Thursday, September 6, 2012

September Series: Poppy Done to Death - Aurora Teagarden Series

I'm often rather harsh in my assessments of amateur detectives, but Aurora Teagarden doesn't get any flying arrows from me.  I love this character.  First of all she's a librarian.  She's bright, she's funny, she's mature, and she's smart enough to know when to involve the professionals.
In this latest episode of the series, Roe as she's known,  discovers the murdered body of her step-sister-in-law Poppy when Ms. P misses her induction into the Uppity Women club; that same day she accepts custody of her runaway 15 yr old half-brother Phillip, who arrives unannounced for Thanksgiving (she thought he was in California); she confronts her own feelings about parenting, extra-marital sex, and her current relationship to Robin Crusoe the author, all while trying to figure out why Poppy was murdered, and then why Poppy's house was trashed AFTER the police finished investigating the crime scene.

All the regulars are there, with new and introspective insights into their characters and motivations.  It's an easy cozy read, but has plenty of meat to the plot.  I didn't have that AHA moment until nearly the end, and that's the way I enjoy mysteries --- the plot building to a surprise ending, lots of suspects being ruled in/out one at a time.  I enjoy most of Charlaine Harris' work but must say I think this series is one of my favorites.  I was quite pleased to see that the story left the door wide open for more adventures and a new phase in Ro's life.


Author: Charlaine Harris
Publisher-Format: Recorded Books, 2009,  8 hrs
Subject: unsolved murder
Setting: Laurenceton GA (fictional town)
Series: Aurora Teagarden mysteries
Genre: cozy mystery - amateur sleuth
Source: purchased audible from Audible.com

2 comments:

  1. I'm not familiar with this series but it sounds hilarious. I like one other Harris series and I do know she has a great sense of humor. "The Uppity Women Club" is enough by itself to make me want to read this one. Thanks for the review.

    ReplyDelete
  2. cozy with meat? sounds good.

    I have read some of her books but I will have to consult Library Thing to remember which. Oh, LT, how I love you...

    ReplyDelete

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