The whole vampire porn craze has pretty much passed me by. My knowledge of shiny, angsty vampire gents and omnisexual mind-melded werewolves is decidedly limited and I certainly couldn’t tell a Southern Vampire™ from a Northern Soul Snatcher [patent pending]. It’s no surprise therefore that I knew of Charlaine Harris by reputation only. Although currently best known for her books featuring Sookie Stackhouse, Harris has also written a mystery series featuring [Southern Sleuth?] Aurora Teagarden, a pint-sized librarian with a fondness for true crime, which is now being rereleased in a couple of omnibus editions. The Aurora Teagarden Mysteries Omnibus One collects together the first four books in the series – Real Murders, A Bone to Pick, Three Bedrooms One Corpse and The Julius House.

Real Murders introduces us to Aurora Teagarden ['Roe' to her friends], a relatively genteel Southern lass who works in the small Lawrenceton Library, hasn’t been on a date in far too long, and is a founding member of ‘Real Murders’, a monthly club where local crime buffs gather together to discuss [in]famous murder cases. Roe likes to experience crime from a safe distance, ideally while spending a quiet evening reading in her favourite comfy chair, but, when one of the members of ‘Real Murders’ is killed just before a meeting, she is secretly rather excited to be able to carry out her own investigation.

In A Bone to Pick regular life may have moved on for Roe but her love life is still languishing in the doldrums. Things seem to be picking up though when the death of an old acquaintance [as one door closes, another opens?] leads to Roe meeting handsome Episcopal minister Aubrey as well as inheriting a large estate. However, life is rarely simple for an armchair sleuth and the bequest of money, jewellery and a two bedroom house from a mere acquaintance puzzles Roe. Searching for the real motivation behind her legacy, Roe discovers a macabre souvenir hidden in her new house and is soon embroiled in another murder case.

Still dissatisfied with her life despite her recent inheritance, in Three Bedrooms One Corpse Roe decides to try her hand at the family business and becomes an apprentice realtor at her mother’s firm. Her first solo venture in the real estate market involves showing new-in-town business bigwig Martin Bartell and his sister Barby around the Anderton house. The viewing is going well, at least until the trio stumble upon the naked body of realtor Tonia Lee Greenhouse in one of the bedrooms. Once more in the wrong place at the wrong time, Roe is about to discover that a change of career really can be murder.

The Julius House is so named in remembrance of the Julius family – a father, mother and daughter who all disappeared without a trace six year earlier. The house is isolated in the countryside just outside of Lawrenceton and has been vacant ever since the grandmother of the Julius family awoke one morning to discover that her relatives had seemingly vanished overnight. Given her penchant for all things mysterious, it is no surprise that Roe Teagarden settles upon the Julius property as being the ideal house for her. Soon after moving in, Roe begins to find her life of leisure in the country to be too slow-paced even for her and so launches her own investigation into the disappearance of the Julius family.

For a 4’11” librarian Aurora Teagarden sure has a lot of gumption. Although she would really rather be curled up at home with a good mystery novel, over the course of the four books collected in this Omnibus she hurtles from one deadly pursuit to another, seemingly with little regard for the perilous situations that her investigations often place her in. She is a very appealing heroine with a good supply of witticisms and a surprising amount of street smarts. While some of her deductions owe more to luck than to innate detective ability, Roe is a convincing sleuth and following her as she navigates from one crisis to another is a great deal of fun. Lawrenceton itself is well drawn and really quite charming while the characters [and, indeed, 'characters'] that Charlaine Harris has created to inhabit the town are convincing and, occasionally, delightfully off-the-wall. There are some fabulous Southern names involved too. While Roe’s various beaus and numerous acquaintances, both friendly and otherwise, are by turn fun and frustrating, particularly strong creations among the supporting cast are Roe’s mother Aida Brattle Teagarden Queensland and the long-suffering Detective Lynn Liggett. The mysteries themselves are more cosy than graphic or procedural and offer an excellent means by which to while away a dark winter’s night. The Aurora Teagarden Mysteries Omnibus One is an entertaining collection of fairly gentle mysteries that are a great deal of fun to try and solve.

Bookmark to