A Lily Bard Mystery (Lily Bard Mysteries) - Shakespeare's Champion

Lily Bard tries to keep her unhappy past at a distance by working out at the local gym and doing a job, cleaning houses, which keeps her occupied and takes her mind off her past. While going into the gym, she discovers a local bodybuilder with a barbell across his neck. This and other incidents lead Lily to believe that racial problems are getting out of hand in her adopted Arkansas town. She teams up with a handsome detective and they search for the truth, almost afraid of what they may find out about their fellow townspeople. This book is a little too dark to classify as a cozy, but it does make for a good read.

A man is found dead in the gym where Lily regularly works out. At first it's written of as an accident (the body found suffocated under the weight of a barbell), but later it appears to be a part of a larger series of racially motivated crimes.

This is by far the worst of Charlaine Harris's books I've read. The beginning of the book feels true to the first book in Lily Bard series, but gradually the story just gets simply out of control. Church bombing, torture, hate crimes, way too much crime to suddenly descend on a tiny town of Shakespeare. The racial element although compelling just comes out of nowhere and is way overdone. The introduction of a new "love interest" is messy. I even had to get back to check if I missed a few pages. Lily in a matter of days becomes a sex kitten every man in town lusts after. The mystery itself isn't that mysterious at all. What's the point, if we know that all crimes are committed by a group of white racists by the middle of the book? Finally, too many plot holes and loose ends.

I will give this series another chance, but if this is the direction it's going to take throughout all 5 books, I am definitely done with it after book 3.

When housecleaner Lily Bard discovers a body in her gym, Body Time, she sees a connection to earlier murders that have taken place in her adopted town, Shakespeare, Arkansas. Lily Bard moved to Shakespeare several years before to restart her life after a personal tragedy received national media attention, but her life since then has been anything but quiet. After stopping an interracial fight at a local drive-in Lily becomes the focus of unwanted attention by some of the town residents. She decides not to move, but instead to stay and try to solve the murders that have made living in Shakespeare difficult for many of its citizens.
Charlaine Harris has a more complex plot structure in "Shakespeare's Champion". Events go back and forth in time and details are revealed from Lily's former life. And Lily really develops as a character in this book: when big things go down in Shakespeare Lily is forced to make crucial decisions that show what she's made of. This is also the book where she meets Jack Leeds. ; )
This is my favorite Lily Bard installment yet. Charlaine Harris uses an economy of words that makes every narrative detail important. I love the names she chooses for characters and businesses, but for all those whimsical details her stories are streamlined and focused.
If you've started the Lily Bard series that begins with "Shakespeare's Landlord", be sure to read "Shakespeare's Champion". Harris' other series are also a lot of fun.
And if you like Harris' writing be sure to try Elizabeth Peters' and Laurie R. King's mystery series.

Lily Bard fled her Tennessee home, expecting to find peace by moving to the small town of Shakespeare, Arkansas. Though she works hard as a cleaning woman, for a while, Lily enjoys her new surroundings, but ugly change is in the air. Repressed prejudices rise to the surface, polarizing the black and whites into two opposing communities, and a dangerous militia is starting to surface.
To save his town from the dangerous schism and to protect his father, who he feels has fallen in with nasty individuals, the town's leading citizen hires an outsider, Jack Leeds, to identify the ringleaders. The detective, from the same hometown that Lily is from, has his own scandalous past. Jack and Lily develop a deep emotional bond that may be the only thing that could save both of them from a rising threat to their very lives.
The sequel to SHAKESPEARE'S LANDLORD (which was named as one of "Mostly Murders'" top 10) is as good and, in some ways, better than its predecessor. SHAKESPEARE'S CHAMPION embodies a first rate mystery, but this time also includes a special relationship drama about two wounded soldiers who heal each other through their love for one another. Charlaine Harris' newest entry deserves top ten consideration again.
Harriet Klausner

I love, love Charlaine Harris' writing style. This was an awesome story... full of plot twists and mystery, and it never hurts to have a new love interest thrown in. I'm coming to really love the Lily Bard character, and I think I like her so much because she is tough, strong and real. I'm looking forward to reading the next book in the series.

I was hooked like a fish after the first book. I couldn't stop reading them. I began the first book in the airport waiting for my plane to California and finished the last book on the plane home. (I'd been there for 7 days visiting relatives). This is a wonderful series of books that are quick to read, but intriguing and fun.

Lily is such a like able damaged human. Yet she treats people so kindly. Harris tackles the tough topic of racism in this book. Like Lily, we all have our scars. Hopefully we have her sense of justice. The villains are physical and psychological. I like the battle the flawed heroine fights within herself.

This series is so much better than the Sookie Stackhouse series. The characters are interesting and their behaviors seem believable given their backgrounds. The mystery isn't totally obvious, and there is romance too.

Shakespeare's Champion is no cozy. It has a dark, moody atmosphere. The heroine is a withdrawn, dark and edgy character........with good reason. All that aside, she is a character you care about and root for. Lily Bard is a person who cares even though she doesn't want to. She is a hero in spite of herself......these are the very reasons I love her and so will you.

This second book in the Lily Bard/Shakespeare series was nicely written and entertaining. Ms. Harris did a terrific job weaving the plot and introducing Jack Leeds. This story brings together the rather sick thoughts hidden behind the gentile Southern manner of a few of the Shakespeare mighty. My my, what you don't know.

CH brings this up a lot in some of her past books, and I just don't get it. This book is a good read, but it is darker than I would have wanted. The whole racist group plot was a little weird and at times too contrived for me. However, I liked the book, so it got that many stars. This book in the series is my least favorite, though. A good note is that important character development begins in this book that carries through the entire series.

The Shakespeare Series is an experience. I began reading the series and was unsettled by the experiences of the main character Lily Bard. YOU can't help but be devastated by her tale but it is her strength, will, determination, character and resolve that will keep you reading more about this complex woman.

So, I gave the last book in the series a not-so-wonderful review, however this installment gets an A+! I was having a difficult time caring about Lily in the last book. It wasn't that I didn't like her, I was trying to, it's just that she was so..hard-shelled. But anyway, this book was wonderful and I am on the third one! I've already purchased the reast of the books in the series and can't wait to read them all!

I love Charlaine Harris. There are so many people that say none of her series are as good as her Southern Vampire Mysteries. Well duh! It would be impossible for CH to top Sookie Stackhouse but let's not be fooled. Ms. Harris writes some great characters and her books are never boring. I started Lily Bard this month and book 2 now got me hooked and committed to the rest of the series. CH is an amazing writer and her characters are not glamourous hollywood types and you love navigating through their stories and lives. Thanks Charlaine, you are my favorite author! Oh and Harper Connelly is a great series too.

I waited over a year to get this book before it was rereleased, having come across the series only recently, and it was well worth it. I just wish Ms. Harris would write more in the series, although Lily and her husband made a cameo in the Pooky Stackhouse series, it wasn't enough.

Charlaine Harris is an amazing author. I stumbled across the Lily Bard series and got totally hooked. Amazing character. I couldn't wait to read the next one and the next one. Mystery, romance and an incredibly quirky and brave main character. Fabulous.

I loved this book - the small town characters ring true, and Lily is a very complex and interesting character. The character development from one book to the next in this series is fascinating. I usually tend more towards "cozy" mysteries, but I rather enjoyed some of the darker aspects of this book.

the best book by harris yet. she uses a variety of incidences to prove a point. the characters blend into the mysterious town. a super read, not dull or repetitive. does not copy other novels. stands out.