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Aurora Teagarden #8
Poppy Done to Death
Aurora Teagarden, mild-mannered librarian, has spent her entire life in the same small Georgia town. Along with her sister-in-law Poppy, Roe has finally earned a coveted spot in the Uppity Women, an exclusive group that does more than flower arranging. But Poppy is a no-show on their induction day. Roe stops by Poppy’s house to find out why and is shocked to discover Poppy dead on the kitchen floor, and it’s not by accident. There’s no lack of suspects, since both Poppy and her husband were unfaithful. Even the detective in charge of the case, Roe’s former lover Arthur Smith, has a past with Poppy.
As if that weren’t enough, Roe has rekindled a relationship with another old flame and things are moving fast, with plans to meet his mother at Thanksgiving. She’s also acquired an unexpected house guest: her half-brother, who’s run away from his parents’ home in California. Balancing her personal life while looking into Poppy’s murder isn’t easy, but Roe is determined to give it -- and Poppy -- her best effort. And when Roe discovers that the crime scene has been ransacked, she knows someone is desperate to hide a secret. Roe will have to dig through Poppy’s life to uncover the truth and bring the killer to justice.
Poppy Done to Death is the engaging eighth installment of the Aurora Teagarden mysteries by #1 New York Times bestselling author Charlaine Harris. The series has been adapted into film for Hallmark Movies & Mysteries.
As if that weren’t enough, Roe has rekindled a relationship with another old flame and things are moving fast, with plans to meet his mother at Thanksgiving. She’s also acquired an unexpected house guest: her half-brother, who’s run away from his parents’ home in California. Balancing her personal life while looking into Poppy’s murder isn’t easy, but Roe is determined to give it -- and Poppy -- her best effort. And when Roe discovers that the crime scene has been ransacked, she knows someone is desperate to hide a secret. Roe will have to dig through Poppy’s life to uncover the truth and bring the killer to justice.
Poppy Done to Death is the engaging eighth installment of the Aurora Teagarden mysteries by #1 New York Times bestselling author Charlaine Harris. The series has been adapted into film for Hallmark Movies & Mysteries.
256 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published August 2, 2003
542 people are currently reading
7329 people want to read
About the author
Charlaine Harris
337 books36.8k followersCharlaine Harris has been a published writer for over forty years. Her first two books were standalones, followed by a long sabbatical when she was having children. Then she began the Aurora Teagarden book, mysteries featuring a short librarian (eventually adapted for Hallmark movies). The darker Lily Bard books came next, about a house cleaner with a dark past and considerable fighting skills.
Tired of abiding by the mystery rules, Harris wrote a novel about a telepathic barmaid that took at least two years to sell. When the book was published, it turned into a best seller, and DEAD UNTIL DARK and the subsequent Sookie books were adapted in Alan Ball's "True Blood" series. At the same time, Harris began the Harper Connelly books. Harper can find the bones of the dead and see their last minute.
When those two series wound to a close, the next three books were about a mysterious town in Texas, called Midnight.
A change in publisher and editor led to Harris's novels about a female gunslinger in an alternate America, Lizbeth Rose. The Gunnie Rose books concluded with the sixth novel.
She's thinking about what to write next.
Tired of abiding by the mystery rules, Harris wrote a novel about a telepathic barmaid that took at least two years to sell. When the book was published, it turned into a best seller, and DEAD UNTIL DARK and the subsequent Sookie books were adapted in Alan Ball's "True Blood" series. At the same time, Harris began the Harper Connelly books. Harper can find the bones of the dead and see their last minute.
When those two series wound to a close, the next three books were about a mysterious town in Texas, called Midnight.
A change in publisher and editor led to Harris's novels about a female gunslinger in an alternate America, Lizbeth Rose. The Gunnie Rose books concluded with the sixth novel.
She's thinking about what to write next.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 690 reviews
July 27, 2016
I am very not happy with this series now, and it's author. What a complete waste of time, reading through it all.
Harris decided a few novels ago, that the reason Roe could not have children with her husband (at the time) Martin, was because she has a "deformed uterus". Roe was understandably upset.
A novel or two later, it was described as "malformed", and Martin had died. Another novel later, Roe could date, and eventually sleep with, former boyfriend Robin, the writer who had left for Ca. at the beginning of the series.
So busy hoping from boyfriend to boyfriend, which included the cop Arthur, the priest Aubrey, and then Martin, Roe goes from murder to murder in this TINY town, solving them all better than the lack-luster police in this place. Ok, I guess I can swallow this, as it helps give Roe the mysteries she needs, and the author something to write about. Even though I wonder about this, while reading.. just like I do with all the other series I read.
But then Roe's own sister-in-law gets killed, and everything is quite a mess... and I'm not talking about in the novel! Suddenly, Poppy (the s.i.l.) is a sexually abused nymphomaniac who uses men like tissues, promises them all kinds of things while sleeping with them, and then dumps them.. and leaves them all so besotted with either love or sex, that they cannot speak badly of her, even though...? Nope, not possible. Word in that town would have gotten out about her escapades, more than this. I live in a small town, I would know.
And then Harris covers all this neatly up, our/their not knowing just what she was like inside, and keeping this all away from everyone she knows (except the husband, who was perfectly happy to live with this), by saying something like, "You never know what people are really like, deep down inside"..? Nope, not gonna buy that. You can TELL just what a person is like, every time. Someone would have noticed she was a mess from her past, more than just the hubby. Something would have happened in Poppy's life, she would have made some kind of comment, some kind of slip-up, as that tightly wound a person does NOT keep all that abuse and crap inside them, never ever once leaking out. Someone would have noticed this.. and the talking would have started. It's a SMALL town.
Then we find out - it's quite obvious, actually, that Roe is PREGNANT?? BULLCRAP. Oh, but it's possible NOW, because that malformation was just a "tilted uterus", & now it is possible...
BULLCRAP, I reply!! A titled uterus is NOT a deformation, it is NOT a malformation, and it does NOT keep a woman from getting pregnant!!
How do I know? I HAVE ONE. Not only did I have 5 pregnancies, but 3 LIVE BIRTHS, even though I had one. My very first OB/GYN said it was VERY COMMON to have a tilted uterus, for women, and that it doesn't cause ANY problems in pregnancies - I asked. (My miscarriages were NOT from my uterus being tilted.) They get tilted during an especially difficult PREGNANCY, that stretches them out, and they don't settle back to where they were, to begin with. Roe had never been pregnant before, so there was NO way for hers to be tilted, suddenly.
Then, we find the killer... and she was right next door. Not even Arthur, who was screwing Poppy, knew who she was, while working on the case.. and he was RIGHT NEXT DOOR when Roe (Of Course!) figures this out. Mooning all over Poppy's house, obsessing about their relationship, and all that creepy stalker stuff. AS IF!! I mean, I knew he was a little obsessive, and slightly creepy before this... but never this bad.
Also, her little brother Phillip suddenly shows up at her town and house, and is WAY Older than he should be.. about 5 years have passed since he's moved away to Ca. He was 6 years old then, and suddenly, he's 15 years old, now? And hitch-hiked ALL the way from Ca?? And is FINE, mentally and physically?? And his parents just... leave him there, with Roe, and not give a crap about him again?? Uh huh, sure.... NOT!!
Bryan Pascoe, the lawyer in town, is hitting on Roe as well, even though she's dating/sleeping with Robin, and everyone knows this. And NO ONE can tell she's visibly thickening around the waist, from the unexpected pregnancy, except her other sister-in-law? HA.
I am glad that this is the last novel written in this series, as I am NOT reading any more of them. And I am doubly glad - maybe even triply glad, that Harris is now writing fantasy novels, complete with characters out of make-believe, where she can make everything up that she wants to, as she goes along, without continuity or reason.. because her fans of her mystery novels would not stand for this kind of ridiculousness for much longer. NO wonder she changed over to that kind of writing. It suits much better.
HRMPH!!
Harris decided a few novels ago, that the reason Roe could not have children with her husband (at the time) Martin, was because she has a "deformed uterus". Roe was understandably upset.
A novel or two later, it was described as "malformed", and Martin had died. Another novel later, Roe could date, and eventually sleep with, former boyfriend Robin, the writer who had left for Ca. at the beginning of the series.
So busy hoping from boyfriend to boyfriend, which included the cop Arthur, the priest Aubrey, and then Martin, Roe goes from murder to murder in this TINY town, solving them all better than the lack-luster police in this place. Ok, I guess I can swallow this, as it helps give Roe the mysteries she needs, and the author something to write about. Even though I wonder about this, while reading.. just like I do with all the other series I read.
But then Roe's own sister-in-law gets killed, and everything is quite a mess... and I'm not talking about in the novel! Suddenly, Poppy (the s.i.l.) is a sexually abused nymphomaniac who uses men like tissues, promises them all kinds of things while sleeping with them, and then dumps them.. and leaves them all so besotted with either love or sex, that they cannot speak badly of her, even though...? Nope, not possible. Word in that town would have gotten out about her escapades, more than this. I live in a small town, I would know.
And then Harris covers all this neatly up, our/their not knowing just what she was like inside, and keeping this all away from everyone she knows (except the husband, who was perfectly happy to live with this), by saying something like, "You never know what people are really like, deep down inside"..? Nope, not gonna buy that. You can TELL just what a person is like, every time. Someone would have noticed she was a mess from her past, more than just the hubby. Something would have happened in Poppy's life, she would have made some kind of comment, some kind of slip-up, as that tightly wound a person does NOT keep all that abuse and crap inside them, never ever once leaking out. Someone would have noticed this.. and the talking would have started. It's a SMALL town.
Then we find out - it's quite obvious, actually, that Roe is PREGNANT?? BULLCRAP. Oh, but it's possible NOW, because that malformation was just a "tilted uterus", & now it is possible...
BULLCRAP, I reply!! A titled uterus is NOT a deformation, it is NOT a malformation, and it does NOT keep a woman from getting pregnant!!
How do I know? I HAVE ONE. Not only did I have 5 pregnancies, but 3 LIVE BIRTHS, even though I had one. My very first OB/GYN said it was VERY COMMON to have a tilted uterus, for women, and that it doesn't cause ANY problems in pregnancies - I asked. (My miscarriages were NOT from my uterus being tilted.) They get tilted during an especially difficult PREGNANCY, that stretches them out, and they don't settle back to where they were, to begin with. Roe had never been pregnant before, so there was NO way for hers to be tilted, suddenly.
Then, we find the killer... and she was right next door. Not even Arthur, who was screwing Poppy, knew who she was, while working on the case.. and he was RIGHT NEXT DOOR when Roe (Of Course!) figures this out. Mooning all over Poppy's house, obsessing about their relationship, and all that creepy stalker stuff. AS IF!! I mean, I knew he was a little obsessive, and slightly creepy before this... but never this bad.
Also, her little brother Phillip suddenly shows up at her town and house, and is WAY Older than he should be.. about 5 years have passed since he's moved away to Ca. He was 6 years old then, and suddenly, he's 15 years old, now? And hitch-hiked ALL the way from Ca?? And is FINE, mentally and physically?? And his parents just... leave him there, with Roe, and not give a crap about him again?? Uh huh, sure.... NOT!!
Bryan Pascoe, the lawyer in town, is hitting on Roe as well, even though she's dating/sleeping with Robin, and everyone knows this. And NO ONE can tell she's visibly thickening around the waist, from the unexpected pregnancy, except her other sister-in-law? HA.
I am glad that this is the last novel written in this series, as I am NOT reading any more of them. And I am doubly glad - maybe even triply glad, that Harris is now writing fantasy novels, complete with characters out of make-believe, where she can make everything up that she wants to, as she goes along, without continuity or reason.. because her fans of her mystery novels would not stand for this kind of ridiculousness for much longer. NO wonder she changed over to that kind of writing. It suits much better.
HRMPH!!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 14, 2022
3.6 stars
This series always surprises me. I like it without loving it, and yet when I start reading each volume, I find it very difficult to set down. Aurora (Roe) is a very proper Southern woman, determined to be polite, even to people who don't really deserve it. She is modern enough to date as she pleases, until she met her late husband. Now that he is gone, she's rejoining life, including a writer boyfriend. So she knows a bit about living in a way that she might not want broadcast to the whole community. She makes a determined effort to not be judgmental, not always successfully.
I think it's a pretty sure thing that everyone has at least one secret, something that they're embarrassed about or don't want generally known. I sure do and I'm sure that would surprise a lot of people (who forget that I haven't always been an older woman). But this book is all about secrets. When Roe's step-sister-in-law is murdered, Roe finds her body and then just keeps finding unsettling facts about a great many of the people around her. You know how we sometimes avoid knowing things about our extended family to grease the social wheels of regular life? Yeah, Roe has to give up some of those planned gaps in her knowledge.
All the infidelities make Roe suddenly feel very insecure. It's a natural side effect of discovering this kind of secret. Add to that Roe's 15 year old half-brother showing up because of similar ructions in her father's marriage, and it's no wonder her worldview is a bit shaky. Despite her uncertainties, Roe faces facts and gets on with things in a way that makes me really admire the character. I've had to do similar things and I get the impression that Charlaine Harris is intimately acquainted with that necessity as well. I've only got two books left in the series, but I am looking forward to seeing how Aurora's life turns out.
This series always surprises me. I like it without loving it, and yet when I start reading each volume, I find it very difficult to set down. Aurora (Roe) is a very proper Southern woman, determined to be polite, even to people who don't really deserve it. She is modern enough to date as she pleases, until she met her late husband. Now that he is gone, she's rejoining life, including a writer boyfriend. So she knows a bit about living in a way that she might not want broadcast to the whole community. She makes a determined effort to not be judgmental, not always successfully.
I think it's a pretty sure thing that everyone has at least one secret, something that they're embarrassed about or don't want generally known. I sure do and I'm sure that would surprise a lot of people (who forget that I haven't always been an older woman). But this book is all about secrets. When Roe's step-sister-in-law is murdered, Roe finds her body and then just keeps finding unsettling facts about a great many of the people around her. You know how we sometimes avoid knowing things about our extended family to grease the social wheels of regular life? Yeah, Roe has to give up some of those planned gaps in her knowledge.
All the infidelities make Roe suddenly feel very insecure. It's a natural side effect of discovering this kind of secret. Add to that Roe's 15 year old half-brother showing up because of similar ructions in her father's marriage, and it's no wonder her worldview is a bit shaky. Despite her uncertainties, Roe faces facts and gets on with things in a way that makes me really admire the character. I've had to do similar things and I get the impression that Charlaine Harris is intimately acquainted with that necessity as well. I've only got two books left in the series, but I am looking forward to seeing how Aurora's life turns out.
December 21, 2015
About the same as the other books in this series, but the plot just wasn't up to snuff. Light, fun reading. A likable character who just seems to have murders going on around her. This one might have been a bit more complex & better EXCEPT I thought the cover was a spoiler & it was! That's just wrong. The cover of my edition showed Aurora
The human issue is prestige & the clock is ticking, so it does make sense, although the culminating scene doesn't really. It's one of those 'confess to all & then murder' endings. Yuck. I expected better from Harris. There are a lot of smoke screens put up, but it's fairly obvious that's all they are.
The human issue is prestige & the clock is ticking, so it does make sense, although the culminating scene doesn't really. It's one of those 'confess to all & then murder' endings. Yuck. I expected better from Harris. There are a lot of smoke screens put up, but it's fairly obvious that's all they are.
December 17, 2017
This book appeared to be the last in the Aurora Teagarden series. There were 8 books from 1990 to 2003. I enjoyed the series but still had several in my TBR stack. Then Hallmark's mystery channel picked up the Aurora Teagarden series and two new books were written. One was released in 2016 and the other one in 2017. Hopefully, there will more going forward. Charlaine Harris is a diverse author. She has written several series and each is uniquely different. It is like a different author wrote each series.
In this book, Aurora is on her way to the Uppity Women's club. Her step brother's wife Poppy is to be inducted into the club that day. The club is filled and future members have to wait for someone to die before they can be inducted. It is an embarrassment when Poppy is a no show. Aurora goes over to Poppy's house and finds her murdered. Aurora becomes involved in finding out who killed Poppy. There are many suspects due to both Poppy and her husband's infidelities.
I enjoyed the subplots. Aurora's teenage step brother leaves his home in California to arrive in Georgia to be with Aurora. I hope Philip is in the next book. Aurora, who is a widow, now is in a relationship with a writer. The book ended with a change coming in their life.
I am pleased that there are now two new books to read in the series.
In this book, Aurora is on her way to the Uppity Women's club. Her step brother's wife Poppy is to be inducted into the club that day. The club is filled and future members have to wait for someone to die before they can be inducted. It is an embarrassment when Poppy is a no show. Aurora goes over to Poppy's house and finds her murdered. Aurora becomes involved in finding out who killed Poppy. There are many suspects due to both Poppy and her husband's infidelities.
I enjoyed the subplots. Aurora's teenage step brother leaves his home in California to arrive in Georgia to be with Aurora. I hope Philip is in the next book. Aurora, who is a widow, now is in a relationship with a writer. The book ended with a change coming in their life.
I am pleased that there are now two new books to read in the series.
June 16, 2022
A new member of an elite women's club that runs the town is killed off. The police think the husband did it, and our sleuth has to find the real killer.
A well constructed mystery, but I tired of the martyr complex of almost every character in the book.
A well constructed mystery, but I tired of the martyr complex of almost every character in the book.
November 7, 2018
This series improves with every book. I love the character development of Aurora (and the side characters) and the setting in a small town in Atlanta.
I'm still not sure how Aurora manages to come across so many dead bodies, but the mystery really is the side story as we get to know all the characters. Great reads.
I'm still not sure how Aurora manages to come across so many dead bodies, but the mystery really is the side story as we get to know all the characters. Great reads.
February 11, 2019
This was another enjoyable murder mystery by Harris. This series does tend to stereotype small, southern towns. There are some inconsistencies from book to book in this series. Despite this, the characters draw you into the interesting, well-developed story line with several twists and turns.
September 4, 2023
Leer a esta mujer, me relaja. Me deja... serena. Hay asesinatos, claro y desenterramiento de trapos sucios, el infierno de las comunidades pequeñas donde todos se conocen y esconden sus basuras bajo la alfombra y claro, cuando salen a la luz, salen enganchadas las de unos con las de otros porque como dije, todos se conocen y hasta a la hora de los trapos sucios, todo queda en casa.
No sé si es ese aire sereno donde todo bulle bajo cuerda o la personalidad calmada de la protagonista lo que hace que sea una opción excelente entre lecturas más intensas. Limpia las tuberías y te deja como nueva.
No sé si es ese aire sereno donde todo bulle bajo cuerda o la personalidad calmada de la protagonista lo que hace que sea una opción excelente entre lecturas más intensas. Limpia las tuberías y te deja como nueva.
June 2, 2017
Originally, I had saved this book until right before All the Little Liars came out, because I wanted to read them close together. Well, I got caught up in other books and this one just slipped my mind, but when I went to a bookstore the other day and saw it, I knew I had to pick it up (Especially since All the Little Liars has been out for a year, and Sleep Like a Baby is almost out!). I am sure glad I did it, because I forgot how good these were!
The thing I love most about these books is the way Charlaine Harris writes. This series is cozy, but it's real. The author doesn't shy away from real life problems, and the books fluidly flow into each other. Roe's life has loads of problems, and, throughout the course of the series, some major characters leave or die, but it feels natural.
Roe is wonderful, she's smart, kind, but not afraid to say what she thinks. I really love her mother and John, and I was so glad Ms. Harris brought Phillip back. I really like his character and how he's evolved from the kid we first met. I must say, I really didn't like Robin at first, but he's grown on me now, and I really like him.
Though Roe and her family and all of their lives and issues are the stars of the book, the mystery was excellent, also. Tons of suspects, good motives, and Roe was not nosy! Perfect!
Overall a wonderful book, I can't wait to read All the Little Liars now, and I hope Ms. Harris continues this series for years to come. Can't recommend this series enough!
The thing I love most about these books is the way Charlaine Harris writes. This series is cozy, but it's real. The author doesn't shy away from real life problems, and the books fluidly flow into each other. Roe's life has loads of problems, and, throughout the course of the series, some major characters leave or die, but it feels natural.
Roe is wonderful, she's smart, kind, but not afraid to say what she thinks. I really love her mother and John, and I was so glad Ms. Harris brought Phillip back. I really like his character and how he's evolved from the kid we first met. I must say, I really didn't like Robin at first, but he's grown on me now, and I really like him.
Though Roe and her family and all of their lives and issues are the stars of the book, the mystery was excellent, also. Tons of suspects, good motives, and Roe was not nosy! Perfect!
Overall a wonderful book, I can't wait to read All the Little Liars now, and I hope Ms. Harris continues this series for years to come. Can't recommend this series enough!
February 16, 2023
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ -Audiobook
Read
October 27, 2020Where to start? I absolutely love Charlaine Harris, I love the Sookie Stackhouse True Blood series. So I figured I’d give this one a shot (I did read a different series from her but I didn’t particularly like it). I’m not going to lie I originally picked this book up because of the Author and the cover, this is the first book I’ve read in the Aurora Teagarden series and i thoroughly enjoyed it.
The blurb says
“Not just any woman in Lawrenceton, Georgia, gets to be a member of the Uppity women book club. But Roe’s stepsister in law, Poppy, has climbed her way up the waiting list of the group - only to die on the day of her induction” that’s the first part anyway.
Basically Roe is the main character but it’s about finding out who killed Poppy and why. I presume Roe, Poppy and Madeleine are all step sisters due to the marriages of their siblings ( I know for sure that’s the case with Poppy and Roe). Roe is the one that finds Poppy’s dead body outside on her porch covered in blood from being stabbed to death. There was mention of her seeing her neighbour Cara swimming in her cold pool late at night and she saw wet foot prints on the porch near Poppy’s dead cold body. However at the time it completely slipped my mind that the clues where there to begin with because I assumed it was her husband or lover - except her husband John David was away on a business meeting at the time, not much is really said about him and I feel like he didn’t have much of a storyline.
I know Roe is a librarian looking for a change and that change was The Uppity Women’s book club, I thought she was a brilliant character. I’ve heard from reviews that she was judging and pretentious but that’s not the vibes I got. Yeah she was a little hard to read and made things about herself some times but I honestly forget myself and thought she was a detective. This is the first in the series that I’ve read so her background isn’t really well known to me - none of the characters are. Her brother Phillip was quite nice and he seemed to always be there for her, he was slightly annoying and arrogant but genuinely meant well - like when he helped Roe make and prepare dinner.
Madeleine is quite the quirky character but again she (to me) isn’t really in focus apart from at the Beginning and at the end, I liked Maddy - I thought she was quirky and caring, a little over the top and flashy but she was lovely.
Detective Arthur Smith is an ex lover of Roe and he was madly obsessed about Poppy - which we later find out towards the end when he finds Roe and Madeleine In Poppy’s house/ bedroom doing a little bit of detective work of their own, where they found out about Poppy’s affair with Cara’s husband and the letter sent to her from her sexually abusive father. We also learn that her son Chase might not be the biological son of John David and Roe suspected that Arthur could be the father as it would check out, she later ignored any thought and decided to keep the new information to herself as to not break John’s heart.
Cara was revealed as the killer which I wish I worked out from the very start. She was an evil convictive bitch. I know Poppy had an affair with her husband but so did many other women and if Cara had the common decency she would have divorced him and took her son. She murdered Poppy purely so she could be the leader of the Uppity Women’s book club. Kind of a pathetic excuse to take someone’s life. Poppy was no angel but neither was her husband. Poppy loved to live life each day with a smile on her face she just lived it wrong and hurt people including herself. I did in some ways feel bad for Cara, she worked her arse off her entire life to become a veterinarian, she absolutely adores animals and that much was true. But since her husband is just a surgeon he wouldn’t allow it because he didn’t want his status to be ruined or damaged. It’s clear she did everything for him and sacrificed a lot for that weasel Dr Stuart Embler. I felt bad for Cara truth be told. I wish she had the lady balls to say “you know what Stu? Go to hell” if she ended it with Stuart and become a veterinarian who knows what may have happened instead.
I particularly liked Robin, Roe’s old flame that she rekindled the fire with. He’s so sweet and generous and caring and just the perfect match. In the book it’s revealed that Roe can’t have kids and Madeleine quizzed her about when her last period was, is her boobs really tender and sore, dark circles, randomly sleeping etc... because they were the signs of her pregnancies to her two children. I thought it was a lovely end to the story finding out that Roe was in fact pregnant and both her and Robin were ecstatic about it and Robin proposed.
All in all I thoroughly enjoyed this book and hope to find and read and enjoy the other books before and after this one. Some characters annoyed me but the only one I hated was Dr Stuart Embler. Props to Charlaine because this was so different to True Blood and I enjoyed it all.
The blurb says
“Not just any woman in Lawrenceton, Georgia, gets to be a member of the Uppity women book club. But Roe’s stepsister in law, Poppy, has climbed her way up the waiting list of the group - only to die on the day of her induction” that’s the first part anyway.
Basically Roe is the main character but it’s about finding out who killed Poppy and why. I presume Roe, Poppy and Madeleine are all step sisters due to the marriages of their siblings ( I know for sure that’s the case with Poppy and Roe). Roe is the one that finds Poppy’s dead body outside on her porch covered in blood from being stabbed to death. There was mention of her seeing her neighbour Cara swimming in her cold pool late at night and she saw wet foot prints on the porch near Poppy’s dead cold body. However at the time it completely slipped my mind that the clues where there to begin with because I assumed it was her husband or lover - except her husband John David was away on a business meeting at the time, not much is really said about him and I feel like he didn’t have much of a storyline.
I know Roe is a librarian looking for a change and that change was The Uppity Women’s book club, I thought she was a brilliant character. I’ve heard from reviews that she was judging and pretentious but that’s not the vibes I got. Yeah she was a little hard to read and made things about herself some times but I honestly forget myself and thought she was a detective. This is the first in the series that I’ve read so her background isn’t really well known to me - none of the characters are. Her brother Phillip was quite nice and he seemed to always be there for her, he was slightly annoying and arrogant but genuinely meant well - like when he helped Roe make and prepare dinner.
Madeleine is quite the quirky character but again she (to me) isn’t really in focus apart from at the Beginning and at the end, I liked Maddy - I thought she was quirky and caring, a little over the top and flashy but she was lovely.
Detective Arthur Smith is an ex lover of Roe and he was madly obsessed about Poppy - which we later find out towards the end when he finds Roe and Madeleine In Poppy’s house/ bedroom doing a little bit of detective work of their own, where they found out about Poppy’s affair with Cara’s husband and the letter sent to her from her sexually abusive father. We also learn that her son Chase might not be the biological son of John David and Roe suspected that Arthur could be the father as it would check out, she later ignored any thought and decided to keep the new information to herself as to not break John’s heart.
Cara was revealed as the killer which I wish I worked out from the very start. She was an evil convictive bitch. I know Poppy had an affair with her husband but so did many other women and if Cara had the common decency she would have divorced him and took her son. She murdered Poppy purely so she could be the leader of the Uppity Women’s book club. Kind of a pathetic excuse to take someone’s life. Poppy was no angel but neither was her husband. Poppy loved to live life each day with a smile on her face she just lived it wrong and hurt people including herself. I did in some ways feel bad for Cara, she worked her arse off her entire life to become a veterinarian, she absolutely adores animals and that much was true. But since her husband is just a surgeon he wouldn’t allow it because he didn’t want his status to be ruined or damaged. It’s clear she did everything for him and sacrificed a lot for that weasel Dr Stuart Embler. I felt bad for Cara truth be told. I wish she had the lady balls to say “you know what Stu? Go to hell” if she ended it with Stuart and become a veterinarian who knows what may have happened instead.
I particularly liked Robin, Roe’s old flame that she rekindled the fire with. He’s so sweet and generous and caring and just the perfect match. In the book it’s revealed that Roe can’t have kids and Madeleine quizzed her about when her last period was, is her boobs really tender and sore, dark circles, randomly sleeping etc... because they were the signs of her pregnancies to her two children. I thought it was a lovely end to the story finding out that Roe was in fact pregnant and both her and Robin were ecstatic about it and Robin proposed.
All in all I thoroughly enjoyed this book and hope to find and read and enjoy the other books before and after this one. Some characters annoyed me but the only one I hated was Dr Stuart Embler. Props to Charlaine because this was so different to True Blood and I enjoyed it all.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 11, 2024
The series was much better early on.
January 6, 2012
A fitting end(?) to the series. Although I read the rest of the books back in 2009, I found it incredibly easy to fall back into Aurora's world. Charlaine Harris has a knack for creating eccentric, memorable characters. It took but a moment for me to remember the gossip about the various inhabitants of Lawrenceton and I was pleased to catch up on the latest news.
There were a few plot threads left hanging, making me hope that Ms. Harris visits Roe in the future. Perhaps a short story allowing us to catch up on how Roe and friends are doing? There are so many life changes introduced in this installment that I can't imagine not getting an update!
There were a few plot threads left hanging, making me hope that Ms. Harris visits Roe in the future. Perhaps a short story allowing us to catch up on how Roe and friends are doing? There are so many life changes introduced in this installment that I can't imagine not getting an update!
December 7, 2022
Roe has more beaux than Scarlett O’Hara.
December 30, 2011
I am glad this is the last in the series. Each book and the series in general has been rather uneven and seemed a bit experimental. Experimentation can be a good thing, but far too often the way these books were written rubbed me the wrong way.
In some of the earlier books I could see Aurora trying to emulate Sally Jesse Raphael by having brightly colored eyeglass frames, but this book came out in 2003, and Aurora was still doing it. The ridiculous way Aurora had several pairs of glasses and would change them to match her outfits seemed beyond silly.
Many times throughout the books male characters would speak in a way that very few men would in real life, and it was particularly evident in this book with the men singing the praises of Poppy.
The naming of stores or groups within this series has been rather uncreative and flat (the store called Great Day which appeared in earlier books, for instance), and in this book we meet the Uppity Women club. It's an exclusive group of 30 women in Lawrenceton who influence politics and talk about a different book each month. I'm sure similar groups do exist, but only 30 members and they only get replaced when someone dies and Aurora and her two sisters-in-law both recently become members? It sounds like there are a few 30-40ish members and the rest are old enough to be at death's door, and since there are only 30 members there can't be many women inbetween, and why would they really want to hang out with each other? No, I find it unbelievable. Every time the name "Uppity Women" was repeated I was more annoyed.
Changing the characters to fit the plot also aggravated me. Wasn't Bubba so in love with Lizanne a few books back? They were a pair truly in love? And then in this book it sounds like he never even liked her, and he was such a jerk when in the past he'd been so helpful to Aurora and others. Emily used to try to be friends with Aurora, so why the irrational hate? And suddenly Aurora and Aubrey were never seriously dating? Nuh uh.
Another thing: if you don't like cats or cat people, then don't put them into the story. Aurora saying it was "disgusting" to call a cat's human owner their "momma" was unnecessarily harsh and rude. I often felt like Harris was experimenting with language in this series, and the experiments didn't quite come out right.
Even though we never really meet Poppy, she sure seemed a lot nicer than Aurora (even after considering all the people she's hurt!). The mystery didn't seem well-developed enough, and the solution wasn't that much of a surprise, but I did see it coming from the time of the introduction of the murderer.
I find Harris's other series to be much better than this one, and this series actually seemed to worsen as it went along rather than improving.
In some of the earlier books I could see Aurora trying to emulate Sally Jesse Raphael by having brightly colored eyeglass frames, but this book came out in 2003, and Aurora was still doing it. The ridiculous way Aurora had several pairs of glasses and would change them to match her outfits seemed beyond silly.
Many times throughout the books male characters would speak in a way that very few men would in real life, and it was particularly evident in this book with the men singing the praises of Poppy.
The naming of stores or groups within this series has been rather uncreative and flat (the store called Great Day which appeared in earlier books, for instance), and in this book we meet the Uppity Women club. It's an exclusive group of 30 women in Lawrenceton who influence politics and talk about a different book each month. I'm sure similar groups do exist, but only 30 members and they only get replaced when someone dies and Aurora and her two sisters-in-law both recently become members? It sounds like there are a few 30-40ish members and the rest are old enough to be at death's door, and since there are only 30 members there can't be many women inbetween, and why would they really want to hang out with each other? No, I find it unbelievable. Every time the name "Uppity Women" was repeated I was more annoyed.
Changing the characters to fit the plot also aggravated me. Wasn't Bubba so in love with Lizanne a few books back? They were a pair truly in love? And then in this book it sounds like he never even liked her, and he was such a jerk when in the past he'd been so helpful to Aurora and others. Emily used to try to be friends with Aurora, so why the irrational hate? And suddenly Aurora and Aubrey were never seriously dating? Nuh uh.
Another thing: if you don't like cats or cat people, then don't put them into the story. Aurora saying it was "disgusting" to call a cat's human owner their "momma" was unnecessarily harsh and rude. I often felt like Harris was experimenting with language in this series, and the experiments didn't quite come out right.
Even though we never really meet Poppy, she sure seemed a lot nicer than Aurora (even after considering all the people she's hurt!). The mystery didn't seem well-developed enough, and the solution wasn't that much of a surprise, but I did see it coming from the time of the introduction of the murderer.
I find Harris's other series to be much better than this one, and this series actually seemed to worsen as it went along rather than improving.
December 14, 2012
This book was the proverbial last straw, breaking my support of this author. You know, I *enjoyed* the Sookie Stackhouse books, even though the writing was poor and the plots were flimsy. I raced through the Harper Connelly books, even though they were, well, ridiculous. The Lily Bard and Aurora Teagarden books have just done me in though.
I've struggled through this particular series, put off by unlikeable characters, plots implausible even for a mystery serial, a writing style less developed than most high school students', and a lack of continuity in storyline 'facts' not just from novel to novel but even within the same novel.
I don't even know where to start in explaining what's wrong with this particular installment. Let's just say: don't bother reading.
I've struggled through this particular series, put off by unlikeable characters, plots implausible even for a mystery serial, a writing style less developed than most high school students', and a lack of continuity in storyline 'facts' not just from novel to novel but even within the same novel.
I don't even know where to start in explaining what's wrong with this particular installment. Let's just say: don't bother reading.
February 8, 2022
(2.6 rounded up as I liked the ending)
This is #8 in the Aurora Teagarden mystery series. I have read 6 and they are light fast reads. When I saw this was narrated by Therese Plummer one of my favorite audio performers, thought “Yes”!!
Roe (Aurora) is a librarian and a widow, she has spent her entire life in the same small town in Georgia.
Story starts when Roe is on her way to the “Uppity Women’s Reading (as well as other things) Club. Her step brother’s wife Poppy has just been inducted into the much desired club. However, Poppy is a no show. Roe is very embarrassed so set out to find out why she isn’t there.
As the title hints~ yes Roe finds Poppy but she has been murdered.
Although this story wasn’t a big wow for me ~ the ending left me curious ~ now I want to read Book #9!
This is #8 in the Aurora Teagarden mystery series. I have read 6 and they are light fast reads. When I saw this was narrated by Therese Plummer one of my favorite audio performers, thought “Yes”!!
Roe (Aurora) is a librarian and a widow, she has spent her entire life in the same small town in Georgia.
Story starts when Roe is on her way to the “Uppity Women’s Reading (as well as other things) Club. Her step brother’s wife Poppy has just been inducted into the much desired club. However, Poppy is a no show. Roe is very embarrassed so set out to find out why she isn’t there.
As the title hints~ yes Roe finds Poppy but she has been murdered.
Although this story wasn’t a big wow for me ~ the ending left me curious ~ now I want to read Book #9!
September 4, 2009
I'd recently read the first two or three books in the series, and when I came across this one in a stack somewhere picked it up. Big mistake. Don't jump from book #3 in the series to book #8. Huge things change. In fact, the protagonist Roe Teagarden, who finally seemed to grow a spine by book #3 is back to her mamby-pamby second-guessing. (Dear god, is she really a 105-year old woman in a 30-year old's body?!) It was gaggingly cliched, and with the trite way it ended I will not be able to read on. And I love Charlaine Harris, but I feel that maybe this was done as some sort of work-through-your-worst-insecurities therapy or something. No thanks.
August 1, 2017
Such a good series. Love these books.
November 14, 2018
Better than the last book in that the plot was a little more believable than the previous.
A fun read with Aurora, with the assistance of former beau Arthur, solving the murder of Aurora's step-sister-in-law, Poppy.
Recommended.
A fun read with Aurora, with the assistance of former beau Arthur, solving the murder of Aurora's step-sister-in-law, Poppy.
Recommended.
June 14, 2025
Quite a lot happening in this one but struggling to like any of the characters.
May 15, 2020
A very good mystery and good to see Roe’s life getting better
March 20, 2020
RATING: 3 STARS
Roe's stepfamily plays a more prominent role in this book, when one of her step-sister-in-laws is murdered. It turns out Poppy had more secrets and suspects than anyone knew. A better book than the last one, but still didn't quite hit the mark.
Roe's stepfamily plays a more prominent role in this book, when one of her step-sister-in-laws is murdered. It turns out Poppy had more secrets and suspects than anyone knew. A better book than the last one, but still didn't quite hit the mark.
November 19, 2023
Nope. My review for the first book, Real Murders, was for too optimistic and hopeful.
Having sex on a regular basis didn't make Aurora more interesting. Instead, we're treated to more whining and sulking over her tilted uterus. ...Just adopt already! It won't be your kid, but guess what? You looked after a baby for a few days and couldn't handle it, so maybe that's a sign you shouldn't have kids. Adopting an older one that can speak and use the bathroom on it's own might be the best idea. But no. In typical, happy ending, fashion, the series ends with her miraculously getting pregnant by the guy she kinda dated in the first book, and he even proposes because...well, I don't know. I guess he loves her, even though we aren't shown much of why they work as a couple. But Aurora is happy he did because she doesn't feel up to going through the shame of being pregnant and unwed.
Oh, and the Uppity Women Club. ...Seriously? I mean, Aurora is uppity, constantly putting people down in her head for certain things they did that she doesn't. But come on. (Oh! That's who the murderer was. And the reason behind the murder was lame. The first book had such interesting murderers! And now this person? Not worthy of the last book in a series.)
This series was not worth my time. Boring main character, semi-interesting surrounding characters until the later books when Harris decided their traits from before weren't snazzy enough (one guy is so in love with his wife, then decides nope, he doesn't love her and would rather be with the town bicycle), and Robin Crusoe? Really? I had to stop myself from calling him Robinson Crusoe. Yeah, she's a librarian - it doesn't mean she has to be with a guy who has an almost-famous literary name. I know he was in the first book, but his name is only tolerable in very short doses.
Maybe I won't be attempting Harris' other series. Considering how they seem to go downhill right before the last book, I'm wary. Two of her four series have done this; those aren't good odds for the other two.
Edit added November 19th, 2023: This book was not the last in the series, it seems. And no, I will not be reading the others. Re-reading my review and checking out others, it reminded me how much I mostly despise Harris' writing, and I've been surviving my days without her books. I'm not short of things to rant about to my husband, so I'm good. But if you enjoy them, I'm genuinely happy you found something good.
Having sex on a regular basis didn't make Aurora more interesting. Instead, we're treated to more whining and sulking over her tilted uterus. ...Just adopt already! It won't be your kid, but guess what? You looked after a baby for a few days and couldn't handle it, so maybe that's a sign you shouldn't have kids. Adopting an older one that can speak and use the bathroom on it's own might be the best idea. But no. In typical, happy ending, fashion, the series ends with her miraculously getting pregnant by the guy she kinda dated in the first book, and he even proposes because...well, I don't know. I guess he loves her, even though we aren't shown much of why they work as a couple. But Aurora is happy he did because she doesn't feel up to going through the shame of being pregnant and unwed.
Oh, and the Uppity Women Club. ...Seriously? I mean, Aurora is uppity, constantly putting people down in her head for certain things they did that she doesn't. But come on. (Oh! That's who the murderer was. And the reason behind the murder was lame. The first book had such interesting murderers! And now this person? Not worthy of the last book in a series.)
This series was not worth my time. Boring main character, semi-interesting surrounding characters until the later books when Harris decided their traits from before weren't snazzy enough (one guy is so in love with his wife, then decides nope, he doesn't love her and would rather be with the town bicycle), and Robin Crusoe? Really? I had to stop myself from calling him Robinson Crusoe. Yeah, she's a librarian - it doesn't mean she has to be with a guy who has an almost-famous literary name. I know he was in the first book, but his name is only tolerable in very short doses.
Maybe I won't be attempting Harris' other series. Considering how they seem to go downhill right before the last book, I'm wary. Two of her four series have done this; those aren't good odds for the other two.
Edit added November 19th, 2023: This book was not the last in the series, it seems. And no, I will not be reading the others. Re-reading my review and checking out others, it reminded me how much I mostly despise Harris' writing, and I've been surviving my days without her books. I'm not short of things to rant about to my husband, so I'm good. But if you enjoy them, I'm genuinely happy you found something good.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 12, 2017
*** Mild Spoilers Ahead***
I enjoyed the previous books in this series, but I found that this final installment irritated me for several reasons. The plot is not very complex, and the killer ends up being the person I suspected from the beginning.
One of the major issues with this book is that the personality of the protagonist has changed a lot from the previous books. She is quite persnickety, and everything seems to rub her the wrong way. Because the book was written in first person, her personality comes off extra strong in her view of her personal relationships, her work, and the case she is trying to solve. For example, when she sees her boyfriend chatting with one of her coworkers at the library, she immediately assumes he is cheating on her and gives him the cold shoulder for the majority of the book.
There are several inconsistencies in this book. Aurora becomes pregnant, despite the fact that in a previous book she was told that she had a deformed uterus and couldn’t become pregnant. For the entire book, she is depressed about the fact that she can never have children. At the end, when it is revealed that she is pregnant, she isn’t as elated as she should be. This was also a deviation from the previous books in the series, because a deformed uterus isn’t the same as a tilted uterus.
There were other loose ends that irritated me as well. Her close friend, Sally, shows signs of dementia, and Aurora worries about what she should do about this throughout the entire book. Harris never addresses this at the end of the book, so this issue is never resolved.
Other characters in the book were unappealing to me as well. The police officer that she used to date looks down on her, her brother who comes to visit is very selfish, and her friend is staying in a loveless marriage. Overall, the book is quite depressing, which is not what I have come to expect from ‘cozy’ mysteries. I had been in the mood for a light mystery, and while the mystery itself was not gruesome or complex, the story dealt with dark themes of adultery and incest, which was an unpleasant surprise.
Fortunately, the book is short, and I was able to finish it in a few short sittings.
I enjoyed the previous books in this series, but I found that this final installment irritated me for several reasons. The plot is not very complex, and the killer ends up being the person I suspected from the beginning.
One of the major issues with this book is that the personality of the protagonist has changed a lot from the previous books. She is quite persnickety, and everything seems to rub her the wrong way. Because the book was written in first person, her personality comes off extra strong in her view of her personal relationships, her work, and the case she is trying to solve. For example, when she sees her boyfriend chatting with one of her coworkers at the library, she immediately assumes he is cheating on her and gives him the cold shoulder for the majority of the book.
There are several inconsistencies in this book. Aurora becomes pregnant, despite the fact that in a previous book she was told that she had a deformed uterus and couldn’t become pregnant. For the entire book, she is depressed about the fact that she can never have children. At the end, when it is revealed that she is pregnant, she isn’t as elated as she should be. This was also a deviation from the previous books in the series, because a deformed uterus isn’t the same as a tilted uterus.
There were other loose ends that irritated me as well. Her close friend, Sally, shows signs of dementia, and Aurora worries about what she should do about this throughout the entire book. Harris never addresses this at the end of the book, so this issue is never resolved.
Other characters in the book were unappealing to me as well. The police officer that she used to date looks down on her, her brother who comes to visit is very selfish, and her friend is staying in a loveless marriage. Overall, the book is quite depressing, which is not what I have come to expect from ‘cozy’ mysteries. I had been in the mood for a light mystery, and while the mystery itself was not gruesome or complex, the story dealt with dark themes of adultery and incest, which was an unpleasant surprise.
Fortunately, the book is short, and I was able to finish it in a few short sittings.
August 13, 2010
I like these cozy murder mysteries by Charlaine Harris. Her Sookie Stackhouse series about vampires have made her much more famous. I suspect that the supernatural setting is more intriguing to readers (I like them too), but I enjoy the small-town natural setting of these Aurora Teagarden mysteries. I've read all eight of the series so far. Aurora is a librarian and I have enjoyed watching her fictional life unfold, with mysteries to solve, romances to agonize over, murderers to catch, and correct Southern politeness to uphold. In Poppy Done to Death, Roe's sister-in-law is found murdered, and infidelity on both sides of the marriage confuse the issue. The reason I'm reviewing this book, instead of the other eight, is because I was drawn to Roe's musings about marriage, prompted by the revelations of so much infidelity in the story. Her own father was and still is unfaithful, now she discovers her sister- and brother-in-law have had several lovers, and we begin to wonder if any marriage is supportive and loving. Here are a few tidbits from Roe about marriage:
**"There have to be some assumptions you make when you agree to bind your life to another person's, and the basic assumption and maybe the most important of all is that this person will get your exclusive attention."
**"To make [an extended:] family work, you have to be willing to keep your mouth shut and park your judgments by the door."
**"What I was missing at this moment was the state of being married. I missed having someone there to share the little moments of my day. I missed having someone to whom I was the most important person on earth. I missed part of being a team, whose job was to back each other up."
**"Sometimes I just didn't understand myself. Half of me wanted to stand upright and independent, and half of me wanted to lean against someone stronger. Possibly the answer could be found in a good partnership, in which one could take turns leaning."
**"There have to be some assumptions you make when you agree to bind your life to another person's, and the basic assumption and maybe the most important of all is that this person will get your exclusive attention."
**"To make [an extended:] family work, you have to be willing to keep your mouth shut and park your judgments by the door."
**"What I was missing at this moment was the state of being married. I missed having someone there to share the little moments of my day. I missed having someone to whom I was the most important person on earth. I missed part of being a team, whose job was to back each other up."
**"Sometimes I just didn't understand myself. Half of me wanted to stand upright and independent, and half of me wanted to lean against someone stronger. Possibly the answer could be found in a good partnership, in which one could take turns leaning."
June 6, 2013
I can't believe this is the same author who wrote the Sookie Stackhouse series. The Aurora Teagarden series is absolute trash. There are so many inconsistencies within the stories and there are gaping holes in the plot of each novel. The main character herself is one of the most annoying characters I have ever encountered in a book. She is supposedly 29 (if I remember right) when the series begins and 35 when it ends, but she acts more like 65. She is incredibly whiny, self-centered and shallow and at the same time she is holier-than-thou. I'm just disgusted by the whole series, and there are so many errors and inconsistencies I can't begin to list them all.
When Aurora marries Martin, he's 15 years older than she is. In the next book, he's suddenly 13 years older. What?? Then there's her brother, who moves to California when he's 6 and suddenly 5 years later he's 15. Is it just me, or has 6 and 5 become 15 instead of 11? I was also annoyed beyond belief with Aurora's changing uterus. Deformed, then suddenly just tilted? Um, no.
I found it so annoying how Harris was constantly changing the personalities of some of her characters. Bubba and Lizanne? They were supposedly the perfect match! And what about Shelby and Angel? They suddenly drop off the face of the earth. Arthur? He can't make up his mind if he loves Aurora or Lynn or...? Her male characters are so... unrealistic!
How stupid are these women who can't figure out and don't suspect pregnancies?? Aurora was so annoyed and overwhelmed with Hayden that I wondered why she even cared to have a baby!
Finally, I felt like Harris was bashing evangelical Christians whenever she talked about religion. It made me angry and I thought it was petty and egregious. I fully understand not everyone holds my religious views, but I sure don't go around bashing others. Ugh.
Honestly, I'm not even sure why I felt compelled to finish the series.
When Aurora marries Martin, he's 15 years older than she is. In the next book, he's suddenly 13 years older. What?? Then there's her brother, who moves to California when he's 6 and suddenly 5 years later he's 15. Is it just me, or has 6 and 5 become 15 instead of 11? I was also annoyed beyond belief with Aurora's changing uterus. Deformed, then suddenly just tilted? Um, no.
I found it so annoying how Harris was constantly changing the personalities of some of her characters. Bubba and Lizanne? They were supposedly the perfect match! And what about Shelby and Angel? They suddenly drop off the face of the earth. Arthur? He can't make up his mind if he loves Aurora or Lynn or...? Her male characters are so... unrealistic!
How stupid are these women who can't figure out and don't suspect pregnancies?? Aurora was so annoyed and overwhelmed with Hayden that I wondered why she even cared to have a baby!
Finally, I felt like Harris was bashing evangelical Christians whenever she talked about religion. It made me angry and I thought it was petty and egregious. I fully understand not everyone holds my religious views, but I sure don't go around bashing others. Ugh.
Honestly, I'm not even sure why I felt compelled to finish the series.
September 10, 2018
Definitely not my favorite Aurora Teagarden book. Blah. More like a 2.5 but I rounded to a 3 for liking most of the previous books. I found Aurora to be overbearing and almost intolerable in this book. And why have all the men in town slept with Poppy and then they're all hitting on Aurora? Seriously? Unnecessary. Also, the men all think that Poppy loved them most and was going to leave John David for him. And him. And him. *eye roll* This was a ridiculous book, in my opinion. Every marriage is ending or recently ended. This town is a mess!
I wish Harris would have give name and representation to Aurora's infertility. A tilted uterus by itself is not a problem for conceiving. But Aurora states that she doesn't release an egg every month as well. Okay so then she has PCOS (polycystic ovary syndrome). SAY IT. RESEARCH IT. Women need to see their conditions in books and movies and TV! It's refreshing to see infertility and miscarriages portrayed in movie and TV and with real-life celebrities in the past few years. Be a voice! To just say she has a tilted uterus and doesn't release an egg every month doesn't say anything. I would've liked to have seen Harris get more into Aurora's diagnosis when she went to that hotshot doctor in Atlanta when she got married to Martin. Awareness!
I just didn't feel this book was up to par with the others in the series. I'm hoping #9 and #10 aren't cop-outs as well and it will be interesting to see if Harris's writing has changed in the years since she wrote this one. This was written in 2003, #9 in 2016, and #10 in 2017!
I wish Harris would have give name and representation to Aurora's infertility. A tilted uterus by itself is not a problem for conceiving. But Aurora states that she doesn't release an egg every month as well. Okay so then she has PCOS (polycystic ovary syndrome). SAY IT. RESEARCH IT. Women need to see their conditions in books and movies and TV! It's refreshing to see infertility and miscarriages portrayed in movie and TV and with real-life celebrities in the past few years. Be a voice! To just say she has a tilted uterus and doesn't release an egg every month doesn't say anything. I would've liked to have seen Harris get more into Aurora's diagnosis when she went to that hotshot doctor in Atlanta when she got married to Martin. Awareness!
I just didn't feel this book was up to par with the others in the series. I'm hoping #9 and #10 aren't cop-outs as well and it will be interesting to see if Harris's writing has changed in the years since she wrote this one. This was written in 2003, #9 in 2016, and #10 in 2017!
September 5, 2015
Well, after reading the whole series I finally have given one 4 stars. 4 for an interesting plot, 4 for well developed characters and 4 for best improved writing. I hope there are more Aurora Teagarden's to come. Now, it still drives me nuts that she calls her step-sibling a "brother-in-law" half of the time. Where's the editor? This series got me through a five day flu and I thank Ms Harris for keeping me company.
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