A Fool and His Honey

Overview

Everything in Aurora Teagarden's life finally seems to be going her way. She's newly and quite happily married to Martin Bartell, happy to be back at her part-time job at the library, and settled into her dream home. But when mild-mannered Darius Quattermain goes crazy in her back yard when he should be stacking firewood, things start to go downhill. Next Martin's flighty niece arrives unannounced, with a baby no one knew she was expecting. Then she disappears, leaving behind the baby -- and her husband, whose corpse is discovered on the steps outside their home.

Editorial Reviews

This latest in the Aurora "Roe" Teagarden series (Dead Over Heels, etc.) features the sleuthing Southern librarian in a gripping tale that explores the lengths to which people will go to obtain what they desire. Roe and her new husband, Martin, receive a surprise when Martin's niece Regina arrives on their doorstep with the new baby no one knew she was expecting. Several hours later, after a dinner party, Roe and Martin return home to discover Regina's husband, Craig, murdered in their yard, Regina missing and baby Hayden hidden under a bed. Roe, unable to have children, finds herself burdened with Hayden's care as she and Martin attempt to track down Regina after coming across a wad of money in the diaper bag. Along for the ride is Rory Brown, a friend of Craig and Regina's who is suspiciously interested in Hayden. Harris's story is fast paced and peopled with tragically frustrated characters. Roe, who understands the length to which people might go to have children of their own, is horrified at what she discovers. When Martin, Roe and Hayden arrive at Martin's little-used country house, several other characters, including neighbors Margaret and Luke Granberry, enter the tale. A murder occurs, with tragic consequences for Regina. While all the loose ends are tied up, the heartbreaking solution provides comfort for no one. Harris mixes elements of a cozy and her darker themes with skill and panache. (Sept.) Copyright 1999 Cahners Business Information.

Author Information

Bio of Charlaine Harris

Charlaine Harris, who has been writing mysteries for over twenty years, is a native of Mississippi. Born and raised in the Delta, she began training for her career as soon as she could hold a pencil. Though her early works consisted largely of poems about ghosts and (later) teenage angst, she began writing plays when she attended Rhodes College in Memphis, and graduated to books a few years later. After publishing two stand-alone mysteries, Harris decided to establish a series. She began the lighthearted Aurora Teagarden books with Real Murders, which garnered an Agatha nomination. Harris's protagonist, a diminutive Georgia librarian whose life never turns out quite the way she planned, kept Harris busy for several books, but finally Harris (and Aurora) grew restless. The result of this restlessness was the much edgier Shakespeare series -- set not in England, but in rural Arkansas. The heroine of the Shakespeare books is Lily Bard, a tough and taciturn woman whose life has been permanently reshaped by a terrible crime and its consequences. In Shakespeare's Landlord, the first in the series, Lily is caught at a moment when the shell she's built around herself is just beginning to crack, and the books capture Lily's emotional re-entry into the world, while also being sound mysteries. Harris's latest venture is a series about a telepathic barmaid in southern Louisiana. The first book in the series, Dead Until Dark, won the Anthony for best paperback mystery of 2001. Each book about Sookie Stackhouse (and her dealings with vampires and werewolves and other creatures of the night) has gathered more readers to enjoy the books' unique blend of mystery, humor, romance, and the supernatural. The Sookie books are also being read in Japan, Spain, Greece, and Great Britain. In addition to her work as a writer, Harris is married and the mother to three children. A former weight lifter and karate student, she is an avid reader and cinemaphile. She is a member of the vestry of St. James Episcopal Church. Harris is a member of the Mystery Writers of America and the American Crime Writers League. She is a member of the board of Sisters in Crime, and alternates with Joan Hess as president of the Arkansas Mystery Writers Alliance. (c) 2004 Charlaine Harris

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Additional Info

Imprint

Penguin

Filesize

1.42 MB

Number of Pages

272

eBook ISBN

9781101031285