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Lily Bard #1-5
The Lily Bard Mysteries Omnibus
Lily Bard is starting over again. She’s disguised herself as much as she can, cutting her hair short and wearing baggy clothes, and she's moved to Shakespeare, Arkansas, where, working as a cleaning lady, she can sweep away the secrets of her dark, violent past. Before long, everyone is going to know Lily Bard’s name.
935 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2007
25 people are currently reading
1025 people want to read
About the author
Charlaine Harris
203 books37k 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 56 reviews
April 17, 2011
I first read Charlaine Harris’s ‘Lily Bard’ series shortly after discovering her ‘Southern Vampire: Sookie Stackhouse’ books. I wanted to fill the Sookie void between books, and thought reading Harris’s previous works would be a good start. I’m so glad I did, because this series is now one of my all-time favourites.
‘Lily Bard’ is by far Harris’s darkest work. When Charlaine Harris was younger she was the victim of a sexual assault. With this knowledge in mind, it becomes clear that the ‘Lily Bard’ series is perhaps closest to Charlaine’s heart.
Lily Bard has a tragic history. She is a rape survivor. So horrific and awful was the assault, and so dramatic was her escape, that Lily’s name and story were in the news for months following her recovery. Because of the undue media attention Lily effectively went into hiding; finding the small town of Shakespeare, Arkansas on a map and deciding that she would live out her life in solitude. Before escaping into anonymity Lily underwent a physical change; she discovered bodybuilding and set herself the task of making her body into a weapon so that she would never again feel physically threatened.
I love Charlaine Harris. She is a beautiful writer, able to effortlessly flip between fresh prose and acerbic wit. Her stories are often fanciful, but grounded in reality. And her heroines all follow the same mould of being utterly ordinary women living extraordinary lives. Sookie Stackhouse, for instance, is a thoroughly ordinary waitress whose life is irrevocably changed when a vampire walks into her town. Likewise, Lily Bard is a cleaning lady whose loner-existence is changed when her landlord is murdered. Charlaine’s other murder-mystery series, ‘Aurora Teagarden’, has a title character who is a librarian but finds herself thrown into a murder investigation when a friend is found bludgeoned to death.
The contrast of ordinary woman/extraordinary circumstances has more meaning in the ‘Lily Bard’ series than any other of Charlaine’s works. Lily’s extraordinary circumstances can be stretched to the event that brought her to Shakespeare, Arkansas to begin with – her rape. Lily was an ordinary girl when one event changed the entire trajectory of her life.
The ‘Lily Bard’ series is very dark – far more so than Charlaine’s other books, even the most recent Sookie novels. But surprisingly enough the Bard series has a very clear, uplifting message at its centre. The series is ultimately about reconnecting. In the beginning Lily is a determined loner, scarred by the events of her past, Lily is convinced that the key to her well-being lies in never allowing anyone to get close to her. Over the course of five books however, we witness Lily making tentative connections with those around her – she finds romance, love, and friendship and learns that these connections are important to her continued physical and mental recovery. It is a beautiful message – and seems to be Charlaine imparting her own wisdom to victims about how to continue living your life without fear of the past. And although the series has a lot of darkness, it ultimately ends on a high-note and happy ending.
I love this series, not least of all because of Lily Bard herself. Lily is a ballsy, funny, loyal and hard-working woman. When you learn, in explicit detail, the events of her rape your respect for Lily increases ten-fold. In the beginning Lily is defined by the rape. The ordeal shaped her entire life – she moved far away from home (and the pitying looks of family and friends) to live out a life in quiet, safe solitude. She began bodybuilding as a means to protect herself, so fearful that the past would repeat itself. Clearly letting tragedy define who you become is no way to live – and Charlaine articulates this message beautifully through the character of Lily as she evolves throughout the five books. In each book there is a new murder-mystery, and as the local cleaning lady privy to the skeletons in her client’s closets, Lily finds herself at the centre of all of the cases. Through these mysteries Lily is able to measure her own mettle, push herself and discover the levels of her bravery;
“There’s a lot I know about you that you won’t admit about yourself,” he retorted.
I didn’t understand.
“You pull old men out of burning buildings. You saved Jack Leeds’s life and almost died in the act. You’re willing, and brave enough, to risk your life to save others.”
What a misconception! “No, no, no,” I protested angrily.
I also love this series because of the romance at its centre. In book two ‘Shakespare’s Champion’ Lily finds her leading man – Jack Leeds – and trust me when I say he is H-O-T. The Bard series also has one of my all-time favourite secondary characters – Bobo – the son of one of Lily’s cleaning clients who pines after her in the sweetest puppy-love fashion.
If fans of the ‘Sooke Stackhouse’ books come to the ‘Lily Bard’ series with a hope that it will scratch a Sookie itch, they will be disappointed. This is in no way supernatural or urban fantasy. This series is strictly murder-mystery. The only similarities between the books are Charlaine’s love of a good, steamy romance for her heroines, ordinary leading ladies leading extraordinary lives and doing so with tremendous courage and biting wit.
Highly recommend this series.
‘Lily Bard’ is by far Harris’s darkest work. When Charlaine Harris was younger she was the victim of a sexual assault. With this knowledge in mind, it becomes clear that the ‘Lily Bard’ series is perhaps closest to Charlaine’s heart.
Lily Bard has a tragic history. She is a rape survivor. So horrific and awful was the assault, and so dramatic was her escape, that Lily’s name and story were in the news for months following her recovery. Because of the undue media attention Lily effectively went into hiding; finding the small town of Shakespeare, Arkansas on a map and deciding that she would live out her life in solitude. Before escaping into anonymity Lily underwent a physical change; she discovered bodybuilding and set herself the task of making her body into a weapon so that she would never again feel physically threatened.
I love Charlaine Harris. She is a beautiful writer, able to effortlessly flip between fresh prose and acerbic wit. Her stories are often fanciful, but grounded in reality. And her heroines all follow the same mould of being utterly ordinary women living extraordinary lives. Sookie Stackhouse, for instance, is a thoroughly ordinary waitress whose life is irrevocably changed when a vampire walks into her town. Likewise, Lily Bard is a cleaning lady whose loner-existence is changed when her landlord is murdered. Charlaine’s other murder-mystery series, ‘Aurora Teagarden’, has a title character who is a librarian but finds herself thrown into a murder investigation when a friend is found bludgeoned to death.
The contrast of ordinary woman/extraordinary circumstances has more meaning in the ‘Lily Bard’ series than any other of Charlaine’s works. Lily’s extraordinary circumstances can be stretched to the event that brought her to Shakespeare, Arkansas to begin with – her rape. Lily was an ordinary girl when one event changed the entire trajectory of her life.
The ‘Lily Bard’ series is very dark – far more so than Charlaine’s other books, even the most recent Sookie novels. But surprisingly enough the Bard series has a very clear, uplifting message at its centre. The series is ultimately about reconnecting. In the beginning Lily is a determined loner, scarred by the events of her past, Lily is convinced that the key to her well-being lies in never allowing anyone to get close to her. Over the course of five books however, we witness Lily making tentative connections with those around her – she finds romance, love, and friendship and learns that these connections are important to her continued physical and mental recovery. It is a beautiful message – and seems to be Charlaine imparting her own wisdom to victims about how to continue living your life without fear of the past. And although the series has a lot of darkness, it ultimately ends on a high-note and happy ending.
I love this series, not least of all because of Lily Bard herself. Lily is a ballsy, funny, loyal and hard-working woman. When you learn, in explicit detail, the events of her rape your respect for Lily increases ten-fold. In the beginning Lily is defined by the rape. The ordeal shaped her entire life – she moved far away from home (and the pitying looks of family and friends) to live out a life in quiet, safe solitude. She began bodybuilding as a means to protect herself, so fearful that the past would repeat itself. Clearly letting tragedy define who you become is no way to live – and Charlaine articulates this message beautifully through the character of Lily as she evolves throughout the five books. In each book there is a new murder-mystery, and as the local cleaning lady privy to the skeletons in her client’s closets, Lily finds herself at the centre of all of the cases. Through these mysteries Lily is able to measure her own mettle, push herself and discover the levels of her bravery;
“There’s a lot I know about you that you won’t admit about yourself,” he retorted.
I didn’t understand.
“You pull old men out of burning buildings. You saved Jack Leeds’s life and almost died in the act. You’re willing, and brave enough, to risk your life to save others.”
What a misconception! “No, no, no,” I protested angrily.
I also love this series because of the romance at its centre. In book two ‘Shakespare’s Champion’ Lily finds her leading man – Jack Leeds – and trust me when I say he is H-O-T. The Bard series also has one of my all-time favourite secondary characters – Bobo – the son of one of Lily’s cleaning clients who pines after her in the sweetest puppy-love fashion.
If fans of the ‘Sooke Stackhouse’ books come to the ‘Lily Bard’ series with a hope that it will scratch a Sookie itch, they will be disappointed. This is in no way supernatural or urban fantasy. This series is strictly murder-mystery. The only similarities between the books are Charlaine’s love of a good, steamy romance for her heroines, ordinary leading ladies leading extraordinary lives and doing so with tremendous courage and biting wit.
Highly recommend this series.
July 31, 2024
If you are expecting vampires, witches, ghosts and other supernatural entities and events, this isn't it. There is nothing even vaguely supernatural about this dark-cozy mystery series. The majority of the novels are set in Shakespeare, Arkansas (which actually exists surprisingly enough), except for the one set in Bartley, Arkansas (the protagonist has to go home for the obligatory family function). Lily Bard seeks to escape her violent past and the resulting media storm, by hiding out in the small town of Shakespeare, and running a solo cleaning service to keep a roof over her head. She is a solitary woman obsessed with working out and keeping to herself. That is, until she stumbles across a corpse in the local park. Since it's the standard for these types of stories, Lily Bard is considered a suspect or at least a person of interest, and decides to do her own snooping investigating. There is the obligatory potential budding romance as well. Subsequent novels in the series follow the same formulae - Lily keeps stumbling across corpses and solving crimes (this little town is starting to become like Cabot Cove!).
The omnibus was published in 2007, so I suppose the old fashioned cliche's weren't that old then? I still found Harris's (via Lily) habit of constantly slut shaming the one character and blaming the victims for being victims got old rather fast. Especially when you consider Lily wasn't above jumping into bed with a few people, before the insta-love "boyfriend". Some of the events felt contrived and oh-so-terribly-convenient to me. I felt Lily Bard came across as flat/ one-dimension and her development as a character to be a tad superficial. Sometimes the side-characters were more entertaining/interesting than Lily Bard.
A mildly entertaining, not quite fluffy, omnibus of murder mysteries that reads pretty fast.
The omnibus was published in 2007, so I suppose the old fashioned cliche's weren't that old then? I still found Harris's (via Lily) habit of constantly slut shaming the one character and blaming the victims for being victims got old rather fast. Especially when you consider Lily wasn't above jumping into bed with a few people, before the insta-love "boyfriend". Some of the events felt contrived and oh-so-terribly-convenient to me. I felt Lily Bard came across as flat/ one-dimension and her development as a character to be a tad superficial. Sometimes the side-characters were more entertaining/interesting than Lily Bard.
A mildly entertaining, not quite fluffy, omnibus of murder mysteries that reads pretty fast.
June 2, 2011
WARNING: MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS.
I am extremely conflicted over this book.
These books were actually better written than the Aurora Tea Garden books. Lily Bard makes for a far more interesting protagonist, though I don't like her very much at all. Which I suspect is probably what Harris intended, but if that were so, I think Harris has failed her. Throughout the series, Lily only seems to undergo superficial growth.
Delving in to the world of rape and sexual assault is fraught with difficulties and controversy, so it's no surprise that there are certain undertones and voices in this collection of novels I find really hard to swallow.
The books could be quite triggering for anyone who has ever been assaulted. But not only do I find the rape culture elements distasteful, I find the racial issues really off putting. It's as though Harris has grabbed two really huge taboos, thrown them into her books and just let them simmer. There seems to be no real resolution of any kind. By the end of the series, her characters are still firmly rooted in their victim blaming, slut shaming, racist little mind sets.
Which makes me wonder if I should revisit the Aurora Tea Garden books to see what fun stereotypes I missed. (I didn't exactly give those books much thought. They were easily digested. Contained no surprises plot wise. which makes me wonder if I really read them, instead of treating them like holiday candy type reading, what would I uncover?)
Her plots seem a little more believable in this series. Lily Bard is a more probable person to be involved in murder mysteries than Aurora Tea Garden was. Although, again, Shakespeare seems to have a homicidal hub conveniently located next door to our protagonist. Lily is a strange woman. As one would be having survived what she had. And though I am sure her encounter with The Bad Thing was Harris's way of making her hard and cold and giving her a legitimate reason to be, truthfully I thought she just made Lily a humourless cliché.
The constant slut shaming of one character really began to piss me off to the extent that I almost put the book down refusing to finish it. Harris's characters, even those that were themselves victims, bought into the victim blaming culture. Had Harris done this as an attempt to challenge that culture, I may have been more forgiving, but she didn't. Not one of the characters ever really grew beyond blaming other victims for what happened to them. (Even though she does include a scene where a social worker has the women chant that we never blame the victim. Through out the whole series, the victims do wear, at the very least, partial blame.)
The other axe to grind is the both overt and subtle racism. In one book, the topic is addressed directly with racially motived murders. And whilst in this particular story, the message is that killing people because they are black is wrong, there is still this awful subtle undertone I can't quite stomach. In later books, Lily expresses extra fear around black neighbourhoods. She seems less trusting of black characters, for no other reason than that they are black. Had she been attacked by black men, I could have understood this. But Lily never saw her attackers on account of the blind fold. So the only conclusion one can come to is that Lily has Nice White Lady syndrome.
If you can stomach or ignore the more distasteful elements of the Lily Bard Mysteries, then you will probably enjoy the books. Harris's writing is not bad. There's no real surprises in plot. But I don't think that's the point of this style of mystery. (If you want intelligent writing, read some one else) Although I am not entirely sure what the point is other than to entertain, I personally, am not entertained by Lily Bard.
I am extremely conflicted over this book.
These books were actually better written than the Aurora Tea Garden books. Lily Bard makes for a far more interesting protagonist, though I don't like her very much at all. Which I suspect is probably what Harris intended, but if that were so, I think Harris has failed her. Throughout the series, Lily only seems to undergo superficial growth.
Delving in to the world of rape and sexual assault is fraught with difficulties and controversy, so it's no surprise that there are certain undertones and voices in this collection of novels I find really hard to swallow.
The books could be quite triggering for anyone who has ever been assaulted. But not only do I find the rape culture elements distasteful, I find the racial issues really off putting. It's as though Harris has grabbed two really huge taboos, thrown them into her books and just let them simmer. There seems to be no real resolution of any kind. By the end of the series, her characters are still firmly rooted in their victim blaming, slut shaming, racist little mind sets.
Which makes me wonder if I should revisit the Aurora Tea Garden books to see what fun stereotypes I missed. (I didn't exactly give those books much thought. They were easily digested. Contained no surprises plot wise. which makes me wonder if I really read them, instead of treating them like holiday candy type reading, what would I uncover?)
Her plots seem a little more believable in this series. Lily Bard is a more probable person to be involved in murder mysteries than Aurora Tea Garden was. Although, again, Shakespeare seems to have a homicidal hub conveniently located next door to our protagonist. Lily is a strange woman. As one would be having survived what she had. And though I am sure her encounter with The Bad Thing was Harris's way of making her hard and cold and giving her a legitimate reason to be, truthfully I thought she just made Lily a humourless cliché.
The constant slut shaming of one character really began to piss me off to the extent that I almost put the book down refusing to finish it. Harris's characters, even those that were themselves victims, bought into the victim blaming culture. Had Harris done this as an attempt to challenge that culture, I may have been more forgiving, but she didn't. Not one of the characters ever really grew beyond blaming other victims for what happened to them. (Even though she does include a scene where a social worker has the women chant that we never blame the victim. Through out the whole series, the victims do wear, at the very least, partial blame.)
The other axe to grind is the both overt and subtle racism. In one book, the topic is addressed directly with racially motived murders. And whilst in this particular story, the message is that killing people because they are black is wrong, there is still this awful subtle undertone I can't quite stomach. In later books, Lily expresses extra fear around black neighbourhoods. She seems less trusting of black characters, for no other reason than that they are black. Had she been attacked by black men, I could have understood this. But Lily never saw her attackers on account of the blind fold. So the only conclusion one can come to is that Lily has Nice White Lady syndrome.
If you can stomach or ignore the more distasteful elements of the Lily Bard Mysteries, then you will probably enjoy the books. Harris's writing is not bad. There's no real surprises in plot. But I don't think that's the point of this style of mystery. (If you want intelligent writing, read some one else) Although I am not entirely sure what the point is other than to entertain, I personally, am not entertained by Lily Bard.
June 19, 2021
This review is comprised of my reviews from the five books in this anthology, so it's long and a bit patchy. I probably should have rewritten it into a more coherent single piece, but frankly I've spent enough time on this series, and am more than ready to move on.
SHAKESPEARE'S LANDLORD
Warning: contains light spoilers as well as potentially triggering material.
I want to like Lily Bard. I've tried so damn hard. I want to like her because I like - maybe even love - Sookie Stackhouse and Harper Connelly, and can just about tolerate Aurora Teagarden. I want to like her because she's smart and strong and generally badass. I want to like her because she's a fellow survivor of terrible things.
But I just...don't.
I'm on my third reading of the Lily Bard Mysteries in the last five years, and I think this is going to have to be my last attempt with Lily, because her books make me moody and miserable. It's not the fact that they're about murder, or even the awful things that haunt Lily's past, so similar to my own. It's Lily herself. Lily's...oh, I hate saying this. It's such a loaded word, and used far too often to describe women who are strong and don't take crap from people. But honestly, Lily's kind of a bitch.
I was discussing this with a friend, and my friend said to me, "Don't you think you'd be a bitch if the stuff that happened to Lily happened to you?" Which made me blink in surprise, because - well, it did. Not identical, of course. My scars are mostly on the inside of my body, fusing my organs together, though I have some round puncture and burn marks on my breasts and stomach and back and arms. And I didn't kill the man who hurt me, or have to live with his rotting corpse for several days, mercifully. But the rest of Lily's story is very much like my own, from the things that were done to me to the way my family couldn't handle it and reacted in various unhelpful ways, from weeping and wailing, to trying to brush it off and telling me to pick myself up and move on.
There are some ways in which I empathise so much with Lily. Her hypervigilance, her reluctance to get involved with men, her deliberate distance from her family and her old life, her aloofness and lack of friends, her need for everything to be efficient and streamlined - these are all things that I know intimately. I understand so many of Lily's quirks and personality traits, because I've lived them. What I don't understand about Lily are her impatience and her superiority. Where my own experiences made me more empathetic and more understanding - and forgiving - of the weaknesses that all humans have, Lily seems to have gone the other direction, to the point of looking down her nose at most of the people she interacts with. For me, this makes her a decidedly uncomfortable protagonist.
There are things that I enjoyed about this book. I like Marshall, and wish that she would continue her relationship with him throughout the series. The mystery kept my attention, and I didn't remember who the killer was. And parts of Lily I find attractive, particularly her intelligence and common sense, which a lot of heroines in this type of book seem to lack. (Yeah, Roe Teagarden - I'm looking at you.) I'll certainly continue the series, since I have all five books in a hardback anthology, and I have hopes that Lily will grow and smooth out a bit. (Though I have read the books on two other occasions, the last time was in early 2012 and I don't remember them well.) Yet I do think this will probably be my last time with Lily, which is a shame, since I really enjoyed the Harper Connelly quartet, and about half of the Sookie Stackhouse series.
Oh well. Win some, lose some.
SHAKESPEARE'S CHAMPION
I liked this one a whole lot more than the first book. Lily is much more likeable - while she still has sharp edges, she says far fewer mean things about people - and actually has a few friends. I'm particularly fond of her relationship with young Bobo, and I think it's a shame that she won't end up with him, as he interests me far more than Jack. Jack is one of those characters who I feel I should like - sexy bad boy! Private detective! Tragic past! Long hair! - but he just totally fails to come off the page for me. Bobo, Marshall and even Claude had more chemistry with Lily, IMO.
Still, the plot of this second book is far more engaging, and Harris' portrayal of racial strife in a small southern town is, to this English girl, both heartbreaking and eye-opening.
I'm still not especially enamoured of Lily and the series in general, but I'm a bigger fan than I was after Shakespeare's Landlord.
SHAKESPEARE'S CHRISTMAS
I really enjoyed this instalment of the Lily Bard Mysteries, even if it wasn't very Christmassy, and there wasn't nearly enough Bobo for my taste.
In this one, Lily has to return to her hometown for her sister's wedding, and Jack ends up in the same town, working on the case of a kidnapped child. Although it took a bit of effort to suspend my disbelief that Jack would, by sheer coincidence, end up working a case in Lily's hometown, I thought that the mystery was the best in the series so far. I couldn't work out which child was the kidnapped girl, nor who was responsible for the murders that were a (failed) attempt at covering up the kidnapping. I also liked seeing a different, softer side of Lily that came out around her family, though I still find her a bit too snobby and cold for my taste.
I'm starting to warm to both Lily and Jack, although their relationship seems sort of insta-love-ish, and not in a believable way. Funny that I'm a fan of romance novels in general, yet the relationship between Lily and Jack strikes me as unlikely. Perhaps it'll grow on me during the last two books.
SHAKESPEARE'S TROLLOP
I started to like Lily quite a bit in the last two books, but this one was a real letdown. Lily's opinions of Deedra have always bothered me, but they reach fairly grotesque heights in this book, with Lily essentially blaming Deedra for her own murder.
Two things saved the book from being totally blah for me: a murderer who came totally out of left field, and the extremely chilling scene where Lily dreams of Deedra and the vision she would be seeing from inside her coffin. Harris is such an eclectic writer, flitting around from family tragedy to comedy to cheerful coziness to supernatural erotica, that I think of her as being fairly lightweight and funny - until I read a scene like this one that reminds me, damn, that woman can really write horror.
Still, this was not an enjoyable book for me, and Lily really disgusted me in this one.
SHAKESPEARE'S COUNSELOR
I think this was my least favourite book in the series, even more so than Shakespeare's Trollop. Lily seems to have backslid a lot here - after growing as a character throughout the last few books, and healing somewhat, her fear and anger has suddenly taken a turn for the worse.
It's not unusual for people to have relapses after trauma, but Lily's anger seems to go completely out of control in this series finale. She outright admits that she despises all men (except, I assume, Jack), which saddens me after seeing her become friends with Bobo, Claude, Marshall and Raphael Roundtree in previous books. Previously, Lily has aggravated and sometimes disgusted me; in this book she actually frightens me. She and I share a lot of bad experiences, and in some way, the deterioration of her emotional state feels like it casts aspersions on my own emotional stability.
Unlike the other books, I also found the plot of this one to be fairly nonsensical. I couldn't keep up with the twists, and eventually just shrugged and gave up on analysing the villains motivations. In addition, I was disappointed that we didn't get any real ending as far as the rest of the characters (mostly Alicia and the women in Lily's group) were concerned. I'd have liked some closure; some sense that life had improved.
Overall, 2.5 stars for the book, and 3 stars for the series. Harris is always kind of hit-or-miss for me - my ratings for the Sookie books were all over the place - but I'm a bit sad that the ending to this series wasn't better. I did enjoy books 2 and 3, but I won't be visiting with Lily again. I might, however, visit Bobo (my honey-love!) and Manfred Bernardo (the delicious psychic from the Harper Connelly series) in Harris' new crossover series, Midnight. See you there!
SHAKESPEARE'S LANDLORD
Warning: contains light spoilers as well as potentially triggering material.
I want to like Lily Bard. I've tried so damn hard. I want to like her because I like - maybe even love - Sookie Stackhouse and Harper Connelly, and can just about tolerate Aurora Teagarden. I want to like her because she's smart and strong and generally badass. I want to like her because she's a fellow survivor of terrible things.
But I just...don't.
I'm on my third reading of the Lily Bard Mysteries in the last five years, and I think this is going to have to be my last attempt with Lily, because her books make me moody and miserable. It's not the fact that they're about murder, or even the awful things that haunt Lily's past, so similar to my own. It's Lily herself. Lily's...oh, I hate saying this. It's such a loaded word, and used far too often to describe women who are strong and don't take crap from people. But honestly, Lily's kind of a bitch.
I was discussing this with a friend, and my friend said to me, "Don't you think you'd be a bitch if the stuff that happened to Lily happened to you?" Which made me blink in surprise, because - well, it did. Not identical, of course. My scars are mostly on the inside of my body, fusing my organs together, though I have some round puncture and burn marks on my breasts and stomach and back and arms. And I didn't kill the man who hurt me, or have to live with his rotting corpse for several days, mercifully. But the rest of Lily's story is very much like my own, from the things that were done to me to the way my family couldn't handle it and reacted in various unhelpful ways, from weeping and wailing, to trying to brush it off and telling me to pick myself up and move on.
There are some ways in which I empathise so much with Lily. Her hypervigilance, her reluctance to get involved with men, her deliberate distance from her family and her old life, her aloofness and lack of friends, her need for everything to be efficient and streamlined - these are all things that I know intimately. I understand so many of Lily's quirks and personality traits, because I've lived them. What I don't understand about Lily are her impatience and her superiority. Where my own experiences made me more empathetic and more understanding - and forgiving - of the weaknesses that all humans have, Lily seems to have gone the other direction, to the point of looking down her nose at most of the people she interacts with. For me, this makes her a decidedly uncomfortable protagonist.
There are things that I enjoyed about this book. I like Marshall, and wish that she would continue her relationship with him throughout the series. The mystery kept my attention, and I didn't remember who the killer was. And parts of Lily I find attractive, particularly her intelligence and common sense, which a lot of heroines in this type of book seem to lack. (Yeah, Roe Teagarden - I'm looking at you.) I'll certainly continue the series, since I have all five books in a hardback anthology, and I have hopes that Lily will grow and smooth out a bit. (Though I have read the books on two other occasions, the last time was in early 2012 and I don't remember them well.) Yet I do think this will probably be my last time with Lily, which is a shame, since I really enjoyed the Harper Connelly quartet, and about half of the Sookie Stackhouse series.
Oh well. Win some, lose some.
SHAKESPEARE'S CHAMPION
I liked this one a whole lot more than the first book. Lily is much more likeable - while she still has sharp edges, she says far fewer mean things about people - and actually has a few friends. I'm particularly fond of her relationship with young Bobo, and I think it's a shame that she won't end up with him, as he interests me far more than Jack. Jack is one of those characters who I feel I should like - sexy bad boy! Private detective! Tragic past! Long hair! - but he just totally fails to come off the page for me. Bobo, Marshall and even Claude had more chemistry with Lily, IMO.
Still, the plot of this second book is far more engaging, and Harris' portrayal of racial strife in a small southern town is, to this English girl, both heartbreaking and eye-opening.
I'm still not especially enamoured of Lily and the series in general, but I'm a bigger fan than I was after Shakespeare's Landlord.
SHAKESPEARE'S CHRISTMAS
I really enjoyed this instalment of the Lily Bard Mysteries, even if it wasn't very Christmassy, and there wasn't nearly enough Bobo for my taste.
In this one, Lily has to return to her hometown for her sister's wedding, and Jack ends up in the same town, working on the case of a kidnapped child. Although it took a bit of effort to suspend my disbelief that Jack would, by sheer coincidence, end up working a case in Lily's hometown, I thought that the mystery was the best in the series so far. I couldn't work out which child was the kidnapped girl, nor who was responsible for the murders that were a (failed) attempt at covering up the kidnapping. I also liked seeing a different, softer side of Lily that came out around her family, though I still find her a bit too snobby and cold for my taste.
I'm starting to warm to both Lily and Jack, although their relationship seems sort of insta-love-ish, and not in a believable way. Funny that I'm a fan of romance novels in general, yet the relationship between Lily and Jack strikes me as unlikely. Perhaps it'll grow on me during the last two books.
SHAKESPEARE'S TROLLOP
I started to like Lily quite a bit in the last two books, but this one was a real letdown. Lily's opinions of Deedra have always bothered me, but they reach fairly grotesque heights in this book, with Lily essentially blaming Deedra for her own murder.
Two things saved the book from being totally blah for me: a murderer who came totally out of left field, and the extremely chilling scene where Lily dreams of Deedra and the vision she would be seeing from inside her coffin. Harris is such an eclectic writer, flitting around from family tragedy to comedy to cheerful coziness to supernatural erotica, that I think of her as being fairly lightweight and funny - until I read a scene like this one that reminds me, damn, that woman can really write horror.
Still, this was not an enjoyable book for me, and Lily really disgusted me in this one.
SHAKESPEARE'S COUNSELOR
I think this was my least favourite book in the series, even more so than Shakespeare's Trollop. Lily seems to have backslid a lot here - after growing as a character throughout the last few books, and healing somewhat, her fear and anger has suddenly taken a turn for the worse.
It's not unusual for people to have relapses after trauma, but Lily's anger seems to go completely out of control in this series finale. She outright admits that she despises all men (except, I assume, Jack), which saddens me after seeing her become friends with Bobo, Claude, Marshall and Raphael Roundtree in previous books. Previously, Lily has aggravated and sometimes disgusted me; in this book she actually frightens me. She and I share a lot of bad experiences, and in some way, the deterioration of her emotional state feels like it casts aspersions on my own emotional stability.
Unlike the other books, I also found the plot of this one to be fairly nonsensical. I couldn't keep up with the twists, and eventually just shrugged and gave up on analysing the villains motivations. In addition, I was disappointed that we didn't get any real ending as far as the rest of the characters (mostly Alicia and the women in Lily's group) were concerned. I'd have liked some closure; some sense that life had improved.
Overall, 2.5 stars for the book, and 3 stars for the series. Harris is always kind of hit-or-miss for me - my ratings for the Sookie books were all over the place - but I'm a bit sad that the ending to this series wasn't better. I did enjoy books 2 and 3, but I won't be visiting with Lily again. I might, however, visit Bobo (my honey-love!) and Manfred Bernardo (the delicious psychic from the Harper Connelly series) in Harris' new crossover series, Midnight. See you there!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Want to read
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This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 9, 2011
I first read Charlaine Harris’s ‘Lily Bard’ series shortly after discovering her ‘Southern Vampire: Sookie Stackhouse’ books. I wanted to fill the Sookie void between books, and thought reading Harris’s previous works would be a good start. I’m so glad I did, because this series is now one of my all-time favourites.
‘Lily Bard’ is by far Harris’s darkest work. When Charlaine Harris was younger she was the victim of a sexual assault. With this knowledge in mind, it becomes clear that the ‘Lily Bard’ series is perhaps closest to Charlaine’s heart.
Lily Bard has a tragic history. She is a rape survivor. So horrific and awful was the assault, and so dramatic was her escape, that Lily’s name and story were in the news for months following her recovery. Because of the undue media attention Lily effectively went into hiding; finding the small town of Shakespeare, Arkansas on a map and deciding that she would live out her life in solitude. Before escaping into anonymity Lily underwent a physical change; she discovered bodybuilding and set herself the task of making her body into a weapon so that she would never again feel physically threatened.
I love Charlaine Harris. She is a beautiful writer, able to effortlessly flip between fresh prose and acerbic wit. Her stories are often fanciful, but grounded in reality. And her heroines all follow the same mould of being utterly ordinary women living extraordinary lives. Sookie Stackhouse, for instance, is a thoroughly ordinary waitress whose life is irrevocably changed when a vampire walks into her town. Likewise, Lily Bard is a cleaning lady whose loner-existence is changed when her landlord is murdered. Charlaine’s other murder-mystery series, ‘Aurora Teagarden’, has a title character who is a librarian but finds herself thrown into a murder investigation when a friend is found bludgeoned to death.
The contrast of ordinary woman/extraordinary circumstances has more meaning in the ‘Lily Bard’ series than any other of Charlaine’s works. Lily’s extraordinary circumstances can be stretched to the event that brought her to Shakespeare, Arkansas to begin with – her rape. Lily was an ordinary girl when one event changed the entire trajectory of her life.
The ‘Lily Bard’ series is very dark – far more so than Charlaine’s other books, even the most recent Sookie novels. But surprisingly enough the Bard series has a very clear, uplifting message at its centre. The series is ultimately about reconnecting. In the beginning Lily is a determined loner, scarred by the events of her past, Lily is convinced that the key to her well-being lies in never allowing anyone to get close to her. Over the course of five books however, we witness Lily making tentative connections with those around her – she finds romance, love, and friendship and learns that these connections are important to her continued physical and mental recovery. It is a beautiful message – and seems to be Charlaine imparting her own wisdom to victims about how to continue living your life without fear of the past. And although the series has a lot of darkness, it ultimately ends on a high-note and happy ending.
I love this series, not least of all because of Lily Bard herself. Lily is a ballsy, funny, loyal and hard-working woman. When you learn, in explicit detail, the events of her rape your respect for Lily increases ten-fold. In the beginning Lily is defined by the rape. The ordeal shaped her entire life – she moved far away from home (and the pitying looks of family and friends) to live out a life in quiet, safe solitude. She began bodybuilding as a means to protect herself, so fearful that the past would repeat itself. Clearly letting tragedy define who you become is no way to live – and Charlaine articulates this message beautifully through the character of Lily as she evolves throughout the five books. In each book there is a new murder-mystery, and as the local cleaning lady privy to the skeletons in her client’s closets, Lily finds herself at the centre of all of the cases. Through these mysteries Lily is able to measure her own mettle, push herself and discover the levels of her bravery;
“There’s a lot I know about you that you won’t admit about yourself,” he retorted.
I didn’t understand.
“You pull old men out of burning buildings. You saved Jack Leeds’s life and almost died in the act. You’re willing, and brave enough, to risk your life to save others.”
What a misconception! “No, no, no,” I protested angrily.
I also love this series because of the romance at its centre. In book two ‘Shakespare’s Champion’ Lily finds her leading man – Jack Leeds – and trust me when I say he is H-O-T. The Bard series also has one of my all-time favourite secondary characters – Bobo – the son of one of Lily’s cleaning clients who pines after her in the sweetest puppy-love fashion.
If fans of the ‘Sooke Stackhouse’ books come to the ‘Lily Bard’ series with a hope that it will scratch a Sookie itch, they will be disappointed. This is in no way supernatural or urban fantasy. This series is strictly murder-mystery. The only similarities between the books are Charlaine’s love of a good, steamy romance for her heroines, ordinary leading ladies leading extraordinary lives and doing so with tremendous courage and biting wit.
Highly recommend this series.
‘Lily Bard’ is by far Harris’s darkest work. When Charlaine Harris was younger she was the victim of a sexual assault. With this knowledge in mind, it becomes clear that the ‘Lily Bard’ series is perhaps closest to Charlaine’s heart.
Lily Bard has a tragic history. She is a rape survivor. So horrific and awful was the assault, and so dramatic was her escape, that Lily’s name and story were in the news for months following her recovery. Because of the undue media attention Lily effectively went into hiding; finding the small town of Shakespeare, Arkansas on a map and deciding that she would live out her life in solitude. Before escaping into anonymity Lily underwent a physical change; she discovered bodybuilding and set herself the task of making her body into a weapon so that she would never again feel physically threatened.
I love Charlaine Harris. She is a beautiful writer, able to effortlessly flip between fresh prose and acerbic wit. Her stories are often fanciful, but grounded in reality. And her heroines all follow the same mould of being utterly ordinary women living extraordinary lives. Sookie Stackhouse, for instance, is a thoroughly ordinary waitress whose life is irrevocably changed when a vampire walks into her town. Likewise, Lily Bard is a cleaning lady whose loner-existence is changed when her landlord is murdered. Charlaine’s other murder-mystery series, ‘Aurora Teagarden’, has a title character who is a librarian but finds herself thrown into a murder investigation when a friend is found bludgeoned to death.
The contrast of ordinary woman/extraordinary circumstances has more meaning in the ‘Lily Bard’ series than any other of Charlaine’s works. Lily’s extraordinary circumstances can be stretched to the event that brought her to Shakespeare, Arkansas to begin with – her rape. Lily was an ordinary girl when one event changed the entire trajectory of her life.
The ‘Lily Bard’ series is very dark – far more so than Charlaine’s other books, even the most recent Sookie novels. But surprisingly enough the Bard series has a very clear, uplifting message at its centre. The series is ultimately about reconnecting. In the beginning Lily is a determined loner, scarred by the events of her past, Lily is convinced that the key to her well-being lies in never allowing anyone to get close to her. Over the course of five books however, we witness Lily making tentative connections with those around her – she finds romance, love, and friendship and learns that these connections are important to her continued physical and mental recovery. It is a beautiful message – and seems to be Charlaine imparting her own wisdom to victims about how to continue living your life without fear of the past. And although the series has a lot of darkness, it ultimately ends on a high-note and happy ending.
I love this series, not least of all because of Lily Bard herself. Lily is a ballsy, funny, loyal and hard-working woman. When you learn, in explicit detail, the events of her rape your respect for Lily increases ten-fold. In the beginning Lily is defined by the rape. The ordeal shaped her entire life – she moved far away from home (and the pitying looks of family and friends) to live out a life in quiet, safe solitude. She began bodybuilding as a means to protect herself, so fearful that the past would repeat itself. Clearly letting tragedy define who you become is no way to live – and Charlaine articulates this message beautifully through the character of Lily as she evolves throughout the five books. In each book there is a new murder-mystery, and as the local cleaning lady privy to the skeletons in her client’s closets, Lily finds herself at the centre of all of the cases. Through these mysteries Lily is able to measure her own mettle, push herself and discover the levels of her bravery;
“There’s a lot I know about you that you won’t admit about yourself,” he retorted.
I didn’t understand.
“You pull old men out of burning buildings. You saved Jack Leeds’s life and almost died in the act. You’re willing, and brave enough, to risk your life to save others.”
What a misconception! “No, no, no,” I protested angrily.
I also love this series because of the romance at its centre. In book two ‘Shakespare’s Champion’ Lily finds her leading man – Jack Leeds – and trust me when I say he is H-O-T. The Bard series also has one of my all-time favourite secondary characters – Bobo – the son of one of Lily’s cleaning clients who pines after her in the sweetest puppy-love fashion.
If fans of the ‘Sooke Stackhouse’ books come to the ‘Lily Bard’ series with a hope that it will scratch a Sookie itch, they will be disappointed. This is in no way supernatural or urban fantasy. This series is strictly murder-mystery. The only similarities between the books are Charlaine’s love of a good, steamy romance for her heroines, ordinary leading ladies leading extraordinary lives and doing so with tremendous courage and biting wit.
Highly recommend this series.
March 14, 2012
Shakespeare's Landlord.
Lily Bard is trying to keep a low profile, stay invisible, but she soon learns that is an impossibility in a small town. With a shattered past and a fear of discovery, the last thing Lily wanted was to be implicated in a murder, however she reluctantly finds that if she is to prove her innocence she is going to have to solve this murder on her own. But in retrospect the death of Shakespeare's landlord could have been the best thing to ever happen to Lily.
Shakespeare's Champion.
When Lily unwittingly steps in to break it up a public fight, she also puts herself in the middle of the towns growing tensions. Not long after she discovers a murder victim. When all she wanted was to be left in quiet, she is again drawn into the lives of those in this small town discovering she is losing more friends then she realised she ever had. If Lily is to survive this race war with her life she is going to have to get to the bottom of this murder.
Shakespeare's Christmas.
Christmas isn't Christmas without family, food and a murder or two. As Lily heads home for the holidays, and also for her sisters wedding, Lily is facing up to some old demons. However someone has kidnapped a child and is desperate enough to kill any who would dare take that child from them. Unavoidably Lily becomes involved, but this time she is not alone. With Jack by her side Lily will uncover a devastating truth and discover a new side of herself.
Shakespeare's Trollop.
When Lily discovers the body of the town trollop in a compromising position she, as with everyone else in town, must assume that the murderer is one of her lovers. Meaning that just about every man in town is a suspect. However as the clues are gathered Lily must admit that things are not adding up. But in a case where little makes sense and where one death leads to another, discovering the truth will not be easy.
Shakespeare's Counselor.
The time has come for Lily to face her past if she is to embrace her future. Very reluctant to join but determined to do so, Lily begins attending meetings for rape survivors. Unfortunately after only a few weeks someone has decided to send a message to her group in the form of a murdered rape victim. As the bodies pile up in this dangerous game of cat and mouse, Lily experiences great loss, abuse of her trust and ultimately a new future.
Lily Bard Mysteries Omnibus is a great series of Who-Done-It tales centered around a strong, independent, intelligent women with a dark past and no future. Written without any supernatural influence by a skilled author of the genre, these in-depth and well thought out murder mysteries will keep you guessing just as much its well developed and colourful characters will keep you entertained.
Lily Bard is trying to keep a low profile, stay invisible, but she soon learns that is an impossibility in a small town. With a shattered past and a fear of discovery, the last thing Lily wanted was to be implicated in a murder, however she reluctantly finds that if she is to prove her innocence she is going to have to solve this murder on her own. But in retrospect the death of Shakespeare's landlord could have been the best thing to ever happen to Lily.
Shakespeare's Champion.
When Lily unwittingly steps in to break it up a public fight, she also puts herself in the middle of the towns growing tensions. Not long after she discovers a murder victim. When all she wanted was to be left in quiet, she is again drawn into the lives of those in this small town discovering she is losing more friends then she realised she ever had. If Lily is to survive this race war with her life she is going to have to get to the bottom of this murder.
Shakespeare's Christmas.
Christmas isn't Christmas without family, food and a murder or two. As Lily heads home for the holidays, and also for her sisters wedding, Lily is facing up to some old demons. However someone has kidnapped a child and is desperate enough to kill any who would dare take that child from them. Unavoidably Lily becomes involved, but this time she is not alone. With Jack by her side Lily will uncover a devastating truth and discover a new side of herself.
Shakespeare's Trollop.
When Lily discovers the body of the town trollop in a compromising position she, as with everyone else in town, must assume that the murderer is one of her lovers. Meaning that just about every man in town is a suspect. However as the clues are gathered Lily must admit that things are not adding up. But in a case where little makes sense and where one death leads to another, discovering the truth will not be easy.
Shakespeare's Counselor.
The time has come for Lily to face her past if she is to embrace her future. Very reluctant to join but determined to do so, Lily begins attending meetings for rape survivors. Unfortunately after only a few weeks someone has decided to send a message to her group in the form of a murdered rape victim. As the bodies pile up in this dangerous game of cat and mouse, Lily experiences great loss, abuse of her trust and ultimately a new future.
Lily Bard Mysteries Omnibus is a great series of Who-Done-It tales centered around a strong, independent, intelligent women with a dark past and no future. Written without any supernatural influence by a skilled author of the genre, these in-depth and well thought out murder mysteries will keep you guessing just as much its well developed and colourful characters will keep you entertained.
August 31, 2012
‘The Lily Bard Mysteries Omnibus’ by Charlaine Harris
Published by Gollancz November 2010. ISBN: 978-0-575-09643-1
Charlaine Harris has for me always been linked with vampires mysteries which are not for me, but just before Christmas I received to review a beautiful book, which was by Charlaine Harris but announced itself as the The Lily Bard Mysteries. I just loved it.
Lily Bard lives in the town of Shakespeare. When looking for somewhere to live she fixed on this town purely because of its name. Lily Bard is a survivor, a survivor of a horrific event. Although from a loving family she just could not handle the knowledge that everyone where she had been brought up knew what had happened to her, and so she moves to somewhere, new and when people found out about her she moves again – but for now she is in Shakespeare. She works as a cleaning lady and that again gives her the freedom to work the hours she wants, where she wants, and on her own.
There are five books in this omnibus and I am glad that I read them one after the other for it has been an amazing journey with Lily. Her journey has been a painful one. She has taken steps to never again be as vulnerable as she was. True, whatever we do we cannot always be totally safe but she has tried to stack the odds in her favour.
Whilst the mysteries are complex, intriguing and engaging, the strength of this volume of stories is in the journey of Lily Bard. Read it for yourself. Very highly recommended.
------
Lizzie Hayes
Published by Gollancz November 2010. ISBN: 978-0-575-09643-1
Charlaine Harris has for me always been linked with vampires mysteries which are not for me, but just before Christmas I received to review a beautiful book, which was by Charlaine Harris but announced itself as the The Lily Bard Mysteries. I just loved it.
Lily Bard lives in the town of Shakespeare. When looking for somewhere to live she fixed on this town purely because of its name. Lily Bard is a survivor, a survivor of a horrific event. Although from a loving family she just could not handle the knowledge that everyone where she had been brought up knew what had happened to her, and so she moves to somewhere, new and when people found out about her she moves again – but for now she is in Shakespeare. She works as a cleaning lady and that again gives her the freedom to work the hours she wants, where she wants, and on her own.
There are five books in this omnibus and I am glad that I read them one after the other for it has been an amazing journey with Lily. Her journey has been a painful one. She has taken steps to never again be as vulnerable as she was. True, whatever we do we cannot always be totally safe but she has tried to stack the odds in her favour.
Whilst the mysteries are complex, intriguing and engaging, the strength of this volume of stories is in the journey of Lily Bard. Read it for yourself. Very highly recommended.
------
Lizzie Hayes
July 23, 2013
I came across the first couple of books in this series at a second hand book store and was intrigued by the blurb, and of course the author's name. (It pre-dates Harris's breakout True Blood series.)
I’ll be honest, I skipped Book #2 because it wasn’t available in town, and I didn’t wait for my order from Amazon before reading the rest of the books. I’m still anxious to read Book 2 when it gets here which tells you how much I enjoyed this series!
What appealed to me was that it placed a dark, troubled heroine in a traditional cozy mystery context. And I was hooked by the end of the first chapter. As one of the reviewer quotes says, this is ‘on the bleeding edge of noir’ but it is very well done and remains true to both genres. It has the small town of Shakespeare (AK) with its quirky characters caught up in an unexpected murder, it's understaffed police force doing its best to solve the crime, and the amateur sleuth stepping in out of some inner need to resolve an injustice to someone they know or love. But in this case, it is that central character, Lily Bard, who fascinated me from her traumatic backstory to her gradual development over the series into a more 'whole' human being. She is in some ways reminiscent of Eve Dallas from J. D. Robb's In Death series.
I would recommend this series to anyone who likes mystery with a little something extra.
February 28, 2011
Oh, yet another of Harris' heroines that are just so engaging.
It's taken me quite a while to finish this omnibus - as it is so big - and I had to have a few breaks in between books. But overall, I just loved it.
Lily was darker than Harris' other lead characters (compared to Sookie, Harper & Aurora, who are all generally sweet but deadly - pun intended, haha) with a much more, ah, sordid past. Harris invokes the reader to feel empathetic towards Lily, but not pity her. She worked her way through her horrible situation and I feel as though it makes the reader admire her.
Overall, I'd love to see more of Lily Bard. There are a few loose ends that I've like to see wrapped up, but I'm happy either way!
It's taken me quite a while to finish this omnibus - as it is so big - and I had to have a few breaks in between books. But overall, I just loved it.
Lily was darker than Harris' other lead characters (compared to Sookie, Harper & Aurora, who are all generally sweet but deadly - pun intended, haha) with a much more, ah, sordid past. Harris invokes the reader to feel empathetic towards Lily, but not pity her. She worked her way through her horrible situation and I feel as though it makes the reader admire her.
Overall, I'd love to see more of Lily Bard. There are a few loose ends that I've like to see wrapped up, but I'm happy either way!
June 24, 2011
These are complete fluff, but I love the character of Lily Bard. You can read them in a few hours. What a perfect escape. I am sorry there will be no more in the series.
May 12, 2011
A really quick read. But be warned – there is no paranormal element in those books at all. Well, maybe except keeping shoe polish in the linen closet… ;-)
October 29, 2011
I didn;t like Lily at the start, but he more I read, the more I started to warm up to her.
April 28, 2022
What a hero!!!
I can hardly believe that this series was written by the author of the Aurora Teagarden series. It is so dark and gruesome by comparison, and better for it. Yes, there were the same typing/printing errors. Yes, there was the same repetition, but as the plots were complicated this was useful at times. It was a good idea making the central character, Lily Bard, a house cleaner. This gave her legitimate access to a host of interesting characters and their lifestyle and secrets. It was good to have a seriously flawed, but mentally and physically strong, independent, female protagonist. It was good to see Lily learning to trust and make friends, albeit cautiously with lingering doubts. The plots were plausible. I love Lily Bard. I was gripped by the stories and sad to reach the end; I feel as if I have lost a friend.
I can hardly believe that this series was written by the author of the Aurora Teagarden series. It is so dark and gruesome by comparison, and better for it. Yes, there were the same typing/printing errors. Yes, there was the same repetition, but as the plots were complicated this was useful at times. It was a good idea making the central character, Lily Bard, a house cleaner. This gave her legitimate access to a host of interesting characters and their lifestyle and secrets. It was good to have a seriously flawed, but mentally and physically strong, independent, female protagonist. It was good to see Lily learning to trust and make friends, albeit cautiously with lingering doubts. The plots were plausible. I love Lily Bard. I was gripped by the stories and sad to reach the end; I feel as if I have lost a friend.
August 27, 2024
Charlaine Harris can do no wrong, IMO. LOL. Lily Bard is one of my favorites of her protagonists. Lily is dangerous, damaged, and as real as you can get. I absolutely love how Harris handles trauma - she never treats it as a plot point. Actions have consequences in her novels.
I really enjoy visiting and revisiting the town of Shakespeare. The characters feel like small-town folks and you can picture yourself visiting local landmarks and running into familiar faces. The mysteries are solvable, with little clues, and completely believable. I've read the complete series three times, and I'll probably re-read it again in the future.
I really enjoy visiting and revisiting the town of Shakespeare. The characters feel like small-town folks and you can picture yourself visiting local landmarks and running into familiar faces. The mysteries are solvable, with little clues, and completely believable. I've read the complete series three times, and I'll probably re-read it again in the future.
September 7, 2021
Honestly, the only thing really letting this book down is character growth. There was so much missing that could’ve added to the story and the growth of the characters to be more in depth and hold interest to the reader. There were some interactions between characters that were just unnecessary (the relationship between Bobo and Lily) and her determination to judge other women for their sexual behaviour yet she can basically get away with anything. Aside from that it was a good easy series to get back into reading.
December 19, 2021
Definitely Recommend
I really enjoyed the opportunity to read this omnibus. Loved the Lily Bard's character development. I also enjoyed the narrative arc of each of the novels. Novel 3 really had me on the edge of my seat at the end! Novel 4 was very cleverly constructed. Liked them all, thought all the characters were well written. If you like murder mysteries with interesting characters, then this omnibus series is for you!
I really enjoyed the opportunity to read this omnibus. Loved the Lily Bard's character development. I also enjoyed the narrative arc of each of the novels. Novel 3 really had me on the edge of my seat at the end! Novel 4 was very cleverly constructed. Liked them all, thought all the characters were well written. If you like murder mysteries with interesting characters, then this omnibus series is for you!
May 10, 2018
A great series with addictive dark storylines, solid characters and a lot of twists and turns, I love Charlaine Harris writing style and I love her Lily Bard character a lot.
January 15, 2021
Stories just got better.
Love the world of Charlaine Harris and this omnibus is good value. The stories are all equally as good and the tension keeps on to the last.
Love the world of Charlaine Harris and this omnibus is good value. The stories are all equally as good and the tension keeps on to the last.
July 12, 2023
4 estrellas la última novela de esta saga.
3,5 estrellas de media la saga entera.
3,5 estrellas de media la saga entera.
Read
September 13, 2024I really enjoyed this series. I like Lily and her crime solving skills.
October 22, 2024
Too violent, scary, and gruesome. Going back to the cozy mystery genre.
August 3, 2013
Shakespeare’s Counselor By Charlene Harris
Okay I’m always looking for something new. And I decided to give Charlaine Harris a try. Why? Because it seems everyone one in my family is obsessed with her True Blood Series. But borrowing those books is apparently is forbidden and they must be printed in golden ink because they are super expensive. So instead of that I ended up with a Lily Bard Mystery novel called the Shakespeare’s Counselor.
So what is it about? It focuses on a woman named Lily who had clearly had a hectic past. So to clear things up, she goes to a weekly counsel group to confers and talk about her rape. But at one of these meetings Lily and the other group members discovers a body. And Lily awakens her inner detective and gets the aid of her detective boyfriend to solve the murder. It is a very straight forward plot.
So the good? It’s a fun little mystery. It never does take itself seriously. Despite that, there are some heavy issues that show up. They don’t darken the story, but strengthens the characters. The relationship between Lily and her boyfriend, Jack is believable and adorable to some extent. Yet sadly in comparisons, the rest of the characters fall flat and shallow. And like good mysteries should, it keeps you guessing until the end There was also a fun sense of sarcasm throughout.
The bad? Well I had a hard time finding out who Lily really was. I’m sure if this is not the first book in the series or one deep into a book series. So that threw me off. It wasn’t until half way through I put together that she really just a cleaning lady ( and karate expert). I felt she might had been a actually detective for the longest time. But I guess that’s the price I pay for jumping into a series in the middle. There were also some elements that seemed silly and corny like wanting to put karate moves on a man she hates. But it wasn’t any thing that hirst the story too much.
Overall it’s a cute fun story. If you like Lily Bard or light hearted mysteries check it out. If you’re not one of these people, it may be a pass. Because, hey its just another mystery. There is nothing to make it different than the rest. Very Mediocre.
2 smoothies out of four.
Overall rating : Yet Another Bland But Light Hearted Mystery
P.S. If you like books then please check out my book and ebook website Lelue's Realm. Google it or go directly to http://www.freewebs.com/lelue/
Okay I’m always looking for something new. And I decided to give Charlaine Harris a try. Why? Because it seems everyone one in my family is obsessed with her True Blood Series. But borrowing those books is apparently is forbidden and they must be printed in golden ink because they are super expensive. So instead of that I ended up with a Lily Bard Mystery novel called the Shakespeare’s Counselor.
So what is it about? It focuses on a woman named Lily who had clearly had a hectic past. So to clear things up, she goes to a weekly counsel group to confers and talk about her rape. But at one of these meetings Lily and the other group members discovers a body. And Lily awakens her inner detective and gets the aid of her detective boyfriend to solve the murder. It is a very straight forward plot.
So the good? It’s a fun little mystery. It never does take itself seriously. Despite that, there are some heavy issues that show up. They don’t darken the story, but strengthens the characters. The relationship between Lily and her boyfriend, Jack is believable and adorable to some extent. Yet sadly in comparisons, the rest of the characters fall flat and shallow. And like good mysteries should, it keeps you guessing until the end There was also a fun sense of sarcasm throughout.
The bad? Well I had a hard time finding out who Lily really was. I’m sure if this is not the first book in the series or one deep into a book series. So that threw me off. It wasn’t until half way through I put together that she really just a cleaning lady ( and karate expert). I felt she might had been a actually detective for the longest time. But I guess that’s the price I pay for jumping into a series in the middle. There were also some elements that seemed silly and corny like wanting to put karate moves on a man she hates. But it wasn’t any thing that hirst the story too much.
Overall it’s a cute fun story. If you like Lily Bard or light hearted mysteries check it out. If you’re not one of these people, it may be a pass. Because, hey its just another mystery. There is nothing to make it different than the rest. Very Mediocre.
2 smoothies out of four.
Overall rating : Yet Another Bland But Light Hearted Mystery
P.S. If you like books then please check out my book and ebook website Lelue's Realm. Google it or go directly to http://www.freewebs.com/lelue/
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May 3, 2012It will take me a while to get through this, as I do not like reading books by the same author back to back. Here are my reflections on the individual stories in this omnibus as I read them.
Shakespeare's Landlord: OK plot, OK character. Actually, I think the main problem with this is that the character isn't funny like Sooky Stackhouse, and I had trouble taking to her at the beginning. This is definitely a series where you need to like the main character. However, I warmed to her as the plot developed so I'll try the other books in the omnibus over the next coming months.
Shakespeare's Champion: I really liked this. With the benefit of hindsight, I can see that a lot of Shakespear's Landlord was spent setting up the series. This book started off at a cracking pace, but even so Ms Harris started to develop a sense of Shakespeare and add depth to her characters. I'm looking forward to reading the the next three books in the series now.
Shakespeare's Christmas: I have really begun to warm to Lily Bard. There were a few hints of dry humour in this story which I didn't notice in the others. I am beginning to wonder if it might be better to read these stories all together rather than bit by bit. I am finding a it bit hard to retain my belief in a professional cleaner from small town who keeps coming across murders, however as I am beginning to enjoy the series I will read on.
Shakespeare's Trollop: The trend with these books is still continuing (I liked this even more than the last one). Lily Bard is turning into an funny, smart, perceptive woman who is getting her life together again and I am enjoying the series enough that I no longer care whether a small town professional cleaner would really have come across all of these murders. I hopethere are more ooks in this series than just the books in this omnibus.
Shakespeare's Landlord: OK plot, OK character. Actually, I think the main problem with this is that the character isn't funny like Sooky Stackhouse, and I had trouble taking to her at the beginning. This is definitely a series where you need to like the main character. However, I warmed to her as the plot developed so I'll try the other books in the omnibus over the next coming months.
Shakespeare's Champion: I really liked this. With the benefit of hindsight, I can see that a lot of Shakespear's Landlord was spent setting up the series. This book started off at a cracking pace, but even so Ms Harris started to develop a sense of Shakespeare and add depth to her characters. I'm looking forward to reading the the next three books in the series now.
Shakespeare's Christmas: I have really begun to warm to Lily Bard. There were a few hints of dry humour in this story which I didn't notice in the others. I am beginning to wonder if it might be better to read these stories all together rather than bit by bit. I am finding a it bit hard to retain my belief in a professional cleaner from small town who keeps coming across murders, however as I am beginning to enjoy the series I will read on.
Shakespeare's Trollop: The trend with these books is still continuing (I liked this even more than the last one). Lily Bard is turning into an funny, smart, perceptive woman who is getting her life together again and I am enjoying the series enough that I no longer care whether a small town professional cleaner would really have come across all of these murders. I hopethere are more ooks in this series than just the books in this omnibus.
May 28, 2012
So, this is just a review of Shakespeare's Counsellor (Don't you DO apostrophes, Goodreads? Tsk tsk!) but I couldn't find it in the search thingy. Whatever.
I picked this book at random off the library shelves. Although I've read a couple of the SOOKIE STACKHOUSE books (and enjoyed them well enough) I didn't twig that this was THAT Charlaine Harris until much later. I was also expecting a historical mystery, but this Shakespeare is a town that the protagonist (Lily Bard) has settled in following a tough past.
The story is well paced and engaging, and I liked the fact that, though this is a book from pretty far along in the series (maybe fifth?) I had no trouble picking out the backstory of the major characters without pages of dull exposition.
The central mystery was well set up and neatly dealt with in a way I didn't see coming. More unexpectedly, there is not a hint of the supernatural in this book, so a big change from the "Vampires and Werewolves and witches, oh my!" of the Sookie Stackhouse books.
I liked this book a lot, and may go out to track down the others in the series as a result. In addition, at 230 pages it wasn't a big time suck.
I picked this book at random off the library shelves. Although I've read a couple of the SOOKIE STACKHOUSE books (and enjoyed them well enough) I didn't twig that this was THAT Charlaine Harris until much later. I was also expecting a historical mystery, but this Shakespeare is a town that the protagonist (Lily Bard) has settled in following a tough past.
The story is well paced and engaging, and I liked the fact that, though this is a book from pretty far along in the series (maybe fifth?) I had no trouble picking out the backstory of the major characters without pages of dull exposition.
The central mystery was well set up and neatly dealt with in a way I didn't see coming. More unexpectedly, there is not a hint of the supernatural in this book, so a big change from the "Vampires and Werewolves and witches, oh my!" of the Sookie Stackhouse books.
I liked this book a lot, and may go out to track down the others in the series as a result. In addition, at 230 pages it wasn't a big time suck.
December 15, 2012
SHAKESPEARE'S CHRISTMAS.
The third in the Lily Bard/Shakespeare Mystery series. At last a plot that has some substance to it, a whodunit that though the reason why is fairly obvious the perpetrator is less so.
Interesting that the author chose this, the third book in the series, to really explore the aftermath of Lily's assault not just through the eyes of those closest to Lily but also through Lily herself's eyes, though this works ok as a stand alone novel it is because of this that I think the books are probably best read in order.
Though still full of coincidences, highly contrived and somewhat lacking in reality (what would law enforcement be without she who solves crimes others fail to?), with none (or very little anyway) of the usual house cleaning and gym elements to the story at last we are rewarded to a good 'old fashioned' murder mystery in which we get to know a far more well-rounded and less one- dimensional Lily.
Enjoyable enough, after reading this I'm at least more inclined to read the other two remaining books in the series.
The third in the Lily Bard/Shakespeare Mystery series. At last a plot that has some substance to it, a whodunit that though the reason why is fairly obvious the perpetrator is less so.
Interesting that the author chose this, the third book in the series, to really explore the aftermath of Lily's assault not just through the eyes of those closest to Lily but also through Lily herself's eyes, though this works ok as a stand alone novel it is because of this that I think the books are probably best read in order.
Though still full of coincidences, highly contrived and somewhat lacking in reality (what would law enforcement be without she who solves crimes others fail to?), with none (or very little anyway) of the usual house cleaning and gym elements to the story at last we are rewarded to a good 'old fashioned' murder mystery in which we get to know a far more well-rounded and less one- dimensional Lily.
Enjoyable enough, after reading this I'm at least more inclined to read the other two remaining books in the series.
March 10, 2012
This was a really enjoyable collection of mystery stories. Lily Bard is an interesting character. A woman of few words and blunt to the point of painful, her character is a result of her horrific past, and Charlaine Harris brings that across very well. I loved the small town setting, with a supporting cast of 'regulars' who turn up through all the books, and, as always with Charlaine Harris, it's the personalities and little details that really make these shine. Interesting that there's absolutely nothing supernatural going on in these, particularly as Lily and Jack show up later on in the Sookie Stackhouse series, so that sort of implies they're living in the same universe. But it's just vanilla humans doing the dirty in these novels, and the plots are twisty enough that I didn't work out whodunnit before the ends of them.
November 23, 2011
Prima di raggiungere la fama mondiale con i vampiri e licantropi di True Blood, Charlaine Harris si divertiva a scrivere romanzi meno sovrannaturali ma che avevano sempre per protagoniste giovani donne forti e un po' asociali.
La serie di Lily Bard, inedita in Italia, rientra nella categoria dei cosiddetti cozy misteries, ovvero quei gialli "leggeri" che hanno per protagonista una detective dilettante alle prese con un mistero da risolvere, anche se in questo caso alcune regole del genere vengono violate. La scelta di un eroina come Lily Bard, infatti, impedisce di considerare veramente questi romanzi come leggeri. Lily è una giovane donna la cui vita è stata totalmente stravolta dal brutale stupro di gruppo di cui è stata vittima.
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http://www.lastambergadeilettori.com/...
La serie di Lily Bard, inedita in Italia, rientra nella categoria dei cosiddetti cozy misteries, ovvero quei gialli "leggeri" che hanno per protagonista una detective dilettante alle prese con un mistero da risolvere, anche se in questo caso alcune regole del genere vengono violate. La scelta di un eroina come Lily Bard, infatti, impedisce di considerare veramente questi romanzi come leggeri. Lily è una giovane donna la cui vita è stata totalmente stravolta dal brutale stupro di gruppo di cui è stata vittima.
Continua su:
http://www.lastambergadeilettori.com/...
February 24, 2013
I've been a long time reader of Charlaine Harris and know that she comes up with some quirky heroines. But Lily Bard is different and I love her. Lily is a damaged woman, both physically and emotionally, and these are dark stories. From the first in Shakespeare's Landlord to the last (but I sincerely hope not final) in Shakespeare's Counsellor, Lily struggles to win her way to a normal life. In each book we get glimpses of her past which, I think was the only way to tell her story. For Harris to have laid it all out in one book would have been to devastating. Instead we get to see how Lily copes day-to-day, with only brief flashbacks to a horrifying past that is always part of her present. I think these books represent the very best of Charlaine Harris. I truly hope she continues Lily's story in the future.
February 16, 2012
I wish I had spun the five stories in this omnibus out a bit, but I was enjoying getting to know Lily Bard so much that I made a bit of a pig of myself. Charlaine Harris is adept at squeaking in a bit of humour when you least expect it, but where she really shines is her characters. Lovely, well rounded, realistic people. My only quibble is that there were a few discrepancies in the flow of the story line (Lily gets contraception/ Lily reveals she can't have babies due to injury and subsequent infection/ Lily gets pregnant. What the?)
And perhaps I am being picky, but the endings of the last two stories, particularly Shakespeare's Counselor, were a bit shaky when it came to plausibility. That being said, I can't wait for the next in the Lily Bard series to come out. :)
And perhaps I am being picky, but the endings of the last two stories, particularly Shakespeare's Counselor, were a bit shaky when it came to plausibility. That being said, I can't wait for the next in the Lily Bard series to come out. :)
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