A Fool and His Honey (Aurora Teagarden Mysteries, Book 6) [Paperback]

Charlaine Harris (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 1, 2001

Sleepless nights, a cross-country chase and a temporary stint at motherhood turn Aurora Teagarden's life upside down. When her husband's niece Regina shows up unannounced on their doorstep with a baby and a secret, Aurora's perpetual curiosity leaps into overdrive -- especially when the body of the girl's husband is found ax murdered in her own backyard.

Regina flees the scene, and Aurora is left holding the baby, struggling with the intricacies of bottles, diapers -- and a mystery. What was Regina running from? Why was her husband murdered? The answers are hidden back in Ohio, and that's just where Aurora goes, husband, baby and all. But Regina's secrets are very dangerous and Aurora walks right into them -- much to her own peril.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

This latest in the Aurora "Roe" Teagarden series (Dead Over Heels, etc.) features the sleuthing Southern librarian in a gripping tale that explores the lengths to which people will go to obtain what they desire. Roe and her new husband, Martin, receive a surprise when Martin's niece Regina arrives on their doorstep with the new baby no one knew she was expecting. Several hours later, after a dinner party, Roe and Martin return home to discover Regina's husband, Craig, murdered in their yard, Regina missing and baby Hayden hidden under a bed. Roe, unable to have children, finds herself burdened with Hayden's care as she and Martin attempt to track down Regina after coming across a wad of money in the diaper bag. Along for the ride is Rory Brown, a friend of Craig and Regina's who is suspiciously interested in Hayden. Harris's story is fast paced and peopled with tragically frustrated characters. Roe, who understands the length to which people might go to have children of their own, is horrified at what she discovers. When Martin, Roe and Hayden arrive at Martin's little-used country house, several other characters, including neighbors Margaret and Luke Granberry, enter the tale. A murder occurs, with tragic consequences for Regina. While all the loose ends are tied up, the heartbreaking solution provides comfort for no one. Harris mixes elements of a cozy and her darker themes with skill and panache. (Sept.)
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

Aurora Teagarden, part-time librarian and series sleuth (A Bone To Pick), has a horrible day. First, the man who delivers her firewood inexplicably dances naked in her yard. Next, her husband's niece and new baby turn up unannounced. Then, several hours later, she discovers the niece's husband dead, his parolee buddy asleep behind the couch, and the niece missing. Left holding the baby and facing the onus of a murder suspect in the family, Aurora and hubby are desperate for the truth. Live-wire action, small-town antics, unexpected plot ramifications, and a humorous tone make for fine reading. For all collections. [This is part of St. Martin's new crime imprint, MinotaurAEd.]
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: Worldwide Library (May 1, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0373263848
• ISBN-13: 978-0373263844
• Product Dimensions: 6.4 x 4 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (69 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,199,898 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Charlaine Harris (born November 25, 1951 in Tunica, Mississippi) is a New York Times bestselling author who has been writing for over twenty years. She was raised in the Mississippi River Delta area. Though her early works consisted largely of poems about ghosts and, later, teenage angst, she wrote plays when she attended Rhodes College in Memphis, Tennessee. She began to write books a few years later.
After publishing two stand-alone mysteries, Harris launched a lighthearted series "starring" Georgia librarian Aurora Teagarden, with Real Murders, a Best Novel nominee for the 1990 Agatha Awards. Harris wrote eight Aurora titles. In 1996, she released the first of the much darker Shakespeare mysteries, featuring the amateur sleuth Lily Bard, a karate student who makes her living cleaning houses. Shakespeare's Counselor, the fifth--and last-- was printed in fall 2001.
After Shakespeare, Harris created The Sookie Stackhouse urban fantasy series about a telepathic waitress who works in a bar in the fictional Northern Louisiana town of Bon Temps. The first of these, Dead Until Dark, won the Anthony Award for Best Paperback Mystery in 2001. Each book follows Sookie as she tries to solve mysteries involving vampires, werewolves, and other supernatural creatures. The series, which now numbers nine titles, has been released worldwide.
Sookie Stackhouse proved to be so popular that Alan Ball, creator of Six Feet Under, announced he would undertake the production of a new show for HBO based upon the books. He wrote and directed the pilot episode for that series, True Blood, which premiered in September of 2008. It was an instant success and was quickly picked up for a second season.
In October 2005, Harris's new mystery series about a young woman named Harper Connelly debuted with the release of Grave Sight. Harper has the ability to determine the cause of death of any body. There are now three Harper titles (GRAVE SIGHT, GRAVE SURPRISE, AN ICE COLD GRAVE) with a 4th (GRAVE SECRET) to be released in 2009.
Harris has also co-edited three very popular anthologies with her friend Toni L.P. Kelner. The anthologies feature stories with an element of the supernatural, and the submissions come from a rare mixture of mystery and urban fantasy writers.
Professionally, Harris is a member of the Mystery Writers of America and the American Crime Writers League. She is a member of the board of Sisters in Crime, and alternates with Joan Hess as president of the Arkansas Mystery Writers Alliance. Personally, Harris is married and the mother of three. She lives in a small town in Southern Arkansas and when she is not writing her own books, she reads omnivorously!

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Uninvited Murder..., October 29, 2003

By 

Silmarwen (Huntington Beach, CA United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: A Fool and His Honey (Aurora Teagarden Mysteries, Book 6) (Paperback)

Aurora 'Roe' Teagarden's day started out normally enough. She woke up, ate breakfast, got ready for work, greeted Darius Quattermain who was delivering the firewood, and then watched incredulously as Darius proceeded to take off all of his clothes and dance naked in the yard. After dealing with that unsettling incident, Roe is even more surprised when her husband's niece, Regina, arrives unannounced on their doorstep with her baby, Hayden in tow. Southern hospitality being what it is, Roe felt that she had to offer a temporary refuge to the young woman and got her settled in the garage apartment. But when Roe returned home from work, she found a dead man on the steps, a baby hidden under the bed, another man sleeping in her living room and no Regina. As Roe and Martin try to discover what trouble Regina has gotten herself into now, they are led on a madcap journey to Martin's home town in Ohio and the small house where Martin grew up and Regina was living. Instead of solving all of their problems, however, Martin and Roe find that they have stepped into a kidnapping/adoption/murder plot and do not know who to trust. As the strain of attending to Hayden and learning more about Martin's secretive past begin to catch up to her, Roe is unsure of everyone and everything, except the fact that Regina has ruined her life!

A Fool and His Honey is the 6th book in the Aurora Teagarden series and I enjoyed it. I have to admit that the ending was a real surprise, but the darker side of the mystery did not bother me. In fact, I think it is good when characters change and mature and grow because it makes me feel that they are more like me. I still love Harris' characters and I especially enjoyed Roe's attempts to take of the baby because she had always wanted a child but was so clearly clueless as to what to do with one. The plot is fast paced and this is an easy, quick read. If you have enjoyed any of Harris' other books, I think you will enjoy this one, but it does have a tear-jerker ending so be ready for it!

19 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Shocked and Dismayed!, July 26, 2003

By 

L Smith "acozylover" (Macomb, MI) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: A Fool and His Honey (Aurora Teagarden Mysteries, Book 6) (Paperback)

Being a huge fan of the Aurora "Roe" Teagarden mystery series, I was anxious to read the latest book in the series. However, I was extremely shocked by the outcome of this book and kept waiting to find out that Roe was having a bad dream or something similar. This series has always been on the tougher side of the cozy mystery genre, but I was blown away by the darker edge to the plot in this book. When a book makes your heart stop for a moment and your eyes well up with tears, you know that you really "care" about the characters. Caring about what happens to the characters is one of the aspects that makes a good book, and if the reaction of readers is any indication, this must be one to look at. Ms. Harris definitely took a chance with this plot, and I have to say that it was indeed a shock. Like other readers I have had a hard time picking up subsequent books in the series, but am determined to find a reason as to why Ms. Harris chose the ending that she did.

Saying all of these things, I would highly recommend all of the previous books in this series. Roe is a great character, and the relationship that she has with her husband was a big reason that I loved the previous books. If you enjoy a bit of a darker cozy, this might just be the series for you.

The first book in this series is "Real Murders". Enjoy!

A Cozy Mystery Lover

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A bit heartbreaking, September 9, 2001

By 

Diana Crass "Diana" (California) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: A Fool and His Honey (Aurora Teagarden Mysteries, Book 6) (Paperback)

I really enjoyed this book, up until the final 5 pages. Then it was just heartbreaking. I get the feeling that this is the last book in this series, due to the fate of one of the characters (not the main one, so if you haven't read it don't worry about it). Although not her best, Harris did do a good job with the writing style and prose of the characters and kept them real throughout the book.