Last Scene Alive

After the tear-fest I endured at the end of Fool and His Honey, I have to admit, I was a little worried about reading this one. Silly me. Charlaine Harris is in top form here, in her southern mysteries that hold a prized area on my bookshelf. This time, Roe is stunned to find that a movie based on her first mystery (if you haven't read Real Murders, you're doing yourself a big disservice) is being filmed in her hometown. Written by Robin Crusoe, her old friend and one time love interest, it shocks her out of her sadness. Roe is ready to make big changes, and the murder, house searching and romance keeps her quite busy. Long before Charlaine's famous vampire series, she was one of my favorite writers for the Roe Teagarden series. If you haven't read them, start at the beginning, and work your way through. You'll be thrilled you did. And don't forget the number 8 book, Poppy Done to Death, which is just as wonderful!

Diminutive librarian Aurora Teagarden learns that Robin Crusoe, a true crime writer, she worked with many years ago to solve a string of murders is returning to Lawrenceton, GA. He is coming to film a movie based on his book about the murders. Of course, when the crew arrives, additional murders are in the future. This is a mystery; in reality they're a number of mysteries in the book. In terms of the protagonist's extended description of her emotions and social interactions, there might be a temptation to classify this as a cozy mystery, except for the tasteful and non-gratuitous descriptions of a number of sexual encounters. The author has no dearth of characters. In the first chapter alone she identifies, by name, between one and two-dozen characters, and in the next two chapters she probably doubles that number. New named characters are added in subsequent chapters. This has the effect of making the story seem real. It also means that unless you have a very good memory, you will need to make some notes about the characters when they first appear, as there is no indication as to which will prove important later on. Unusually for a mystery, here the protagonist's personality was as interesting as the main plot. Ms. Harris' has the unique ability to make you feel that Aurora is a real, rather than fictional, person and talking to you as a close friend. She presents Aurora so that she's easy to like, and wish you had her as a next-door neighbor. Considering the high quality of the writing, there were some unexpected, albeit minor, editing flaws, e.g., "of" instead of "for", "a on a" instead of just "on a", "that" instead of "than", etc. These proved to be only minor reading distractions. This is not a "thrill-a-minute" mystery with heart stopping action, although there is a fair amount of action. Rather it is an exceptionally well-written story with outstanding in-depth character development and a satisfying mystery. This is a novel I can recommend without hesitation. It is one I found find hard to put down; fortunately, it can be easily read in one sitting.

It's was nice to read that Harris was back on track in this latest installment of the Aurora Teagarden Mysteries. Roe is getting on with her life after her husband's death. Although she is not getting out much and is mostly concentrating on her job and home, things change when action comes to town. Robin returns when one of his books, based on Roe, has been turned into a movie and the entire production crew arrives to film. At first Roe is put off when all her friends find some place in the movie, either stunt work or leasing the church for filming, but gets over it when her once upon a time romance with Robin begins to heat up again. (Excuse me, but are those books your shelving or are you just happy to see me?)Of course it wouldn't be a mystery without a little murder. When the leading lady turns up dead, it's up to Roe to find out Who Dune It.

The Aurora Teagarden series keeps getting better with each installment. Charlaine Harris seems to keep her characters fresh and exciting. They are believable people who might live in your neighborhood. The problems are real, the emotions human. Life is lived between books so there is always something to catch up on. Roe, her coworkers, and friends seem to be real, breathing people who solve their problems in real ways. The storyline is just as important as the characters, and this story will not disappoint. It allows the reader to learn about some new area of interest while enjoying a series that keeps the reader coming back for more. If only the author could write faster...

This is a great addition to the aurora teagarden series!After the somewhat depressing A Fool and his Honey, Aurorais back and better than ever! Roe has spent the last year in a daze after being widowed.But now she finds out a company is making a movie based on the first set of murders she was involved with so long ago.(Real Murders, 1990)Along with the production company, her old almost-flame, Robin Crusoe returns. He is the author of the book their movie is based on. The chemistry between Roe and Robin is fabulously written. I found myself easily adapting to the idea of Robin, and Harris does a great job of showing Roe's turmoil about this new relationship and her feelings for her deceased husband. The plot is enjoyable, blending many of the previous secondary characters readers have been fond of. The Murder itself is not as all inclusive as some of the others in the series, but Harris does a great job of drawing the readers back into the series after the depressing A Fool and his Honey. I strongly recommend reading this book, but I suggest that if you are new to the series you begin back at Real Murders and work your way into this book. Either way is enjoyable, but you will really appreciate the characters more if you have followed them in the series.