When I was younger every Saturday my father would take me to Spags in Shrewsbury. If you're not from around the Worcester area where Spags is a legend, picture Building 19 meets Home Depot meets BJs. It was the kind of place where you could get name brand items super on sale but you had to bring your own bag - or find a box lying around.
I would always spend most of my time in the book section at Spags searching for mysteries written by Christopher Pike, RL Stine or Agatha Christie. Nancy Drew and the Hardy boys were also a favorite of mine. There was something about these "who-done-it" novels that really drew me in. As you might have guessed I also really enjoyed playing Clue! (And still do in case anyone else is game).
When I found "Real Murders" by Charlaine Harris in Barnes and Noble the other day, I was reminded of those books from my childhood. I was hoping that "Real Murders" would be a similar novel and take me back to those days when I would read a 200-300 page book in a couple of hours while PBS cooking shows (who doesn't love to watch Yan Can Cook???) played in the background on the television.
I was not disappointed.
"Real Murders," the first in a series called the Aurora Teagarden Mysteries, is a fun little book anyone could breeze through in a couple of hours. I wasn't sure if at the end of the book I would want to read more in the series but I find myself wanting to know what happens to main character Aurora Teagarden. What other kind of shenanigans does she get herself into?
And I have to say I didn't even suspect who the killer was - which is a sign of a good mystery indeed.
The writing isn't tight. Harris makes many faux pas' which I was strictly told never to do in my creative writing classes. But that's Ok because I wasn't reading "Real Murders" for the best piece of literature ever created. I wanted a little fun and a little intrigue. And that's what I got.
Now, if I could only figure out...was it Mr. Green in the library with the candlestick? Or Professor Plum in the billiard room with the rope?
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