Fool And His Honey (Worldwide Library Mysteries)

Rating:
Summary: Uninvited Murder...
Review: Aurora 'Roe' Teagarden's day started out normally enough. She woke up, ate breakfast, got ready for work, greeted Darius Quattermain who was delivering the firewood, and then watched incredulously as Darius proceeded to take off all of his clothes and dance naked in the yard. After dealing with that unsettling incident, Roe is even more surprised when her husband's niece, Regina, arrives unannounced on their doorstep with her baby, Hayden in tow. Southern hospitality being what it is, Roe felt that she had to offer a temporary refuge to the young woman and got her settled in the garage apartment. But when Roe returned home from work, she found a dead man on the steps, a baby hidden under the bed, another man sleeping in her living room and no Regina. As Roe and Martin try to discover what trouble Regina has gotten herself into now, they are led on a madcap journey to Martin's home town in Ohio and the small house where Martin grew up and Regina was living. Instead of solving all of their problems, however, Martin and Roe find that they have stepped into a kidnapping/adoption/murder plot and do not know who to trust. As the strain of attending to Hayden and learning more about Martin's secretive past begin to catch up to her, Roe is unsure of everyone and everything, except the fact that Regina has ruined her life!

A Fool and His Honey is the 6th book in the Aurora Teagarden series and I enjoyed it. I have to admit that the ending was a real surprise, but the darker side of the mystery did not bother me. In fact, I think it is good when characters change and mature and grow because it makes me feel that they are more like me. I still love Harris' characters and I especially enjoyed Roe's attempts to take of the baby because she had always wanted a child but was so clearly clueless as to what to do with one. The plot is fast paced and this is an easy, quick read. If you have enjoyed any of Harris' other books, I think you will enjoy this one, but it does have a tear-jerker ending so be ready for it!

Rating:
Summary: Shocked and Dismayed!
Review: Being a huge fan of the Aurora "Roe" Teagarden mystery series, I was anxious to read the latest book in the series. However, I was extremely shocked by the outcome of this book and kept waiting to find out that Roe was having a bad dream or something similar. This series has always been on the tougher side of the cozy mystery genre, but I was blown away by the darker edge to the plot in this book. When a book makes your heart stop for a moment and your eyes well up with tears, you know that you really "care" about the characters. Caring about what happens to the characters is one of the aspects that makes a good book, and if the reaction of readers is any indication, this must be one to look at. Ms. Harris definitely took a chance with this plot, and I have to say that it was indeed a shock. Like other readers I have had a hard time picking up subsequent books in the series, but am determined to find a reason as to why Ms. Harris chose the ending that she did.

Saying all of these things, I would highly recommend all of the previous books in this series. Roe is a great character, and the relationship that she has with her husband was a big reason that I loved the previous books. If you enjoy a bit of a darker cozy, this might just be the series for you.

The first book in this series is "Real Murders". Enjoy!

A Cozy Mystery Lover

Rating:
Summary: The best Aurora Teagarden mystery yet!
Review: Charlaine Harris went beyond anything I'd expected in this book. A little darker than the usual cozy, it takes Aurora on a personal journey that truly tests her moxie. The prose is smooth and riveting, and it's impossible to put A FOOL down. Don't go into this expecting "another" anything. It's not a cookie cutter series, folks, and Charlaine Harris is as good as they come.

Rating:
Summary: Literary "bait and switch"
Review: I have enjoyed all of Ms. Harris' different series. Roe Teagarden was delightful because - as one character points out - she is really pretty self centered (in a nice way, can't help of root for Roe). This is yet another tight mystery that we are lead step by step to it's conclusion.

That being said, this book goes along its merry way when all of a sudden we are thrown a very dark twist at the end which is completely out of character for this series.

I certainly hope Ms. Harris does not continue this trend in her other books. I found it dissappointing and a cheap shot for dramatic appeal. I will most likely not purchase any more in this series.

Rating:
Summary: Unafraid [Mild Spoilers]
Review: I suspect that many of the lower-rated reviews of this book are due in large part to the surprising ending. I myself was taken aback at Ms. Harris's choice of endings, but she is entitled to props for being unafraid to shake things up.

And that's only fitting. Aurora Teagarden, after all, has evolved from a mousy librarian in Real Murders to the wiser, edgier figure she cuts in this and subsequent installments of the series. Ms. Harris's ending sets the heroine up for deeper emotional plumbing in future installments, and this book definitely marks the death of the cozier stories earlier in the series. All in all, the book remains highly enjoyable and worth seeking out.

Rating:
Summary: Unafraid [Mild Spoilers]
Review: I suspect that many of the lower-rated reviews of this book are due in large part to the surprising ending. I myself was taken aback at Ms. Harris's choice of endings, but she is entitled to props for being unafraid to shake things up.

And that's only fitting. Aurora Teagarden, after all, has evolved from a mousy librarian in Real Murders to the wiser, edgier figure she cuts in this and subsequent installments of the series. Ms. Harris's ending sets the heroine up for deeper emotional plumbing in future installments, and this book definitely marks the death of the cozier stories earlier in the series. All in all, the book remains highly enjoyable and worth seeking out.

Rating:
Summary: This one was hard to put down!
Review: In case anyone has forgotten the "real" Roe Teagarden, may I recommend a return trip to REAL MURDERS? This is NOT a "cozy" series, never was, and A FOOL AND HIS HONEY shows Roe dealing with dreadful deaths and the nastiness humans can inflict on one another. The humorous moments (particularly with her husband Martin's ex-wife, Cindy) support the development of the characters and the tension of the plot. And there is a LOT of tension -- there is always a sense that something is hovering just outside one's peripheral vision. Harris has skillfully conveyed the frustration the characters feel as they seek information, and their sense that they are in danger (which they are) unless they can find what's really going on.

My only (slight) criticism is the way the police courteously leave Roe (thorn in their side from several previous cases) and Martin (whom they've always regarded with dark suspicion) to themselves after a grisly murder and disappearance is (again!) discovered at their house. Pure fantasy! Still, a little suspension of disbelief is part of novel reading.

Harris has left so many possibilites for future plots that it's dizzying to contemplate. This is a tough, exciting and suspenseful mystery. I can't wait to see what happens next in this series.

Rating:
Summary: What's up with the walk on the dark side?
Review: Ok, this is not the best book by Charlaine Harris I have read but I really have to admire her daring. I have read so many authors-- best selling genre authors,too, state that they would like to write something different but darnnit their editors won't let them because it might upset their fans. So some series continue down the same paths dragging all of the baggage with them. Other series just relegate the boring significant other to the background.

I think we can see here that the editors are partly right, some people are going to be upset, but it appears an equal number are willing to go along for the ride. This book is well written, well plotted, and well worth reading.

The Aurora Teagarden books have always been something tougher disguised as cozies. In the first book in the series the author went to some trouble to show the difference between the intellectual pursuit of true crime and the reality of murder in your own back yard. While not as dark as her Lily Bard books apparently her use of humor lulled some readers into thinking the author was a harmless cozy writer.

Then BANG, she jumped out from behind a door and stuck a pin in a balloon. Ms. Harris, I salute you-- and promise to buy all of your future books in hardcover!

Rating:
Summary: Brava, Charlaine Harris, Brava!
Review: Ok, this is not the best book by Charlaine Harris I have read but I really have to admire her daring. I have read so many authors-- best selling genre authors,too, state that they would like to write something different but darnnit their editors won't let them because it might upset their fans. So some series continue down the same paths dragging all of the baggage with them. Other series just relegate the boring significant other to the background.

I think we can see here that the editors are partly right, some people are going to be upset, but it appears an equal number are willing to go along for the ride. This book is well written, well plotted, and well worth reading.

The Aurora Teagarden books have always been something tougher disguised as cozies. In the first book in the series the author went to some trouble to show the difference between the intellectual pursuit of true crime and the reality of murder in your own back yard. While not as dark as her Lily Bard books apparently her use of humor lulled some readers into thinking the author was a harmless cozy writer.

Then BANG, she jumped out from behind a door and stuck a pin in a balloon. Ms. Harris, I salute you-- and promise to buy all of your future books in hardcover!