All the Little Liars by Charlaine Harris
Review by Mirah W. (mwelday)
Aurora Teagarden is back! Charlaine Harris has returned to her series about the librarian and amateur sleuth after more than 10 years. I was very excited to meet Charlaine during her promotional tour of All the Little Liars. Listening to her describe her career as a writer and her writing process was so interesting. Charlaine was very down to earth and approachable. I would describe her personality as Southern charm meets Southern sass. I think Charlaine was absolutely delightful!
Mirah and Charlaine Harris
But back to the book….
Aurora (Roe) is now married, pregnant, and her brother Phillip is living with her and her husband Robin. Roe and Phillip have developed a close relationship and he is excited about being an uncle soon. In the days before the Christmas holiday, four teenagers go missing and Phillip is one of the missing. It seems understandable that two of his friends are also among the missing, but why would an 11-year old be with them? What was her connection to what was happening? The cops are trying to find out what is going on but, in typical fashion, Roe is determined to get involved, as well. In her own investigation she uncovers school bullying, gambling debts, and serious family dramas.
While I enjoyed All the Little Liars, it did not seem to be as tight in the delivery as the earlier books in the Aurora series; there were some consistency issues and it felt a little incomplete in regards to the mystery. I like the characters in the Aurora series and I’m glad Harris wrote this book as if the past years really had passed, trying to pick up where things left off would have felt awkward. Overall, this installment wasn’t quite as good as I had hoped after my long Aurora drought but I’m glad she’s back and I hope Charlaine writes more. In the end, I give All the Little Liars 3.5 out of 5 stars for being enjoyable but not quite polished…but I give Charlaine 5 out of 5 stars for being a class act!
