katereads2much's review
3.0
I enjoyed this well enough. I'm not usually a mystery reader but I like one now and then. I'm not big on the date (love is way too strong a word) triangle thing that was going on, but hey, it's a series so I guess she has to draw that out for a while and this book was mostly mystery and family. I always wonder about small town murder mysteries - how many people can get murdered in a tiny place before there's no one left? But that's just an errant thought I have now and then.
vilandra's review against another edition
3.0
It stayed interesting and I didn’t guess the murderer. Not sure I would read more in this series. Roe is too similar to Sookie.
marryallthepeople's review
2.0
Not nearly as good as her True Blood stories and not much character development. Interesting premise - murders being committed on the basis of other 'true crime' murders. But lost out on substance.
polkadotbot's review
2.0
I needed a cozy mystery for Read Harder and this fit. Was it good? No. But there is something refreshing about reading something of absolutely no consequence. It made me nostalgic for popcorn reads. I’m going to make an effort to fit more in.
gavreads's review against another edition
If I’m being honest I picked up The Aurora Teagarden Mysteries Omnibus 1 (that’s a tittle and a half) as I fancied something cosy and uncomplicated. I know I’ve prejudged but with a title like that you can’t help it.
And I was half right. It is cosy. It’s told by Aurora Teagarden, that really is her name, as things happen. At the start she’s a librarian preparing to give her talk at this month’s Real Murders club, where each month a club member presents a real life murder to the rest of the group.
To me this kind of club sounds a bit more interesting than an astronomy club or W.I. meeting. The murders they choose are all cold but before she gets chance a murder is discovered that looks like it’s going to change Aurora’s ‘Roe’s’ life.
I’m saying that looking at a book that contains another three books so she has to stick on her detective hat a few more times.
Not that she turns detective as such in this one. She is kind of in the wrong place at the wrong time quite a lot. It’s a small town setting which helps and it helps that the members of the club all have different backgrounds that gives us a wide range of characters for Roe to interact with though mostly she’s falling over bodies and trying to keep two new romances on the go.
I liked it for its romantic element and her awkwardness in nurturing the start of these relationships. And it was quite a nice distraction to have a little bit of domestic drama being played out around some quite brutal deaths.
I didn’t realise how well Harris hat pitched Roe as a character until her reaction to one of the more gruesome scenes. She might appear to be the analytical detective but she really does have a scared fragile centre (as you would in real life).
There is also twists and turns as Roe works out the pros and cons of each suspect in her own way and Harris gives the reader several of their own suspects only to…. well she ended up surprising me in the end.
It’s not the most realistic novel you’re going to read but then it’s a cosy crime novel as I said at the start. What you do get though is a realistic reaction from the characters and you gain a connection to Roe that made my heart knot more than once.
I feel quite lucky that all I have to do with turn the page to start the next one and see what trouble Aurora Teagarden comes across next.
And I was half right. It is cosy. It’s told by Aurora Teagarden, that really is her name, as things happen. At the start she’s a librarian preparing to give her talk at this month’s Real Murders club, where each month a club member presents a real life murder to the rest of the group.
To me this kind of club sounds a bit more interesting than an astronomy club or W.I. meeting. The murders they choose are all cold but before she gets chance a murder is discovered that looks like it’s going to change Aurora’s ‘Roe’s’ life.
I’m saying that looking at a book that contains another three books so she has to stick on her detective hat a few more times.
Not that she turns detective as such in this one. She is kind of in the wrong place at the wrong time quite a lot. It’s a small town setting which helps and it helps that the members of the club all have different backgrounds that gives us a wide range of characters for Roe to interact with though mostly she’s falling over bodies and trying to keep two new romances on the go.
I liked it for its romantic element and her awkwardness in nurturing the start of these relationships. And it was quite a nice distraction to have a little bit of domestic drama being played out around some quite brutal deaths.
I didn’t realise how well Harris hat pitched Roe as a character until her reaction to one of the more gruesome scenes. She might appear to be the analytical detective but she really does have a scared fragile centre (as you would in real life).
There is also twists and turns as Roe works out the pros and cons of each suspect in her own way and Harris gives the reader several of their own suspects only to…. well she ended up surprising me in the end.
It’s not the most realistic novel you’re going to read but then it’s a cosy crime novel as I said at the start. What you do get though is a realistic reaction from the characters and you gain a connection to Roe that made my heart knot more than once.
I feel quite lucky that all I have to do with turn the page to start the next one and see what trouble Aurora Teagarden comes across next.
lesliethewanderlust's review
3.0
Charlaine Harris likes to stick to the same format in all the books i've ever read written by her. The southern atmosphere with little or no diversity. The semi- strong independent leading female character. She's strong she's God fearing and is looking for a man. It usually takes a love triangle to find one.
Aurora is a 28 year old woman who is a part of a group that meets to discuss famous murders. The members of the group start dropping like flies, and they all end up dead in the same way as famous murder cases. The killer or killers, were the least threatening people you can imagine. The obviously crazy people where used as decoys in the who dunnit mystery. Love Charlaine Harris books , not one of my favorites. Will I read the second book in the series? Of course.
Aurora is a 28 year old woman who is a part of a group that meets to discuss famous murders. The members of the group start dropping like flies, and they all end up dead in the same way as famous murder cases. The killer or killers, were the least threatening people you can imagine. The obviously crazy people where used as decoys in the who dunnit mystery. Love Charlaine Harris books , not one of my favorites. Will I read the second book in the series? Of course.
readwithchey's review against another edition
4.0
One of my OLDEST backlist reads! I’ve been wanting to read this series since high school, after devouring the Sookie Stackhouse books. I even went so far as to buy all the books yet, GASP, I put off reading them.
I’m a big fan of the Hallmark movie adaptation to these books, and I was expecting some differences here and there, but whew this feels wholly different from the movie. More of a rated R feel than a PG feel, and I really enjoyed it! While I own the paperback I opted to listen to the audio (my toxic trait) and I can 10/10 recommend! The narrator was great. Overall a really strong start to a series I knew I was gonna love, can’t wait to listen to more!
I’m a big fan of the Hallmark movie adaptation to these books, and I was expecting some differences here and there, but whew this feels wholly different from the movie. More of a rated R feel than a PG feel, and I really enjoyed it! While I own the paperback I opted to listen to the audio (my toxic trait) and I can 10/10 recommend! The narrator was great. Overall a really strong start to a series I knew I was gonna love, can’t wait to listen to more!
aliceandthegiantbookshelf's review against another edition
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
hisaacson's review
4.0
Full review at:
http://hollybooknotes.blogspot.com/2008/10/tis-season-too.html
http://hollybooknotes.blogspot.com/2008/10/tis-season-too.html
softstarrynights's review against another edition
4.0
Even though this was a re-read, and I could remember exactly who the killer was I enjoyed this jus as much as I did the first time around. Here, we are introduced to Roe, a part-time librarian, just in time for a spree of murders that resemble famous cases throughout history, to touch her mundane southern life. I love everything that Charlaine Harris writes (at least what I’ve read so far anyway) so it should come as no surprise that this is one of my favourite mystery series. Like Agatha Christie’s books, Real Murders truly is a cosy murder mystery that wraps up nice and neat in the end. Roe is a great protagonist, a gal who is smart enough to probe the mystery without leaving the reader lagging behind. Real Murders was super quick, I flew through it, leaving me satisfied, but also looking forward to the next instalment.
For more reviews check out my January Wrap-Up at https://cartonmanettedarnay.wordpress.com/2017/01/31/january-wrap-up/
For more reviews check out my January Wrap-Up at https://cartonmanettedarnay.wordpress.com/2017/01/31/january-wrap-up/