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Dead Over Heels
(Aurora Teagarden #5)
by
What's the world coming to when you can't relax with a glass of ice-cold beverage in your own backyard without a body falling from the sky into your garden?
Part-time librarian and amateur investigator Roe Teagarden has good reason to ask herself this question when the remains of one of the Lawrenceton, Georgia police departments finest catapults into her flower bed. The m ...more
Part-time librarian and amateur investigator Roe Teagarden has good reason to ask herself this question when the remains of one of the Lawrenceton, Georgia police departments finest catapults into her flower bed. The m ...more
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Paperback, 272 pages
Published
August 5th 2008
by Berkley
(first published November 1st 1996)
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Start your review of Dead Over Heels (Aurora Teagarden Mystery, #5)

These books just keep getting worse - and I keep reading. At this point I think it's morbid fascination to see just how bad they'll get. (And as I'm several chapters into book #6 - pretty bad).
Aurora Teagarden has got to be the most annoying protagonist I have ever come across. I haven't found a redeeming quality in her yet and since she has to recite a mantra to herself that she "likes black kids as much as she likes white kids and black patrons as much as she likes white patrons," I'm starting ...more
Aurora Teagarden has got to be the most annoying protagonist I have ever come across. I haven't found a redeeming quality in her yet and since she has to recite a mantra to herself that she "likes black kids as much as she likes white kids and black patrons as much as she likes white patrons," I'm starting ...more

What do you do when you’re suffering from a severe case of insomnia? If you’re me, you wander to your bookcase and say to yourself, “Which of these books is interesting, but I’ll be willing to set it down when sleep finally feels possible?” I gave up at about 2 a.m. on Saturday morning and started to read--finally, at 4 a.m. I managed to set down the book and sleep for a while.
I’d have to call this both a cozy mystery and a Southern mystery. Charlaine Harris includes so many of the details of So ...more
I’d have to call this both a cozy mystery and a Southern mystery. Charlaine Harris includes so many of the details of So ...more

I’m enjoying this series more and more with every book. Aurora has a special blend of inquisitiveness and kindness and some really interesting people in her life! The character development is great and the mysteries always intriguing.
And...Seriously....when a book starts with “My bodyguard was mowing the yard wearing her pink bikini when a man fell from the sky” you know you are in for a fun read! 😎
And...Seriously....when a book starts with “My bodyguard was mowing the yard wearing her pink bikini when a man fell from the sky” you know you are in for a fun read! 😎

How can you not enjoy a book that begins: "My bodyguard was mowing the yard wearing her pink bikini when the man fell from the sky." ??
C'mon!
Another sweet and twisted glimpse into Aurora Teagarden's strangely complicated simple life.
...more
C'mon!
Another sweet and twisted glimpse into Aurora Teagarden's strangely complicated simple life.
...more

I cannot stop reading these books. Not because they are amazing, but in a "can't look away from a car accident or train wreck" kind of way. I am going to say it and not feel bad about it: Aurora Teagarden is STUPID. She's supposed to be well-educated and well-read, yet she has all the common sense and sophistication of a jelly bean. UGH. Not to mention I HATE HER HUSBAND! What. The. Heck. Again the stupidity and suspension of intellectual thought that a woman would have to possess to buy into Ma
...more

To describe this in one sentence (or even one word), I would say: "pop-corn" book – a quick read, that neither gives nor takes much; meaning you shouldn’t search for some deep/hidden purpose in it, but it doesn’t waste a lot of time or patience either – in that way, you can end up enjoying this type of story for the time being.
Random thought, #1 – Got to love, how it is enough to write one bestseller and then all of your books (series) have that “The No.1 Bestselling Author” mark all over it.
Ra ...more
Random thought, #1 – Got to love, how it is enough to write one bestseller and then all of your books (series) have that “The No.1 Bestselling Author” mark all over it.
Ra ...more

Very disappointing! Harris can do *much* better than this book. The plot is just incredibly unbelievable. Once again the Youngbloods are wasted characters and Martin is just two-dimensional. But that's not really even the worst of it! It's almost as if Harris sat down one weekend and decided to write this book without any thought or planning.
...more

A body lands in Aurora's yard and it turns out to be the police chief who had been harassing her regarding her involvement in previous mysteries. Another person is attacked and later dies and eventually Aurora figures out that the two are related. How? I can't say without giving spoilers but Aurora once again gets immersed in mysteries and Martin's life is in jeopardy.
...more

Before I go into my review, just want to remark that I've always thought this title was wasted on this book. It would've been much better as a title for one of the SVM/Sookie books.
Moving on, this was definitely when the series jumped the shark. All this build up to who was doing all these horrible things, and then literally no explanation of why. I would've much preferred to find out WHY he was obsessed with Roe, what brought it about, how the other crimes were actually committed, etc. It only ...more
Moving on, this was definitely when the series jumped the shark. All this build up to who was doing all these horrible things, and then literally no explanation of why. I would've much preferred to find out WHY he was obsessed with Roe, what brought it about, how the other crimes were actually committed, etc. It only ...more

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I got this book from the library, without reading the first four in the series. Luckily for me, the characters were well introduced so that it wasn't necessary for me to have read the first books in order to understand this one. This was a very short novel, and it was easy to read, making this a fast read. I thought that the characters were interesting, and while I wouldn't say this was a good enough book (at least in my opinion) to spend money on, I think that it was a good way to spend an afte
...more

Better than the previous books. There's not as much of a rush to wrap it all up at the end. Still a candy book - fun & quick to read. Engaging writing & characters. A good who-dunnit.
...more

The weakest in the series. Hoping for better with #6.

Dead Over Heels was not as good as the previous Aurora books. The racism made me uncomfortable and the sexual parts with her and Martin. It’s supposed to be a cozy mystery and I didn’t get that at all with this book. I felt more like a therapist listening to her issues, than a reader trying to solve a mystery. I hope the next one is better.

Five books into this series and I feel I’m getting over it. Just how many more situations can one character fall into? There are still five more books *sighs* I’m not willing to abandon the series just yet. I’m hoping this book is just a bump in the road. I really do enjoy them as they are a light quick read. This one just felt a bit too predictable.

Another Aurora Teagarden finished! Love this series. If you've watched the movies, the story lines are different. The further I go in the series, the more different they are from the movies. Looking forward to the next one!!
...more

RATING 2.5 STARS
Dead Over Heels is my least favourite so far. It was just a bit more annoying and longer than usual. I am not a fan of Martin and Roe anymore. It seems like every book, we get more his bad characteristics.
Dead Over Heels is my least favourite so far. It was just a bit more annoying and longer than usual. I am not a fan of Martin and Roe anymore. It seems like every book, we get more his bad characteristics.

Mystery. Two years have passed since the last book. Aurora is settled into her new house with her new husband and her new bodyguards and is presented with a new mystery when Detective Sergeant Jack Burns—always suspicious of Roe and her proximity to dead bodies—falls out of an airplane and lands dead in her backyard.
I was really disappointed in this. Aurora spends the entire book making poor decisions and being really oblivious about the mystery. While I like that these books change up the type ...more
I was really disappointed in this. Aurora spends the entire book making poor decisions and being really oblivious about the mystery. While I like that these books change up the type ...more

The Aurora Teagarden series has become one of my go-to series when I need a fast, good read and this book was no disappointment. In Dead Over Heels Aurora and Angel are in their backyard when a body suddenly falls from a plane and drops into their backyard. Soon after when a woman Aurora has an argument with gets severely beaten, and other questionable events happen Aurora finds herself scared and wondering if this maniac is after her or her friend, Angel.
Many sleuths in the cozy subgenre break ...more
Many sleuths in the cozy subgenre break ...more

Good gawd, this book made no sense! The ending just comes, and it's like - didn't see that coming. Not because it was some clever plot twist...it was just straight up weak writing grasping at straws for a conclusion that wasn't set up to make particular sense.
Is this some kind of weird 90s southern picture of adventurous wifely womanhood? 2015 feminist Amy goes roar! This protagonist (although compelling for her librarianly qualities) is perfectly vexing! And - how do I put this - not that I hat ...more
Is this some kind of weird 90s southern picture of adventurous wifely womanhood? 2015 feminist Amy goes roar! This protagonist (although compelling for her librarianly qualities) is perfectly vexing! And - how do I put this - not that I hat ...more

I get a little fixated on series, but despite my usual need to finish / keep up with a book series, this will be my last Aurora Teagarden. The series started pretty strong, but dear GOD these characters make me cringe. Roe reminds me of those friends that change completely as soon as they get married. And not for the better. Her relationship with her husband is vaguely creepy to be honest.
I could get past the characters, if there were solid mystery plots; but this is so ridiculous... While I wo ...more
I could get past the characters, if there were solid mystery plots; but this is so ridiculous... While I wo ...more

Even though someone on Goodreads spoiled the denouement a bit by revealing the murderer early in their review and did not hide it as such, I found myself reading this book without wanting to put it down. It is not the best book in the series but neither is it the worst. As another reviewer noted, Harris wasted the Youngbloods, especially after such a promising introduction in the previous installment.
I like this series despite the unevenness of some of the plotting - the first and third books a ...more
I like this series despite the unevenness of some of the plotting - the first and third books a ...more

Dec 27, 2014
Roxane Lapa
rated it
liked it
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
mystery,
american-south
The fifth book of the 'Aurora Teagarden' murder mystery series starts off with the body of a policeman landing in Aurora's garden. Another murder and some attacks tie this little mystery together as Aurora tries to figure out the perpetrator and his motive.
It was a quick and easy read. Enjoyable, and sometimes unintentionally funny. For example, a direct quote from the book...
"Perry had dark hair, which he wore in a fashionable brush cut on top and rather long on the sides and back."
...accusing ...more
It was a quick and easy read. Enjoyable, and sometimes unintentionally funny. For example, a direct quote from the book...
"Perry had dark hair, which he wore in a fashionable brush cut on top and rather long on the sides and back."
...accusing ...more

In the 5th Aurora Teagarden mystery the mystery almost falls into her lap in the shape of a dead body pushed out of a plane over her yard.
You don't get an opening scene much bigger than that!
As the body count rises, it's a race against the clock to find the killer and his motive. Meanwhile, Aurora's bodyguard, Angel, has problems of her own.
This one slightly stretched the bounds of believability, but the sheer bounciness of the story kept it from being irritating.
Highly recommended. ...more
You don't get an opening scene much bigger than that!
As the body count rises, it's a race against the clock to find the killer and his motive. Meanwhile, Aurora's bodyguard, Angel, has problems of her own.
This one slightly stretched the bounds of believability, but the sheer bounciness of the story kept it from being irritating.
Highly recommended. ...more

Nov 03, 2013
✨ Gramy ✨
rated it
really liked it
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
three-star-reads-liked-it
.
This was a clean and cozy mystery. I realy liked it.
Would recommend!
This was a clean and cozy mystery. I realy liked it.
Would recommend!

I started reading this series when I stumbled across one of the movies on Hallmarks Movies and Mysteries.
I enjoyed the movie, mostly because I hadn't read any of this series before. Dead Over Heels is one of the movies I've seen, and I have to say, if you have read the book you will be shaking your head quite a bit with the changes they've made to Aurora. I mean, Candace Cameron as Aurora? DJ Tanner as Aurora?
All of the quirkiness that Aurora has in the books is gone in the movies. I would have ...more
I enjoyed the movie, mostly because I hadn't read any of this series before. Dead Over Heels is one of the movies I've seen, and I have to say, if you have read the book you will be shaking your head quite a bit with the changes they've made to Aurora. I mean, Candace Cameron as Aurora? DJ Tanner as Aurora?
All of the quirkiness that Aurora has in the books is gone in the movies. I would have ...more
topics | posts | views | last activity | |
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Play Book Tag: Dead Over Heels (Aurora Teagarden, #5) – Charlaine Harris - 3 stars | 2 | 11 | Jul 12, 2020 07:09AM |
Charlaine Harris has been a published novelist for over thirty-five years. A native of the Mississippi Delta, she grew up in the middle of a cotton field. Charlaine lives in Texas now, and all of her children and grandchildren are within easy driving distance.
Though her early output consisted largely of ghost stories, by the time she hit college (Rhodes, in Memphis) Charlaine was writing poetry an ...more
Though her early output consisted largely of ghost stories, by the time she hit college (Rhodes, in Memphis) Charlaine was writing poetry an ...more
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