There’s a nice little comforting feel I get when I enter one of Charlaine Harris’ worlds. I know that her characters will be realistic – even her paranormal characters have a touch of the mundane. I know I will be in a nice, down home, small town world.

This down home comfort feel is most evident in her Lily Bard series. Shakespeare’s Landlord seems to be a novel about ordinary people living their ordinary lives in a small, ordinary town. Well, at least until someone gets murdered.

Somehow between the first and second chapter, I was sucked into this world. I just could not put the book down. What better way to give insight into a world than by using a cleaning lady as a main character? This cleaning lady knows everyone’s secrets. I found it fascinating that the main character Lily could learn so much about her clients without really having to speak with them.

Lily’s character is an exercise in contracts. She’s smart – she was a National Merit Scholar and graduated from college with a 3.9 GPA. She’s athletic – she body trains daily and attends martial arts classes at her local gym. She is scarred – both emotionally and physically. Lily is a survivor and has worked hard to rebuild her life. Lily’s character is truly likable – she is an ordinary, hard working woman.

I’m looking forward to reading the rest of this series.