Customer Reviews

Shakespeare's Counselor (Lily Bard Mysteries, Book 5)

5 star:		(23)
4 star:		(12)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

While dreaming about the weekend she spent tied up in a shack, tortured and raped, Lily Bard wakes up trying to kill the man she loves, Jack Leeds. Lily has made some changes in her life since Jack came into it. Now she takes the biggest and most important step, she finally seeks therapy.

She joins a local support group for rape survivors and finally, willingly, begins to discuss what happened to her over 4 years ago. When a member of that group is murdered, Lily once again finds herself in the midst of an investigation to try to figure out whodunit.

This book will show a lot of changes happening in Lily's life and those around her since the last book. There are some very real and painful moments in this story, things that quite simply made me hold my breath or ripped at my heart. Intertwined with the mystery are glimpses into the very personal lives of the women in the support group, and Lily in particular. It's a heartbreaking, heartwarming, and suspenseful story that's always engaging and impossible to set aside.

On Ms. Harris's website it's stated that Shakespeare's Counselor is the last book in the Bard series and although she'd like to write another one, IF that did happen it wouldn't be anytime soon. So I started this book knowing it was the last in the series and prepared to be thoroughly upset with Ms. Harris for not having another book ready for me to dive into; but the truth is I am happy with this ending. I love Lily and Jack and all the characters that make up the quirky little Shakespeare town and right now I am very pleased with where they all are in their lives.

I would love to come back to Shakespeare and be a back seat driver to another Lily adventure. But Ms. Harris ended this book in a way that has me completely content with everything, and for that I thank her. There is nothing worse then being left hanging in a series; thankfully, there is no noose here. The closure seems a natural progression for everyone in Shakespeare. If she were to revisit, it would be welcome, but if she doesn't get a chance to it won't be devastating to this reader. Besides, I can always visit Shakespeare by rereading, and that is something I intend to do.

Shakespeare's Counselor is a perfect ending to a perfect series.

Shakespeare's Landlord (Lily Bard Mysteries, Book 1)
Shakespeare's Champion (The Second Lily Bard Mystery)
Shakespeare's Christmas (Lily Bard Mysteries, Book 3)
Shakespeare's Trollop (The Fourth Lily Bard Mystery)

Cherise Everhard, March 2008

I alsmot didn't buy this book after reading the Publisher's weekly review. I had the impression that Lilly spent her time in some sort of dark depression wandering through a mystery with no focus. Turns out the book was well-written, the ending to the mystery followed the clues, and while the book dealt more solidly with the violence in Lilly's past it was well-placed and not contrived. I enjoyed the book. The characters were as well-developed as in her past books and so was the story.

I won't write a synopsis because others have done so, instead I'll tell you what I find most compelling about this book.

For me it's less the mystery elements, and more watching the evolution of the protagonist Lily Bard. Now most people who post negative reviews about Harris' later novels in the Lily Bard series complain about the same thing; they dislike the fact that the protagonist appears to be changing. That's right...Oh, the Horror! A character actually growing and evolving...what will be next?!!

If you want a static personality then go read a bad book, or a terrible series. What makes this a good series and a pretty good book, although not my favorite, is that like a real person Lily's character evidences change. She suffered a horrible rape and instead of being permanently emotionally stunted by this( which is what most people seem to be complaining about)she is slowly starting to get her life back together. To go back to the person she would have been, if not for her rape. I'm not saying she'll be the some happy-go-lucky, unaffected, innocentmiss, I don't really see that happening. But instead of having a permanent well of rage and anger inside her she's learning how to be happy. Like a real person would.

That's what I like about these books.

Lily Bard is back in her fifth mystery in Shakespeare's Counselor. Lily is a woman with a complicated past, to put it mildly, and is determined to overcome her problems on her own. However, when she awakens in the middle of the night and finds that she is trying to strangle her lover, Jack Leeds, she decides that he may have a point when he suggests that she needs some outside assistance. As coincidence has it, Jack discovers a flier outside of the store that announces a rape-counseling group for women right in little-ole Shakespeare. Lily is less than enthusiastic about sharing details of the experience that shattered her life, but promises Jack that she will give it a try. As it turns out, Lily discovers that she is getting more problems instead of help when she goes to her group meeting and finds a woman dead, killed in a bone-chilling fashion and deliberately left on display with a twisted message. It appears that Shakespeare's counselor, Tamsin Lynd, has more than few secrets of her own. But who could be so obsessed with Tamsin that they follow her from town to town, making threatening phone calls, leaving messages and dead animals on her porch and now killing for her?

This 5th book in the Lily Bard mystery series was absolutely riveting. Lily came a long way in book #4, but she really seems to be coming into her own in this book. She and Jack, her boyfriend, are still a hot item, but their relationship is still undefined. Charlaine Harris introduces some more characters who reside in Shakespeare that are absolutely hilarious and are well-worth getting to know. I can hardly wait for the next book in the series to come out! Charlaine Harris has created one of my absolute favorite mystery series in the Shakespeare/Lily Bard tales. Highly recommended for anyone and everyone!

And keep you turning pages well into the night.

Harris drops you in the middle of a nightmare. Our heroine is struggling with a male attacker. She strikes his face only to wake up and realize she's bloodied her lover's nose instead of the attacker she'd thought was going to rape her.

It's time for Lily Bard to go to rape survivor counseling.....

She reluctantly walks in to the Shakespeare, Arkansas Health Department Tuesday evening to find that her counselor Tamsyn Lynd is receiving threatening calls.

The counselor doesn't want to talk about it.

Matters only get worse from there. Lily is walking by Tamsyn's house and discovers a dead squirrel hanging on the porch.

The ante keeps getting upped. No one can figure out who would want to harm quiet, unassuming Tamsyn, but clearly someone does.

I'm not going to tell you any of the rest. YOu just have to read it. Believe me, it's worth the effort. I crossed over to Charlaine Harris' mysteries from her Southern Vampire series and I've got to tell you---she's awesome no matter what genre she's working in.

This is not going to be the only time I vist Shakespeare, Arkansas and Lily Bard.

Lily Bard, former cleaning woman, karate expert, and now apprentice private detective is moving forward and trying not to look back. She has a great man, Jack Leeds, in her life, a new and promising career, and she's finally taken the big and positive step to rid herself of the demons and nightmares from her past...she's joined a rape counseling and support group. But the group has problems from the beginning. Their therapist, Tamsin Lynd, has serious issues of her own. She's been stalked and terrorized for years, and though she's just moved here, and is new to Shakespeare, she seems to have brought her stalker along with her. When one of the group's members is found murdered and left "displayed" in Tamsin's office, Lily needs to know why, and uses her detective skills to start looking into the case. As the violence escalates, Lily finds herself on a mission to uncover the whole truth, not just to help Tamsin, but so that she can put the past behind her, and begin her new life..... Charlaine Harris is back with the fifth installment of her dark and compelling Shakespeare series. This is a well paced, intricate, psychological thriller, full of suspenseful, riveting scenes, twists, turns, and more than a few surprises, that will keep you on the edge of your seat, and turning pages to the end. Ms Harris' eloquent writing is crisp, spare and intelligent. But it's her marvelously drawn, complex, and intriguing cast of characters that really makes this novel stand out. Detailed character development is definitely Ms Harris' forte. Though the ending is a bit rushed and clumsy, it doesn't take much away from a tense and absorbing story. This is a series that just gets better with each new installment. For those new to Lily Bard and Shakespeare, Arkansas, start at the beginning with Shakespeare's Landlord, and read them all. For those of you who are already fans, Shakespeare's Counselor doesn't disappoint.

I thought this book (#5) was the best of the series! I was all wrong about who the perpetrator was, and I was pleased with the way the mystery was resolved. This one was darker than the previous four books, but it was very much in line with who Lily Bard is. I was glad to see the character address certain issues that seemed so obviously to stalk her from book 1. Would love to have a sixth book in the series to enjoy.

I have become a Charlaine Harris fan through True Blood, the Sookie books and now I'm reading the Teagarden series, too. This one was really complex and the story line with Jack ended perfectly. I wish she'd write more Lily Bard, but she says she's done with her - pity!

Following a gang raping and a media feeding frenzy, Lily moves to Shakespeare, Arkansas accepting work as a cleaning woman. The small town has had several homicides and usually Lily is found in the middle of the investigation. She does not expect to ever have a normal relationship ever again until Lily meets private investigator Jack, who convinces the scarred woman that she is beautiful inside and out.

Jack and Lily marry, but she still suffers nightmares from that brutal attack and enters group therapy under the auspices of Tamsin Lynd. The therapist has some problems caused by a stalker who actually kills one of her patients. A reporter who wants to do a story about Tamsin is also murdered. Lily and Jack decide to take down the stalker though it places them in danger from a homicidal maniac.

SHAKESPEARE'S COUNSELOR is the best work in this fine series because the audience empathetically feels the healing of Lily predominantly due to her bond with he beloved Jack. The mystery is loaded with red herrings that hide the villain in plain sight so that the audience is stunned when the culprit is revealed. The vulnerable facet of Lily's personality emerges turning her more likable and less of an object of pity. This strengthens a strong character and turns a wonderful series into a powerhouse.

Harriet Klausner

I enjoyed this book. I've enjoyed just about all Charlaine Harris's books. This wasn't my favorite Lily Bard Mystery, but I think it added to the series, and to the depths of at least a few of the characters. On the other hand, the mystery at hand didn't seem to add up completely. I don't doubt that there are some crazy people in the world, but this story just seemed a teensy bit unbelievable to me. I'm glad that *SPOILER* Lily and Jack married, although I think I was secretly rooting for Bobo. I guess Charlaine felt that hooking he and Janet up was enough, but after reading several books and always loving Bobo, his tiny appearance in this book and seemingly meaningless relationship with Janet just didn't suit me. I think I read somewhere that there may or may not be more Lily Bard Mysteries, but I really hope there will be, and with some sort of a real conclusion. I'd like to know more about Jack, and that skanky ex girlfriend of his. I'd like to see more of Lily too, of course, and even Claude and Carrie. I've really enjoyed this series, though not as much as the Sookie Stackhouse books or the Harper Connelly Mysteries. I think though, that I just prefer the supernatural books. Overall, I'd recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a good mystery with a strong leading lady!