Review: A Bone to Pick by Charlaine Harris

A Bone to Pick (Aurora Teagarden #2)
By: Charlaine Harris
Publisher: Berkley
ASIN: B000XPPVB0

Review:

In the months following the series of murders that led to the dissolution of the Real Murders club, Aurora "Roe" Teagarden lost a boyfriend, gained a stepfather, and attended more than her fair share of weddings. Life looked -- perish the thought! -- predictably spinster-ish, until Jane Engle, erstwhile library volunteer and Real Murders enthusiast, dies and leaves the bulk of her estate to Roe. Since Roe never considered Jane more than a casual acquaintance, the unexpected windfall is a shock -- but not an entirely unwelcome one. But Roe's excitement over the options her new, moneyed status opens for her future are quickly tempered by the suspicion that this gift is more than a happy accident of fate. Jane left her everything for a purpose...and when she discovers a battered human skull hidden in Jane's house, Roe realizes that her very survival may depend on uncovering the unassuming Jane's darkest secrets...

After reading the first Roe Teagarden mystery, Real Murders, in preparation for the Hallmark film series, I couldn't resist moving on to the second installment (and the first story adapted for television). While I missed the club that first introduced Roe to crime-solving, this is a solid second outing, if lacking some of the sense of quirky community that existed between Roe and her fellow crime aficionados. But what it may lack in cozy mystery charm, it makes up for with a chick lit sensibility that provides some of Roe's most relatable moments. This is light chick lit, in keeping with the cozy genre, but it works, giving Roe a much needed, sassy single edge to her personality. I just hope that her potential romance with Aubrey, her stepfather's Episcopalian priest, continues because he is ADORBS.

What the mystery of the skull in Jane's window seat lacks in cleverness or depth it makes up for in atmosphere, as this menacing, unwanted discovery forces Roe to re-examine her assumptions about Jane as well as her new neighbors. I found Roe's reluctance to admit to finding the skull -- critical evidence in a murder investigation -- frankly beyond belief, but this isn't a series that exactly relies on logic or due process. Roe's adventures are perfect for when one craves a few hours of escapist entertainment with a few chills thrown in for good measure. I'm sorry to see Roe leave her library job behind after this monetary windfall, but Roe's bookish charm is so thoroughly ingrained in her character I can't foresee her forsaking her love of literature any time soon...or so I hope! Looking forward to seeing more of Roe's adventures on-screen and in print!

About the book: 

Death comes calling on a small-town librarian whose life is passing her by. 

Aurora "Roe" Teagarden's fortunes change when a deceased acquaintance names her as heir to a rather substantial estate, including money, jewelry, and a house complete with a skull hidden in a window seat. Roe concludes that the elderly women has purposely left her a murder to solve. So she must identify the victim and figure out which one of her new, ordinary-seeming neighbors is a murderer-without putting herself in deadly danger.

Review: Real Murders by Charlaine Harris

Real Murders (Aurora Teagardent Mystery #1)
By: Charlaine Harris
Publisher: Berkley
ASIN: B000W917LU

Review:

I must confess, I'd never even heard of Aurora Teagarden until I started seeing advertisements for a new film on the Hallmark Movies & Mysteries channel (which is kind of my default "background noise" station, because seriously can you ever have too many Murder She Wrote re-runs? No, obvs...). And even then, nothing in the trailer clued me into the fact that it was a book series, until I finally did a google search on the name and discovered that not only was the upcoming film inspired by a series of books, but the main character was a LIBRARIAN. My book loving heart was overcome -- this is total cozy mystery catnip for the likes of me, people!

Real Murders is the first installment of Aurora's sleuthing adventures, and it is so 1990s it was giving me all the nostalgic feels. No internet! Phones on CORDS attached to WALLS! Not to mention Aurora's fashion sense. *wink* Aurora (also called Roe) is all of 4'11" with coke-bottle glasses and a mass of hair she usually keeps tame with a braid...quiet and bookish and perfectly ordinary. She's content with her lot in life until her existence is upended with a terrifying splash of murder, the likes of which she's only found in her true crime books. Her passion for history and mystery met its outlet in the Real Murders Club, a diverse group of locals who met once a month to discuss a historical murder case or related crime-solving topic. But when one of the club members turns up dead, the body staged to mimic that meeting's topic -- the Julia Wallace murder -- Roe's amateur passion for murder casts an unwelcome and all too real shadow over her carefully ordered life. Soon the perpetually-single Aurora is juggling not one but two potential boyfriends, all while wondering which member of her criminally savvy fellow club members decided to take their passion for history's more gruesome chapters and bring it to life in her hometown...and where, and how, would they strike next?

If you're craving the mystery equivalent of comfort food, Real Murders contains all the ingredients to satisfy one's craving for a mystery cozy -- a plucky heroine, a quirky small town, a dash of romantic possibility, and a few red herrings. Roe is a likable lead, if not particularly well-rounded, and the supporting players are typical of the assortment that normally populates stories of this ilk -- the flirt, the jock, etc. While not particularly groundbreaking Real Murders is an altogether pleasant way with which to while away a few hours. It may lack some of the finesse of a Christie novel, but it more than makes up for any predictability with its action-packed final act. This series has promise, and its premise makes it perfect material for a series of telefilms, all guaranteeing I'll revisit Aurora's world soon!

About the book: 

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.