Three Bedrooms, One Corpse - An Aurora Teagarden Mystery - review

When her real estate agent mum asks Aurora to show a house to a client, the last thing she expects to find is a dead body.

While showing the house and garden to Martin Bardell, a businessman new to the area, Roe finds the scarf of another agent who she soon discovers was reported missing the day before and while she’s showing Martin the garden, they find her body.

With the police soon called to the house, Roe can’t help but feel there’s something different about the house which she used to spend time in as a child and soon realises while comparing old photographs, that a painting has been stolen.

As Roe does her usual sleuthing around, the police are less than impressed to find her interviewing people and asking questions, but when her theory that the murderer could be another real estate agent is proved correct, they have no choice but to let her carry on.

While the police continue their investigation, Roe feels it’s her duty to uncover the murderer as she’s scared her mother or another agent could be in danger and as she digs deeper and discovers a connection which could tie the crime to a number of others, she begins to realise that the pool of suspects could be just a bit bigger than they thought.

As always, this cosy murder mystery was a delight to watch and I enjoyed it from start to finish. Although it’s unrealistic and you tend to question when Roe actually does any work as a librarian with all the sleuthing she does, it’s an easy watch which doesn’t require you to think too much.

Garage Sale Mystery: Guilty until proven innocent - review

Struggling to keep their second hand shop Rags to Riches afloat, Jennifer and Dani are in serious need of buyers, but when an old friend of Jennifer’s announces she’s closing her shop and they are free to take whatever they want, they jump at the chance to buy more stock.

As Jennifer revels in the number of items Sandra has to sell, while she’s looking through a barn also full of stock, she finds more than she bargained for when she discovers the body of Michael, Sandra’s former fiancé in a hidden room below the barn.

Shocked and devastated, as Sandra had been led to believe he had run off with another woman, Jennifer is convinced her friend had nothing to do with his death, but when the evidence begins to lead only one way, she has to pull on all her sleuthing skills to prove Sandra’s innocence.

Meanwhile Dani is approached by a wealthy art gallery owner, who impressed by Dani’s background in art, offers her the job of managing the gallery. With the shop struggling to make ends meet and the job coming with perks such as a higher salary and international travel, Dani has a decision to make about where her heart lies.

Will she decide to jump ship and work with art or will she remain loyal to Rags in the hope the shop will pick up?

I’m a fan of any mystery movies and having enjoyed all the Garage Sale Mysteries so far, this one was no different. An ideal watch for a lazy afternoon.

The Murder at the Vicarage by Agatha Christie

While eating lunch Reverend Clement makes a remark which surprises everyone present, but which everyone would also agree with. Colonel Protheroe is a very opinionated man in the village of St Mary Mead who isn’t afraid to speak his mind and when he’s found shot dead in Reverend Clement’s study, there’s no end of suspects.

As the Colonel and Reverend had planned to meet, it’s not surprising that the Colonel was there when Reverend Clement returns from a visit to a parishioner, but after the Reverend bumps into a villager on his door step, he’s shocked at his discovery.

While the police begin their investigation, Reverend Clement does all he can to help, but with no apparent motive for the murder and most villagers having alibis, the investigation seems it could take a while to unravel. However, while the police do their best, villager Miss Marple becomes interested in learning about the crime and progress of the police.

Known for her observational skills and ability for reading people, most villagers dread her involvement in anything as there’s not much she doesn’t miss, but as she begins her own investigation as well as helping the police, it seems the little old spinster really is onto something.

But can she really be correct when the police have other theories?

As a fan of the TV adaptations of Agatha Christie’s novels, after visiting Greenway, her holiday home in Torquay, I decided it was only fair to read the novels on which the TV dramas are based to be able to read the words the Queen of Crime wrote herself and I wasn’t disappointed. Despite having seen the TV dramas, I was unable to recall the conclusion to the plot and enjoyed learning the story all over again.

I’m already halfway through the second novel and have the new couple waiting on my book shelf with others taking place on my Christmas list, so be prepared for my next few book reviews to be Miss Marple related.

Teagarden Mystery - A Bone to Pick - review

Aurora ‘Ro’ Teagarden is a local librarian and also head of the local true crime club. With a passion for delving into mysteries and learning about motive and means, Ro becomes friends with Jane Engles, another member of the group who enjoys reading about women who get away with murder. 

As the pair get to know each other, Jane tells Ro she has a head for murder and tells her that sometimes things are right under your nose.

When Jane passes away, Ro is shocked to learn that she was Jane’s beneficiary and is now the proud owner of her own house as well as all of her belongings. But when Ro discovers a skull in the window seat of her newly inherited house, it seems Jane left her more than her estate, she also left her a mystery to solve.

This cosy murder mystery was fun to watch and appealed to my mystery solving nature. As a fan of mysteries, I really enjoyed watching this and found myself trying to solve it along with Aurora, but as usual, got it wrong.

With this being the first in two TV movies which have been adapted from books written by Charlaine Harris, best known for writing the Southern Vampire Mysteries which the True Blood TV series was based on, it didn’t spoil it for me even though I’d watched the second one first.

I’m so tempted to carry on learning about Aurora and her mystery solving that I’ve been looking into buying the books as none of the others have yet been made into movies.

That’s the sign of a good movie!

Real Murders: An Aurora Teagarden Mystery - review

Librarian Aurora ‘Roe’ Teagarden is a fan of true crime and as head of the local true crime club; she and fellow members of the community enjoy looking into real life crimes in order to share their theories and thoughts. 

With her best friend and mum aware of her detective nature, they are worried that one day Roe may get too involved with crime and when the wife of a member of the club is murdered in a similar style to the murder they were due to discuss, Roe is determined to solve it.

With the help of mystery novelist and handsome newcomer Robin Daniels, Roe and her friends work together like the detectives would have done with the original murder in order to find the killer, but as they start to dig deeper into the lives of the local community, they find themselves involved in a familiar situation as they realise they are the next victims.

I really enjoyed this TV mystery which is based on a series of books and is the one of two which have been converted to TV movies. I look forward to watching the other one. 

Garage Sale Mystery: The Deadly Room - review

This TV mystery was the 3^rd in a series which has caught my attention. I enjoyed the first one Garage Sale Mystery, but unfortunately missed the opportunity to see the second, although this didn’t stop me enjoying the 3^rd movie.

This movie in the series focused on Adrienne, a local real estate agent trying to sell a recently restored mansion which has been the subject of local rumour for years and is thought to be cursed. 

With the rumours re-surfacing, in an attempt to disprove the theory Adrienne decides to spend the night in the so called ‘Deadly Room’ and stream her stay live over the internet via webcam. But when she is found dead the next morning, her death has done nothing to dampen the rumours, despite the autopsy showing her death as natural causes.

Upset and intrigued by her friends’ untimely death, second hand shop owner and local sleuth Jennifer is convinced someone killed her to stop the sale of the house and starts to look into how she could have died. 

But with a live tape of Adrienne sleeping throughout the night with no interruption, she has a challenge on her hands - especially with the autopsy results - but Jennifer is determined to prove that the house is not cursed and that her friend didn’t have to die, no matter how hard that may be.

As a fan of mysteries I found this TV movie an easy watch which intrigued me right until the end.

Definitely worth a watch.

How to Fall by Jane Casey

As Jess Tennant and her mum make their way to spend the summer in Port Sentinel, Jess knows her mum has a reason why she wants to return to her home town, but she’s not giving anything away. With the prospect of spending 6 weeks away from her beloved London, friends and her dad, Jess has no idea how she’ll cope, but the thought of getting to know her cousins gives her hope.

Knowing her cousin Freya died just a year ago after falling off a cliff without the chance of getting to meet her, Jess is keen to get to know who she was and hopes getting to know her other cousins will make her feel close to her. But when the locals start giving her funny looks she has no idea why until her mum tells her she looks just like Freya. With her mum being a twin, Jess doesn’t think it’s that strange that she would look similar to her cousin, but when she sees a photo it’s scary just how much they look like each other.

As Jess starts to settle into Port Sentinel, she soon gets a job in the local charity shop and makes friends with local boy Will as well as an enemy of Queen Bee Natasha who every girl would love to be friends with, but Jess isn’t the type to follow the crowd and doesn’t trust her especially when she learns Natasha wasn’t a fan of Freya.

With the help of Freya’s friend Darcy, Jess starts to learn more about Freya and begins to doubt her apparent suicide so starts her own investigation into her death. 

While she digs around for information she soon finds that no one is willing to even consider Freya’s death was anything but suicide and in the process puts herself in danger – but with the nagging feeling that Freya didn’t plan to die, Jess is determined to discover what really happened and give her justice, but is she asking too many questions?

From the moment I started reading this book I couldn’t put it down. With the first chapter guiding us through Freya running through the wood and then falling before starting the next chapter with Jess’s journey, I was desperate to find out what had happened right from the start – a guaranteed way of keeping someone reading!

With this book being the first in the Jess Tennant series, I can’t wait to read the next one.

Mystery Woman: Snapshot - review

When businessman Avery Sommers is killed in a car accident on his birthday and alcohol is deemed the cause, his sister Barbara is convinced it wasn’t an accident as he didn’t drink, but his young wife and daughter say he was just enjoying his birthday.

So when Avery’s will is read and it’s revealed Barbara has been cut out of the family business, she turns to her friend mystery book shop owner Samantha Kinsey for help.

With the family lawyer insisting that Barbara signed over her rights years before, Samantha demands to see the document and arranges to visit the lawyers’ office with Barbara the next day, but when Barbara later returns home, she is shot and killed on her doorstep.

As Samantha tries to deal with the death of her friend, she is determined to find out why Avery and Barbara were killed and what the family are hiding, but with the family lawyer blocking her at every opportunity, she turns to faithful friend & employee Philby to help her dig into the history of the family company and is shocked by what she finds.

Good old-fashioned murder mystery TV movie which I enjoyed watching.

Confessions - The Private School Murders by James Patterson & Maxine Paetro

Picking up 3 months on from where Confessions of a Murder Suspect ended, Tandy and her family are reeling from the arrest of their brother Matty for the murder of his girlfriend.

Just as Tandy and her brothers were beginning to move on from the death of their parents and trying to adjust to life without the drugs, they also find themselves having to deal with a new guardian as well as fight for their home and belongings as they discover Maud was being sued at the time of her death.

With the deaths of their parents solved, Tandy thought her detective days were over. But when she discovers girls from private schools are being murdered in her neighbourhood and Matty’s case isn’t looking too good, she finds herself putting her detective skills to use. Teaming up with Detective Caputo once again in order to prove her brother’s innocence as well as bring justice to the murdered schoolgirls before she or one of her friends becomes the next victim, Tandy has her work cut out.

This book wouldn’t have looked out of place if it was included within the first story as technically, this is part 2 of the ongoing story between Tandy and her family.

I can’t say this one captured me as much as the first as I found myself starting to guess correctly what was going to happen next, however this didn’t spoil my experience of reading it and I wouldn’t hesitate to read the next one – it’s already on pre-order!

Confessions of a Murder Suspect by James Patterson & Maxine Paetro

When Tandy Angel is woken in the middle of the night by sirens she doesn’t think anything of it as she does live in the middle of New York City. But when the police start banging on her front door shouting they’ve received a 911 call, she has no idea what they’re referring to until she follows them to her parent’s suite and finds them dead.

With the deaths considered suspicious and no sign of forced entry into their luxury apartment, the police conclude that the killer must be someone who was already inside, so with only Tandy, her 2 brothers and her mother’s PA in the apartment all of them become prime suspects, but none of them are capable of murder – are they?

As Tandy takes on the role of detective she begins to investigate her family – the people she thought she could trust – and as she learns more about them she begins to wonder whether one of them could have murdered their parents.

The wealthy Malcolm & Maud were known for their ruthless deals, money and perfect life, but no one is ever perfect and as Tandy digs deeper into her family she starts to doubt whether she really knew them at all – especially when she discovers their parents were using them as experiments for their Pharmaceutical company.

With so many secrets in the family, do any of them really know each other?

A fantastic murder-mystery – one of the best books I’ve read in a while.

It’s no secret that James Patterson is an excellent writer – being the world’s top selling author for the past 13 years proves that – but with this book he’s clever. The story keeps you gripped all the way through with small details about sub-plots being released every now and then, but just when you’re ready for all your questions to be answered, the book ends leaving you no choice but to buy the next one in order to continue on the journey you’re already half way through.

Ending a book on a cliff-hanger is a clever way to guarantee sales of your next book, but it’s also cruel as it leaves you with a feeling of suspense you have no way of relieving until you can get your hands on the next book. As someone who couldn’t put the book down and had theories running through my mind throughout I couldn’t wait to buy the next one & as soon as I finished reading, I was straight on the internet purchasing Confessions- The Private School Murders which thankfully has just arrived. I’m just hoping that this one doesn’t end the same way because after a sneak peek at James’ website I can’t see another one in the series!

Mystery Woman Oh Baby - review

When a businessman is killed on a golf course, Chief Connors & Cassie are impressed when amateur sleuth Samantha Kinsey doesn’t become involved. 

But when a young girl shows up at the Mystery Woman book store asking for help and claiming to have known the previous owner, Samantha doesn’t hesitate to help her out.

With a young baby in tow, Susie explains that she knew Samantha’s uncle and that her husband is currently on the run from something he didn’t do. As Samantha gets to know her better she discovers that Susie’s husband is the one suspected of the golf course murder and is left holding the baby when Susie leaves to help him.

But with hit men after Susie’s husband and Samantha holding the baby, can she help them prove his innocence while keeping her involvement in the case secret?

I love watching mystery dramas and the Mystery Woman series doesn’t disappoint.

Mystery Woman: Mystery Weekend - review

Mystery book store owner Samantha Kinsey is excited to host a weekend featuring 3 of the best mystery novelists, but the world of fiction is shocked when reclusive author Clare Colman announces her retirement and narrowly misses being shot.

The following day having recovered from her near miss, Clare is poisoned and suspicion falls on anyone who was at the store at the time – a room full of mystery novel experts – any one of which could have exacted the perfect murder.

But when one of Samantha’s oldest & most valued customers who wasn’t even at the event is arrested, it’s up to Samantha to prove she had no connection to Clare or motive – or did she?

Featuring Beth Broderick (Aunt Zelda to Sabrina the teenage witch fans), as a fan of murder mysteries, I thoroughly enjoyed this TV movie.