I'm almost caught up on Sookie Stackhouse, so I thought I'd see what Charlaine Harris' other offerings are like. Of course, I gravitated towards the series where the main character is a librarian.

I enjoyed it, and I laughed when I recognized some of Harris' favorite phrases ("I asked politely," "I slapped on some makeup," etc.). Though not quite as lively as Sookie, Roe is an interesting character with multiple men interested in her and a tendency to get caught in the middle of violent situations. In her first book, someone is copycatting famous murders and the targets just happen to be members of Roe's Real Murders Club. I thought the mystery element in the book was better in this than the first Sookie book (I remember being miffed that the killer in that one came out of nowhere), but I missed the fantasy elements (duh).

Also, the Roe books are set in like 1990 so whereas Sookie puts off buying a cell phone or computer, Roe is putting off buying an answering machine. :) ( )

So......you know that saying that the book is always better than the movie? Well I actually disagree in this case. Granted, it could be because the Aurora Teagarden mysteries are my favorite on Hallmark's Movies and Mysteries channel. Could be because I have watched ALL of them so in my head I am comparing the character's representations to what I have watched. (I spent most of the book being like "I prefer Sally as Roe's best friend.....not some older lady.)

What is fun is that this is a librarian who is an amateur sleuth. I identify a lot with Roe being a fan of real murders and true crime. I have to have it in small dozes but it is a favorite thing for me. But in all honesty, when I want in the world of Aurora Teagarden and Lawrenceville....I will be sticking to the movies. ( )

I happened across the Hallmark series and really enjoyed the first two episodes/movies, so I was interested in reading the books - although I usually try to read the book first. I liked the mystery. I love the idea of the Real Murder club. Aurora was an alright character, she could be a bit boring at times but I generally liked her. She's a librarian so you know. The mystery was interesting and I didn't guess the ending. The love interests were meh but the focus fell on the murder so that kept me happy enough. Overall enjoyable cozy mystery. ( )

Entertaining tale with many twists and turns. An enjoyable read. ( )

3 Stars
As a fan of the movie I decided to give the book a shot and enjoyed it as much as the movie. Roe is great as the main character she smart and observant, the only character I really like better in the movie is Sally Allison, who in the movie is also a reporter, but younger and Roe's best friend.
The fact that Roe has a younger stepbrother who was taken by the killers was something that ramped up the tension, over that of the movie. All in all it is a bit darker then most cozys with a recreation of Lizzie Bordens hatchet murders being the most bloody
I'd had the book for quite some time but didn't bother to read it because I'd enjoyed the movie, now I'm really glad that I did and will be getting more books in the series.

Cozies Reading Challenge ( )