Start with sweet protagonists that are involved in murders and/or vampires, talk about what they plan on wearing to dates/work, mix in a couple dudes she has the hots for (that’s right, there’s never one dude, always two and you never quite know who she’s going to end up with) and BAM! you have some mystery series that, if they’re not quite amazing, are at least somewhat readable. I have so far read the first book of three of Ms. Harris’ mystery series; the Sookie Stackhouse series (which was turned into the show “True Blood” starring Anna Paquin on HBO); the Lily Bard series (which was not turned into a show because it does not star an attractive vampire); and the Aurora Teagarden series (which should be my favorite, because Aurora is a librarian, but is not—the reason would take another blog entry). Yes, yes, I know, just as I upbraid them for being merely readable, I continue with how I’ve read all of the first books. Hypocritical, I know…but here’s why: they’re simple formulaic mysteries that build to a satisfying ending. It’s a mystery where I know for a fact the protagonist isn’t the murderer (which I have a habit of doing for some odd reason), and even though the outfits that the narrators are so gosh darn proud of wearing are somewhat dated, they still add a fun girly element to the story. I would say the Sookie Stackhouse was the least mysterious of the three, but I think that’s because Harris had to make room for the supernatural elements. But they're 3 mystery series to try, and they're all free to check out at your friendly neighborhood library!Sookie Stackhouse Dead Until Dark
Lily Bard Shakespeare's Landlord
Aurora Teagarden Real Murders
And check out fantasticfiction to figure out which comes next in the series!
