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Aurora (Roe) Teagarden, and her stepsister-in-law Melinda are waiting at the luncheon meeting of their book group (the Uppity Women's Reading and Lunch Club) for Melinda's sister Poppy to show up, since she is being inducted. Poppy doesn't show up because someone has stabbed Poppy numerous times and Poppy is dead. When it turns out that the obvious suspects (the husband, the current lover) can be ruled out, Roe pursues other, not so obvious leads. One of Roe's former boyfriends is the chief investigator (a blatant conflict of interest), and he is by turns helpful and obstructive to Roe. Poppy is a very active woman, and there are many reasons for lots of people to not like her very much. This all happens the week of Thanksgiving, always a time of high stress in large and blended families. Roe's life is complicated even more when her brother teenage brother Phillip turns up. Phillip has hitchhiked from California to Georgia, without telling his parents where he is headed. They are actually relieved to have him at Roe's house, pretty much a major about-face in terms of their previous feelings about Roe being on the same continent with their son. Some interesting events are taking place in Roe's slightly-more-than-fledgling relationship with Robin Crusoe, a mystery writer. Roe is feeling surrounded by cheating spouses; Robin is flirting with one of Roe's co-workers. His mother is coming into town for the holiday, and Robin wants her to meet Roe's parents. The plotting is better than average; the ending surprised me at first, but I didn't think it unbelievable. Unpleasant, yes. Outside the realm of possibility - no. The overall quality of the writing is very good. I liked Harris's portrayal of all the people in the book, even when I didn't particularly like the people themselves. Her characters are well-rounded, humanly imperfect. I don't know why I haven't read any of Charlaine Harris's works until now. I've met her at conventions, seen her on panels, know many people who rave about her. Silly me. I should have been paying attention. I found this to be a thoroughly enjoyable read. I had no trouble following the story; this is obviously part of a series, but I didn't feel lost. I want to go back to see what I missed, not just in this series but in the other books Harris has written. If you like a well-written cozy, find a Charlaine Harris.
Reviewed by P.J. Coldren, August 2003
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