Was looking for a somewhat light-hearted cozy mystery series to start reading, and this is it for me. Looking forward to the rest of the series.

If you're looking for a quick read that has a likable main character, a "who don it" plot, and a tinge of romance -- then this is the book for you. I listened to the audiobook during my drive home from work yesterday and while meal prepping today. It's entertaining but without overdoing the creep factor or having you dying in suspense. The ending was realistic, and I was happy with it. Overall, the book is just a good read but not all consuming.

The mystery itself is interesting enough and the small-town vibes plus librarian sleuth are good. But the writing is pretty unimaginative and everything is very, very southern. Will probably continue because they are decent enough to while away some time.

Real Murders is the first book in the Aurora Teagarden mystery series by Charlaine Harris. Aurora is a young Southern librarian and a founding member of her small town’s most provocative organization: a club called Real Murders. The Real Murders members meet to discuss famous murder investigations throughout history after they realize their mutual interest after a book signing in town. Unsurprisingly, the macabre nature of the group makes its members prime suspects when a string of murders based on famous slayings throughout history rock their small town life.

Aurora, bookish daughter of the town’s most perfectly poised real estate mogul, has her own suspicions about the murderer (and an uncanny knack for finding unexpected corpses), but with a sexy new neighbor and a romance blooming with an old acquaintance she’s got a full plate of distractions to keep her from the mystery at hand. Will this small-town murder enthusiast be able to solve the crime before another body piles up?

I apologize if this post seems a bit unenthusiastic, but I really couldn’t rustle up anything more jazzy. Real Murders is the start of Charlaine Harris’ first mystery series, and unfortunately, it shows. The plot didn’t really suck me in, the characters didn’t really interest me, and when the mystery was revealed, instead of thinking, “Aha!” I thought, “Huh?” I couldn’t connect the dots between the murderer and the crime while reading the book, and even after Harris explained it, I was still left confused as to how she decided to tie everything together.

Unfortunately, I cannot recommend this book to Harris fans or mystery lovers. Hopefully Harris releases a new series in the future more along the lines of Sookie’s, because Aurora Teagarden is a poor substitute. While I enjoyed the first book in the Harper Connelley series, Grave Sight, the series kind of fizzled out from there and was also a poor substitute for Sookie.

Fun, quick and tantalizing.

This was exactly what I would expect and was hoping for from Harris. I love the feminine lead who is not your typical damsel in distress, or overly strong and trained assassin type. It was a super fun read that I finished in roughly 24 hrs. It certainly makes me want to read the rest of the Aurora Teagarden stories!

Absolutely ideal beach reach or escape read. It is turn twisting murder mystery that had me thinking I knew the killer all the way until the end.

Great read!

I enjoyed this book so much more than the Sookie Stackhouse series, primarily because I like reading stories about humans solving mysteries. Aurora Teagarden is a librarian in Lawrenceton, Georgia. She is a member of a club real murders where members get together and discuss true murders that happened in the past. But suspicions fall upon the members when a string of murders starts happening emulating some of the old murders that took place in the past. And our librarian protagonist is under suspicion as well.
Well written, very flowing style. The character of Roe Teagarden is well developed. I would rate this 3.5. And would definitely read more in the series.