sookie on my shelves as a dear friend.
quick little cozy mystery. loved the "real murders" club, and i'm a sucker for a librarian as a main character!
I love all of Charlaine Harris' books. Her characters are very lovable & you always feel like you can connect with them by the end of the story. Each of Charlaine Harris' series has a different heroine, and so far, I am most connecting with Roe (Aurora Teagarden from this series).
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
I am a HUGE Charlaine Harris fangirl. Enormous. If another reviewer sniffed that some of her work was "for serious fans only," I'd bark at them to hand over whatever they were talking about. Having devoured every single syllable she penned about Sookie Stackhouse, Harper Connelly and the residents of Midnight, Texas, I was feeling a bit of a Charlaine drought of late. My parents suggested I dip into this earlier series about residents of yet another small, southern town involved in some pretty dark stuff. (Although it is interesting to note that there is no supernatural elements here, but the book does not suffer for their absence - humans can be just as awful as any demon, and demons aren't always so bad.) My folks warned me that these books are not as well crafted as some of Harris' later works, and they are right - the book has some issues with pacing that Harris resolves in other books. But Roe is as winning a heroine as any of her others, and you definitely see the framework, wit, style and fearlessness that would become more sharply honed as she created her later works.
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
This book left me feeling very disappointed. I couldn't figure out quite why at first but then realized that by the end I didn't like Aurora. She was not the most interesting character in the first place but by the end I could not find anything redeeming about her.
Also the mystery/murder(s) was really easy for me to figure out. The characters were not very well developed either, which caused my interest by the end to wane a lot as well. Honestly the most redeeming this about this for me was the fact that Therese Palmer did an excellent job narrating and the plot moved relatively quickly.
Also the mystery/murder(s) was really easy for me to figure out.
Spoiler
I mean the two diversions consisted of a character who is Bipolar and another who is such a misfit and so lonely that he willingly took the blame for multiple murders. Am I really supposed to buy either of them as viable suspects?
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No