The Julius House (Aurora Teagarden Mysteries, Book 4)

The Julius House is the fourth book in the Aurora Teagarden series. Aurora "Roe" has finally recovered from her injuries incurred at the end of the last book and is happily engaged to Martin Bartell, her handsome, older, richer boyfriend. For her wedding gift, Martin buys her the Julius house, the perfect house for her. Many people think she is crazy for living there due to the sudden disappearance of the Julius family who used to live there. Roe doesn't worry about it in the slightest and concentrates on glorying in her happily engaged status. She loves being the bride instead of the bridesmaid and pushes any doubts about her soon-to-be-husband aside. When they return from their perfect honeymoon in England, Roe settles in to redecorate and get settled. She is surprised when Martin informs her that two of his friends are down on their luck and that they will be moving into the apartment over the garage. Still, Roe is in love and excited to meet some of Martin's friends and does her best to welcome them. She soon discovers, however, that they are really there to guard her. When pressured, Martin confesses that he is a gunrunner in South America and that he is always worried about retaliation. To take her mind off of this confession, Roe decides that she is going to find out what happened to the Julius family and drags her bodyguard along for the ride. She soon discovers that sometimes it is better to let secrets remain buried... I admit that the whole Roe/Martin wedding was a little contrived, but Roe really has wanted to get married all of her life and is extremely flattered that such an attractive, wealthy gentleman would be in love with her. It was fun to see Roe's thought processes as she dealt with extreme changes and challenges in her new life. I quite enjoyed the whole Julius family subplot and, though the ending was a little bit too shocking, Roe's whole investigation was quite logical and shows how one determined person can often put clues together that other people missed. As with the her other books, Charlaine Harris offers the reader a host of interesting supporting characters, many amusing details about the mystery and a fun, fast read for those who enjoy this type of genre. I feel that Harris' other mystery series starring Lily Bard (Shakespeare set) is stronger and her Dead Until Dark series is cleverer, but anything that Harris writes is worth reading!

I picked a Charlaine Harris book while I was traveling, as I enjoyed her Sookie Stackhouse series. Oh man, Aurora Teagarden is so much fun! Since reading A Fool and her honey, I have chosen to read the entire series and have not been disappointed! They are fast and fun reads, different from your run of the mill mysteries. Good story and the rest in the series are worth reading too.

I have not read it yet, But I'M sure it a great book

This review really has nothing to do with the story itself. Harris is my very favorite author, and I am loving this book as much as the next. My issue is that for some reason, the Kindle version of this book is FULL of grammatical errors, misspellings, and other oddities. I just wonder why, and who edited this darn thing when it was transferred into an e-book. It's still a great story though, and definitely worth a read. So buy it anyway, because Charlaine Harris is amazing and awesome and you wouldn't want to miss out on anything she wrote! You'll just have to try and ignore the foibles, as I am attempting to do, and enjoy the book despite it's bad editing.

For a 'cozy' type of mysteries - that is a subjective description - Diane Mott Davidson is the absolute best. Stacking these up next to Goldy Bear, really cannot be fairly done. That being said, these books were enjoyable. The setting is likable and draws you in, the supporting characters all fit nicely into the series. The plots and crimes are edgier than a typical cozy, (than Davidson, Fluke, Sefton), but not as graphic as a full blown thriller. The biggest problem I have is with the main character, hence the 3 stars. I liked Miss Teagarden in the first two books and then she became unlikable. Her selfish qualities and woe is me attitude is not what I want to read in a literary heroine. No one is perfect, but a truly likable lead is one we can both identify with and admire. In addition, the series ended poorly. It could have used an epilogue at least, or another book to wrap up the characters so that we can imagine their 'happily ever after' so to speak. The books are a quick read with a good crime to solve but if you are looking for a great lead, look elsewhere.

This book was even better than "Three Bedrooms, One Corpse." I would strongly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a good story. I really look forward to reading the next book in the series and hope that the author will continue with the second mystery in the next novel. The Julius House is the fourth book in the Aurora Teagarden series. Aurora "Roe" has finally recovered from her injuries incurred at the end of the last book and is happily engaged to Martin Bartell, her handsome, older, richer boyfriend. For her wedding gift, Martin buys her the Julius house, the perfect house for her. Many people think she is crazy for living there due to the sudden disappearance of the Julius family who used to live there. Roe doesn't worry about it in the slightest and concentrates on glorying in her happily engaged status. She loves being the bride instead of the bridesmaid and pushes any doubts about her soon-to-be-husband aside. When they return from their perfect honeymoon in England, Roe settles in to redecorate and get settled. She is surprised when Martin informs her that two of his friends are down on their luck and that they will be moving into the apartment over the garage. Still, Roe is in love and excited to meet some of Martin's friends and does her best to welcome them. She soon discovers, however, that they are really there to guard her. When pressured, Martin confesses that he is a gunrunner in South America and that he is always worried about retaliation. To take her mind off of this confession, Roe decides that she is going to find out what happened to the Julius family and drags her bodyguard along for the ride. She soon discovers that sometimes it is better to let secrets remain buried...

Thoroughly enjoyed this book.

Book four in the life and times of the wonderful Aurora Teagarden - for whom murder, mystery and mayhem is a day to day issue. Aurora has now married Martin - who, it seems, has secrets of his own - and as a wedding present he buys her 'The Julius House', a house outside of town from which a whole family apparently disappeared some years before. A delighted Aurora throws herself not only into the project of renovation but also of detection as a result. Chaos inevitably ensues. Well written, engrossing and closely plotted this is another delightful read. Charlaine Harris has created an immensely likeable protagonist in Aurora - well rounded and believable - and always leaves the reader wanting more. Each novel has its' own tale (so can be read as a standalone) although there is a timeline so it's beneficial to read from book one. Once again, full marks for thorough enjoyment. Recommended for those who love a well written mystery with a big heart.

Les Aurora Teagarden sont mes livres préférés de Harris, même plus que la fameuse Sookie ! Et celui-ci, c'est le loin le meilleur de la série. Une ambiance intéressante, une intrigue très bien ficelée, des personnages qui se révèlent au fil des pages... dommage que la série date déjà de quelques années et qu'il n'y ait pas une suite au dernier livre... je l'aurais acheté tout de suite !

Leitura ligeira e prazerosa! Na série, é o mais “calmo”, mas vale cada minuto. Aurora é um personagem envolvente e sempre queremos avançar um passo para saber qual o “mistério” a resolver e a história de fundo vai se desenrolando bem para prender o leitor.

Muito bom!