Dead Over Heels by Charlaine Harris

Synopsis:

Part-time librarian Aurora ‘Roe’ Teagarden lands smack in the middle of a baffling murder case in the fifth murder mystery from #1 New York Times and Sunday Times bestselling author Charlaine Harris
Roe never liked Detective Sergeant Jack Burns, but she never wanted to see him dead – especially dropped from a plane right into her own front yard. Luckily, even Lawrenceton, Georgia’s finest, know that Roe couldn’t possibly be in two places at once, so her name is crossed off the suspect list.
But then other strange things happen around Roe, ranging from peculiar (her irascible cat turns up wearing a pink ribbon) to violent (her assistant at the library is attacked) to potentially deadly (her ex-lover is stabbed). Clearly there is a personal message in this madness that Roe must decipher – before it is too late . . .

D.S. Williams Review:

This would be my least favourite of the Aurora Teagarden books, mainly because there doesn’t seem to be a legitimate reason for the characters doing what they do in this one. There’s lots of unrequited love/ex-lovers changing their minds/unexplained infatuations going on which frankly, at certain times in the book didn’t seem to make sense. And given that the vast majority of these situations revolve around our heroine, a bookish, wavy-haired, glasses-wearing married librarian – it just seemed a little odd to me.
Having said that, there was plenty of mystery going on, it just didn’t seem like really brilliant mystery in comparison with previous books in the series. I almost felt as if in this one, Ms. Harris was ‘phoning it in’ – making the plot suit where she wanted it to end up, and to hell with how that worked out on paper. Despite that, it was just strong enough to keep me invested in the characters, and wanting to find out who the culprit was in the murders.

Real Murders

by Charlaine Harris

Synopsis:

Lawrenceton, Georgia, may be a growing suburb of Atlanta, but it’s still a small town at heart. Librarian Aurora ‘Roe’ Teagarden grew up there and knows more than enough about her fellow townsfolk, including which ones share her interest in the darker side of human nature . . .

With those fellow crime buffs, Roe belongs to a club called Real Murders, which meets once a month to analyze famous cases. It’s a harmless pastime – until the night she finds a member dead, killed in a manner that eerily resembles the crime the club was about to discuss.

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 .

D.S. Williams Review:

I read these books a few years ago, and recently purchased them (in the omnibus edition) to reread. I will point out that unfortunately, my ebook was missing Chapter 15 of this first book in the series (I buy via Amazon but read with the Moon Reader app.).
Having said that, the story was as good as I remember, and I warmed quickly to the main character, Aurora Teagarden and the collection of characters who create the story with her. Ms Harris writes in first person, which I enjoy, and I found that the facets of Aurora’s personality were brought to life beautifully. The characters in these books are not the cardboard cutouts that are found in so many novels nowadays – in this case, the characters have flaws, idiosyncrasies and curious quirks to their personalities which make them three-dimensional and entertaining.
Aurora Teagarden has plenty of quirks of her own, but like most of us, she’d just trying to get through life one day at a time. With an interest in historic murders, Aurora is part of a local group named ‘Real Murders’ – a group with it’s own cast of quirky characters.
When those characters start turning up dead – their deaths styled to recreate famous murders from the past, Aurora starts to wonder if she’ll be a victim next – or get the blame for the murders.
The story moves along at a good pace, is thoroughly enjoyable, and an easy read. Aurora is easy to like, and her trials and tribulations were enough to keep me reading to the very end. Highly recommended.