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powerlibrarian's review against another edition
2.0
*** Mild Spoilers Ahead***
I enjoyed the previous books in this series, but I found that this final installment irritated me for several reasons. The plot is not very complex, and the killer ends up being the person I suspected from the beginning.
One of the major issues with this book is that the personality of the protagonist has changed a lot from the previous books. She is quite persnickety, and everything seems to rub her the wrong way. Because the book was written in first person, her personality comes off extra strong in her view of her personal relationships, her work, and the case she is trying to solve. For example, when she sees her boyfriend chatting with one of her coworkers at the library, she immediately assumes he is cheating on her and gives him the cold shoulder for the majority of the book.
There are several inconsistencies in this book. Aurora becomes pregnant, despite the fact that in a previous book she was told that she had a deformed uterus and couldn’t become pregnant. For the entire book, she is depressed about the fact that she can never have children. At the end, when it is revealed that she is pregnant, she isn’t as elated as she should be. This was also a deviation from the previous books in the series, because a deformed uterus isn’t the same as a tilted uterus.
There were other loose ends that irritated me as well. Her close friend, Sally, shows signs of dementia, and Aurora worries about what she should do about this throughout the entire book. Harris never addresses this at the end of the book, so this issue is never resolved.
Other characters in the book were unappealing to me as well. The police officer that she used to date looks down on her, her brother who comes to visit is very selfish, and her friend is staying in a loveless marriage. Overall, the book is quite depressing, which is not what I have come to expect from ‘cozy’ mysteries. I had been in the mood for a light mystery, and while the mystery itself was not gruesome or complex, the story dealt with dark themes of adultery and incest, which was an unpleasant surprise.
Fortunately, the book is short, and I was able to finish it in a few short sittings.
I enjoyed the previous books in this series, but I found that this final installment irritated me for several reasons. The plot is not very complex, and the killer ends up being the person I suspected from the beginning.
Spoiler
The cover, which depicts Aurora Teagarden standing in front of a swimming pool, actually reveals the identity of the killer, a professional swimmer.One of the major issues with this book is that the personality of the protagonist has changed a lot from the previous books. She is quite persnickety, and everything seems to rub her the wrong way. Because the book was written in first person, her personality comes off extra strong in her view of her personal relationships, her work, and the case she is trying to solve. For example, when she sees her boyfriend chatting with one of her coworkers at the library, she immediately assumes he is cheating on her and gives him the cold shoulder for the majority of the book.
There are several inconsistencies in this book. Aurora becomes pregnant, despite the fact that in a previous book she was told that she had a deformed uterus and couldn’t become pregnant. For the entire book, she is depressed about the fact that she can never have children. At the end, when it is revealed that she is pregnant, she isn’t as elated as she should be. This was also a deviation from the previous books in the series, because a deformed uterus isn’t the same as a tilted uterus.
There were other loose ends that irritated me as well. Her close friend, Sally, shows signs of dementia, and Aurora worries about what she should do about this throughout the entire book. Harris never addresses this at the end of the book, so this issue is never resolved.
Other characters in the book were unappealing to me as well. The police officer that she used to date looks down on her, her brother who comes to visit is very selfish, and her friend is staying in a loveless marriage. Overall, the book is quite depressing, which is not what I have come to expect from ‘cozy’ mysteries. I had been in the mood for a light mystery, and while the mystery itself was not gruesome or complex, the story dealt with dark themes of adultery and incest, which was an unpleasant surprise.
Fortunately, the book is short, and I was able to finish it in a few short sittings.
keganfrank's review against another edition
5.0
Wow ...she should not have a cat ever! Really how do you not look for your cat for 3 days then toss another at a murderer.
pjj's review against another edition
4.0
This book was a quick read and it was “okay.” But it was also convoluted, like e melting pot of a dozen half-baked stories thrown together and few, of any, played out to any great degree. While I liked it well enough for a cold afternoon read, I was also disappointed, if that makes sense.
ladymoonlight's review against another edition
4.0
„Abgedroschen“ ist der 8. Band der „Aurora Teagarden“ Reihe von Autorin Charlaine Harris. Mit der neuen Übersetzung ab dem 7. Band bin ich leider nicht ganz zufrieden. Hier ist mir eine Szene sogar besonders negativ aufgefallen, die ich dann sogar extra im Original nachgeschlagen habe. Da ist der Übersetzerin leider ein kleiner Fehler passiert. Es geht um die Katze. Poppy hat ihr keinesfalls die Krallen ziehen lassen, wie es in der deutschen Übersetzung steht! Sie hat sie schon so adoptiert. Natürlich können Fehler passieren, in diesem Fall verändert es allerdings beinahe das komplette Bild vom Charakter einer Buchfigur. Besser jedoch allemal als gar keine Übersetzung, Band 9 muss man nämlich dann auf Englisch weiterlesen. Generell ist das für mich kein Problem, trotzdem lese ich Bücher lieber in meiner Muttersprache. Ich finde es sehr schade, dass der Verlag die Reihe abbricht, obwohl es nur noch zwei Bände wären!
Trotz allem mag ich die Reihe und lese sie gerne. Der Schreibstil ist locker und flüssig, die Charaktere hat man mit der Zeit einfach lieb gewonnen und daher will man natürlich auch wissen, wie es weitergeht. Ich werde den nächsten Band daher im amerikanischen Original lesen. Von mir gibt es 4 Sterne, eine Leseempfehlung allerdings nur für echte Aurora Teagarden Fans. Macht bitte nicht den Fehler, diese Reihe durcheinander zu lesen. Man sollte unbedingt mit dem ersten Band beginnen!
Trotz allem mag ich die Reihe und lese sie gerne. Der Schreibstil ist locker und flüssig, die Charaktere hat man mit der Zeit einfach lieb gewonnen und daher will man natürlich auch wissen, wie es weitergeht. Ich werde den nächsten Band daher im amerikanischen Original lesen. Von mir gibt es 4 Sterne, eine Leseempfehlung allerdings nur für echte Aurora Teagarden Fans. Macht bitte nicht den Fehler, diese Reihe durcheinander zu lesen. Man sollte unbedingt mit dem ersten Band beginnen!
verityw's review against another edition
3.0
So, definite mixed feelings on this one. On the one hand, the plot in this is good and I liked seeing Aurora's half brother Philip again. On the other, there is a glaring continuity moment which annoyed me from the moment it happened, through the moment I realised why it had been done until the moment I was proved right. And also, Aurora is as annoying in this as she's ever been - I liked her well enough at the start of the series, but she went down hill with the marriage to Martin and has only got worse since. And then there was a major subplot left unresolved as well. Oof. Not the ending to the series that I wanted.
nitabee's review against another edition
4.0
Poppy Done to Death opens with Roe getting ready to attend a meeting of the Uppity Women's Club (they read books together but also do charitable work, back politicians, etc) with her sisters-in-law Melinda and Poppy. Poppy doesn't make it to the meeting, so Melinda and Roe go looking for her, as she's supposed to be inducted, and it's a big slight on her part. Unsurprisingly, she's .
Roe's brother Phillip makes an appearance in this book. His parents had moved him out to California after the events in the first book, to keep him far away from Roe, but Philip has grown up quite a bit and runs away from home. Roe and Phillip's dad has cheated on Phillip's mom (history does like to repeat), and so things are rough at home. Once Phillip is in Georgia though, his mom actually leaves their dad, and so we don't know where that leaves Phillip. Roe's reporter friend Sally is exhibiting signs of early onset dementia, which is sad for her. Robin Crusoe is still in the picture, and his mom visits for Thanksgiving, marking the first time Roe meets her. Things go well, which is good because.
Spoiler
been murdered. Poppy is the mother to a young baby, Chase, and she's married to Roe's stepfather John's youngest son, John David. They have a difficult relationship, constantly cheating on each other, and there's no shortage of suspects since Poppy had so many affairs. It turns out to have been her next-door neighbor, Cara Embler. Cara claims it's because she was next on the list to be an Uppity Woman (membership is limited, so a new person only joins when a member passes away), but Cara's husband had been one of Poppy's conquests, so there's that tooRoe's brother Phillip makes an appearance in this book. His parents had moved him out to California after the events in the first book, to keep him far away from Roe, but Philip has grown up quite a bit and runs away from home. Roe and Phillip's dad has cheated on Phillip's mom (history does like to repeat), and so things are rough at home. Once Phillip is in Georgia though, his mom actually leaves their dad, and so we don't know where that leaves Phillip. Roe's reporter friend Sally is exhibiting signs of early onset dementia, which is sad for her. Robin Crusoe is still in the picture, and his mom visits for Thanksgiving, marking the first time Roe meets her. Things go well, which is good because