All the Little Liars by Charlaine Harris

Aurora Teagarden is basking in the news of her pregnancy when disaster strikes her small Georgia town: four kids vanish from the school soccer field in an afternoon. Aurora’s 15-year-old brother Phillip is one of them. Also gone are two of his friends, and an 11-year-old girl who was just hoping to get a ride home from soccer practice. And then there’s an even worse discovery—at the kids’ last known destination, a dead body.

 

While the local police and sheriff’s department comb the county for the missing kids and interview everyone even remotely involved, Aurora and her new husband, true crime writer Robin Crusoe, begin their own investigation. Could the death and kidnappings have anything to do with a group of bullies at the middle school? Is Phillip’s disappearance related to Aurora’s father’s gambling debts? Or is Phillip himself, new to town and an unknown quantity, responsible for taking the other children? But regardless of the reason, as the days go by, the most important questions remain. Are the kids still alive? Who could be concealing them? Where could they be?

 

With Christmas approaching, Aurora is determined to find her brother…if he’s still alive.

 

Series: Aurora Teagarden #9 | Publisher: Minotaur Books | Release Date: October 4, 2016 | Genre: Cozy Contemporary Mystery | Source: Publisher | Rating: 4 Cups

Totally had a happy reader girl moment when I found out that there was going to be a new Aurora Teagarden mystery novel. And, I’m not going to lie, I totally did a happy little Snoopy dance when it arrived and read it in just a few hours.

 

Here’s what’s going on. Pregnant and newly married, Aurora’s life is a bit hectic at the moment so when Phillip, her half-brother, comes to her wanting to talk about something important, Aurora doesn’t have time. Although when Phillip and three other kids go missing, Aurora and Robin start their own investigation and soon uncover more than they thought they would.

 

It was so fun joining Aurora again. She’s always been one of my favorite cozy mystery heroines. She’s definitely one of those small but mighty types. Although, I did notice that she was a bit more laid back in regards to the investigation, which was probably due to her pregnancy, but she was still an active participant. And I loved seeing her married to Robin. They make such a great couple and it was fun watching them together.

 

The mystery was interesting although I figured most of it out early on although I was still intrigued to watch it unfold.

There were a few things that sort of bugged me with this book. I know she’s pregnant, but Aurora was constantly complaining she was tired. Also, she sort of kept putting down her last marriage and her deceased husband, Martin.  Another thing that bothered me, and I’m not sure I would have paid attention to it had I not re-read a few of the previous novels to refresh myself on the series, was the fact that Aurora was praising Robin for treating her with kidd gloves when she constantly complained about it when Martin did it.

 

Overall, while I did have a few little annoyances with this novel, I still really enjoyed it and I’m hoping that there will be another Aurora Teagarden novel.

Aurora Teagarden Series

1-Real Murders

2-A Bone to Pick

3-Three Bedrooms, One Corpse

4-The Julius House

5-Dead Over Heels

6-A Fool and His Honey

7-Last Scene Alive

8-Poppy Done to Dead

9-All the Little Liars