I will probably never figure out how someone can come up with the most random ways to have someone die that Charlaine Harris does. They're almost comical, but not quite comical enough to make the entire book seem ridiculous.
Her characters would almost be cartoons if they didn't have little bits of realism that keep pulling you back to normal. I admire the skill of that. Each character and scenario are just almost at the crest of over the top, but they never quite tip to the point of being ridiculous. They're amusing. And you're interested in their reactions because they're never exactly what you expect them to do.
It's almost like reading a soap opera a la General Hospital's Ice Princess. If you were to read a synopsis of it, it would seem ridiculous, silly even. But you want to know what happens because the characters need resolution.
Aurora Teagarden is her same Southern self, with a few fiery independent stripes thrown in. If I met her, I'd probably find her pretty annoying. But she gets things done and in a mystery that's really the important point.
#53-2021
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