Real Murders.
The real murderers met once a month to discuss real murders. It's a group made up of people with an interest in murders from the past. It's a place to discuss, investigate and ponder the motives and means behind true crimes. But things begin to take a turn for the worst when Aurora, or Roe as she is known, discovers the victim of a very new real murder and comes to realizes that one of their own really is a real murderer. If she can survive this encounter she may have another situation on her hands with not one but two potential love interests.

A Bone To Pick.
Getting over a broken heart is never easy, especially when having to attend the wedding of the one who broke it. But Roe has other matters to attend too such as dealing with three weddings, a funeral, a break-in, a birth and a very unwanted mystery involving a murder and a headless corpse. The one good thing in Roe's life, a newly gained inheritance that should have been cause for celebration, was beginning to be more trouble then it was worth, and considering the sum of that inheritance that was really saying something.

Three Bedrooms One Corpse.
After giving up her job as a librarian, Roe decides to try her hand as a real estate salesperson; after all it was a business she was expected to inherit from her mother, so she may as well give it a go while she had the time. However after her first experience Roe just knew it wasn't for her. It had nothing to do with strikingly handsome man she was dangerously attracted to, nor had it anything to do with the dead body they discovered within the house. The job just wasn't for her. But in the middle of house hunting, falling in love and fighting for her life she may just manage to solve a murder or two.

The Julius House.
The Julius house was an old mystery, six years old in fact. In one day the Julius family had disappeared from that house, no warning, no clues and no reason behind the disappearance. Now the house was Roe's as was the mystery. Just how had one family disappeared into thin air? It is a mystery she cannot resist, unfortunately there is another mystery Roe must solve, one much more frightening and extremely more important to her personally, that of her fiancés past. But while solving one mystery may be a matter of pure curiosity, the answers from the second mystery will change her life.

Aurora Teagarden Mysteries Omnibus 1 is an intriguing collection of the first four books in this murder mystery series. Aurora, or Roe as she is known, is a shy librarian, a failed real estate salesperson, an extremely curious woman and an intelligent but stubborn lady. With a little too much time on her hands and an interest in real murders, all this equates to a woman who will and has found herself in more then one dangerous and troubling situation. Despite her drawbacks, following Roe through a series of mysterious murders has been as fun and entertaining as it has been thrilling and clever. ( )

I was not sure what to expect approaching the four novels in this omnibus ('Real Murders', 'A Bone To Pick', 'Three Bedrooms, One Corpse' and 'The Julius House'). My only experience of Charlaine Harris was as the author of the Sookie Stackhouse series and that only through the very successful television adaptation. These mysteries are all set in a small Southern town just outside Atlanta, USA, and the heroine is very adept at unravelling these mysteries to reveal a murderer. Harris writes with humour and warmth about life in a small community and draws excellent portraits of the strange/ordinary characters who live there and their relationships and attitudes. For me, the mystery part was only of secondary importance to enjoying these books.

The final novel, 'The Julius House', is the weakest. Aurora Teagarden marries an international gun-runner, starts to travel and weakens the bonds we have with the detail of small town life. Aurora Teagarden is an updated, younger Miss Marple (think Melissa Rauch from 'Big Bang Theory') who excels at the small details and is out-of-depth in these larger action-adventure scenarios. ( )

Real Murders
The Real Murders club meets once a month to discuss famous real-life murder cases. And then one of the members is brutally done to death in a way that mimics the case that was going to be discussed that evening. Other murders within the group and their associates follow.

This started off as an amusing romp but managed quite a chilling ending.

A Bone To Pick
Aurora inherits a house and a sizeable amount of money from her friend Jane. When she arrives to see the house she finds its been broken into and searched, with nothing taken. And then she finds what the burglar was looking for: a skull. But whose?

A light amusing read. Most of the action takes place in Aurora's head until the culprit tries another burglary. Aurora is fairly passive, more taken up with her own life and just happening to be around when things happen.

Three Bedrooms, One Corpse
Meeting her realtor mother's clients to show them round a house, Aurora finds a corpse in the master bedroom. The main suspects seem to be somebody at her mother's firm, a childhood friend's husband, and Aurora's new beau.

The more I read of these, the more I enjoy spending time with Aurora.

The Julius House
Aurora finds out her new husband has a secret life. She also investigates what happened in her new home 6 years ago when the Julius family vanished.

More action than others in the series. ( )