The Julius House (Aurora Teagarden Book 4)

For a 'cozy' type of mysteries - that is a subjective description - Diane Mott Davidson is the absolute best. Stacking these up next to Goldy Bear, really cannot be fairly done.
That being said, these books were enjoyable. The setting is likable and draws you in, the supporting characters all fit nicely into the series. The plots and crimes are edgier than a typical cozy, (than Davidson, Fluke, Sefton), but not as graphic as a full blown thriller. The biggest problem I have is with the main character, hence the 3 stars. I liked Miss Teagarden in the first two books and then she became unlikable. Her selfish qualities and woe is me attitude is not what I want to read in a literary heroine. No one is perfect, but a truly likable lead is one we can both identify with and admire. In addition, the series ended poorly. It could have used an epilogue at least, or another book to wrap up the characters so that we can imagine their 'happily ever after' so to speak.
The books are a quick read with a good crime to solve but if you are looking for a great lead, look elsewhere.

I've read this series before, but this one remains my favorite Aurora Teagarden book - the dynamics between Aurora and her new husband are quite lovely to read, and I particularly like the way Martin accepts Aurora's many idiosyncrasies and loves her anyway, although in this book there are some bumps in the pathway of their relationship.
As always, Aurora finds herself a mystery to solve, in this case, the dissapearance of the family who owned her beloved new home before Martin bought it for her as a wedding gift. The story twists and turns along the way, and the ending is quite unexpected. Fortunately for me, it had been a while since I last read the series, and the ending came as quite a surprise again.
Highly recommend for cozy mystery lovers, who like their characters served with a side of quirky.

The Julius House is the fourth book in the Aurora Teagarden Mystery series. This can be read as a standalone but makes more sense if you have read the previous books. This is a cozy mystery so there is some violence.

The book blurb adequately describes the storyline so I'm not going to repeat that all info here. The author did a good job of explaining what is going on in the series for new readers. The characters are well written, even if you don't like some of them. There are clues in the storyline that keep you guessing what twists and turns will be revealed next. While the storyline is predictable, both old and new fans of the series will enjoy it.

The Julius House is the 4th book the Aurora Teagarden Mystery series by Charlaine Harris. This series predates the Sookie Stackhouse series... of which many of us loved and mourned. After the last Sookie Stackhouse book released I wanted more Harris so I figured I'd try out another of her series.

I've reviewed the first in the series already but skipped over reviewing the next two because while they were interesting they were mainly the same as the first with less "newness" to make them exciting.

Now we're on the 4th book and a lot has happened in Aurora's life. Not enough to make her any more interesting, though. The entire book is based around the things happening to Aurora. If it weren't for the weird murders or odd mysteries then Aurora wouldn't be interesting at all.

Rather, Aurora is as Non-Interesting as a person might be. Her habits are common, her personality a little lack-luster, and honestly if I knew her in person I would probably think she was aloof, dry, and rather stuffy. The "Friends" she has seem to be kept only on the basis of "Southern Politeness" and not really out of any true interest for having actual relationships.

Aside from Aurora's quirky obsession with True Crime mysteries and her apparent ability to pick the ABSOLUTE WRONG guy almost every time there's really not a lot going on there that I feel would really warrant a readers true dedication.

Aurora actually comes off as quite a severe person with almost no warmth.

SO! Aside from the fact that Aurora is not exactly the most spunky or interesting of leading ladies the stories can actually get quite curious and Charlaine Harris has a knack for keeping you in the dark until the very last so that there ARE some surprises after all.

And I have to hand it to Aurora. Even though I'm not a fan of her somewhat dull personality she's brave (or just really nosy) and caring. Maybe it's just because she's REALLY awkward. I guess it would take getting to know her more and more to really see the true Aurora, to get the magic of the first meeting back. So I'll keep reading and hoping that by the end of the series I'll be as in love (or at least half as in-like) with her as I was Sookie.

As far as #4 goes, the most interesting parts were the new and mysterious characters. The rest of it was a bit slow until the end. We'll see if #5 gets any better. Here's to hoping.

Until Next Blog,

Read On!

As Aurora and Martin approach their wedding day they exchange gifts with each other. Martin give roe the house she was looking at...the Julius house as it was known and it contains a mystery. The family that owned it before her just vanished without a trace

Roe is determined to use her defective skills to find out what really happened. In the meantime roe learns about rmartin past and finds it disturbing nit to mention some friends of his that come to stay in the guest apartment that is located in the house property.

Julius House (1995) is the fourth mystery novel in the Aurora Teagarden series, following Three Bedrooms, One Corpse. In the previous volume, the killer cornered Roe, but she attacked him with an umbrella ferule. He pinned her on the floor and beat on her. She used her souvenir rock to smash him alongside the head.

In this novel, Aurora Teagarden was born and raised in the small town of Lawrenceton, Georgia, in the suburbs of Atlanta. She is now married to Martin Bartell. She has had some strange experiences in her life.

Martin Bartell is manager of the local Pan-Am Agra plant. Martin was born and raised in Corinth, Ohio, and served in combat as a Marine at the end of the Vietnam War.

Shelby Youngblood is an old friend of Martin from the war in Vietnam. He is married to Angel.

Angel Youngblood is a martial artist and stuntwoman. She is almost as tall as her husband and towers over Roe.

In this story, Roe and Martin are engaged. Martin buys the Julius House for Roe and she buys his family farm for him. She flies to Corinth, Ohio, by herself to acquire the property. She briefly meets Martin's ex-wife in Corinth.

Roe and Martin exchange deeds a few weeks before the wedding. Martin lets Roe handle the renovation of the Julius House. She starts buying household goods and hiring people to work on the house.

Shelby is coming to work at the Pan-Am Agra plant and will need a place to stay. Martin asks Roe if Shelby and Angel may use the apartment above the garage and she agrees. Then they take over the job of coordinating the renovation of the Julius House.

Of course, Roe is also attending showers and other bridal celebrations. She meets people that she hasn't seen for a long time. And they all have questions about the Julius House.

Roe is asked how she could possibly live in a house from which three people have vanished to never be seen again. Haturally she knows about the missing family, but she is not really concerned. The house seems too peaceful to have ghosts.

After the wedding and honeymoon, however, Roe starts investigating the disappearance. She and Angel measure dimensions inside and outside the house looking for hidden spaces, but find nothing except a china doll. Then Roe starts questioning the witnesses.

This tale has Roe digging up some strange information. Angel helps her in these investigations. She even saves Roe from a man with an axe.

Roe discovers that Martin has not told her everything before the marriage. She even quarrels with him. She still loves him, but she wonders if she is making a mistake.

This novel is more like a typical detective story than the others. In the next installment -- Dead Over Heels -- a body literally drops out of thin air. Read and enjoy!

Highly recommended for Harris fans and for anyone else who enjoys tales of old murders, unexpected findings, and persistent women. For anyone unfamiliar with this series, the initial volume is Real Murders.

-Bill Jordin

This is the fourth in the AURORA TEAGARDEN series.

Aurora and Martin have set the date, the preparations are all underway and in addition Aurora is also occupied with getting there new home ready. Martin had given Aurora the Julius House, the lovely property she had fallen in love with a few months earlier (THREE BEDROOMS ONE CORPSE), a house on the outskirts of town, and with a mysterious past. Some years before the previous occupants, husband, wife and teenage daughter, had vanished without a trace. As if all of this is not enough it seems as though there are some unanswered questions about Martin as well. Does Aurora truly know the man has fallen in love with?

This is the first series by Harris, better known for her SOOKIE STACKHOUSE/TRUE BLOOD novels. Like that series, and her other series featuring Lily Bard and Harper Connelly, this one is set in southern town and focuses on a young woman. Unlike the later series the supernatural does not figure into this series.

There is a strong overall story arc to this series so it is recommended to read the books in order.

"The Julius House" by Charlaine Harris is the fourth book in her series about Aurora Teagarden. (Follows Real Murders: An Aurora Teagarden Mystery, Bk. 1,A Bone To Pick: An Aurora Teagarden Mystery, Book 2 and Three Bedrooms, One Corpse: An Aurora Teagarden Mystery) Roe is now happily engaged to Martin Bartell, but nothing is as it seems. Martin has just gifted Roe with the old Julius house as a wedding present, and she is happily planning on moving them in. Depite its history (the Julius family mysteriously vanished years ago), she finds it enchanting. She even finds no problem with letting a couple of Martin's friends live on the property. That is, until she finds out that they're her bodyguards. Besides dealing with her husband, Roe decides she wants to figure out what happened to the Julius family.

I enjoyed this book as much as I did the earlier ones. It did take me a bit to warm to Martin, but I've decided that he's just what Roe needs. And unlike "Three Bedrooms, One Corpse", I did not solve the mystery before Roe! Everytime I thought I had figured it out, something new would be revealed, and I'd have to rethink my whole theory.

I fully recommend this series! Next is Dead Over Heels: An Aurora Teagarden Mystery, Bk. 5, followed by Fool And His Honey: An Aurora Teagarden Mystery, Bk. 6,Last Scene Alive (Aurora Teagarden Mysteries), and Poppy Done To Death: An Aurora Teagarden Mystery, Bk. 8.

Or if you'd like to try a different series by Charlaine Harris, check out the Lily Bard mysteries.(Shakespeare's Landlord (The First Lily Bard Mystery), "Shakespeare's Champion", Shakespeare's Christmas", "Shakespeare's Trollop", and Shakespeare's Counselor")

Or her new supernatural Southern Vampire Mysteries (Dead Until Dark (Southern Vampire Mysteries, Bk. 1), "Living Dead in Dallas", "Club Dead", "Dead to the World", "Dead as a Doornail", "Definitely Dead", and "All Together Dead")

Another enjoyable book in the Roe Teagarden series. Roe and Martin are married and he bought he the Julius house, where years ago a husband, wife and teenage daughter disappeared. Roe also is given two bodyguards and finds out her husband has been hiding a secret life. While he is gone, she and the female bodyguard start questioning where the family could have gone, putting both of them in danger.

I am listening to this series on CD. Therese Plummer, the reader does a fabulous job. She has great expression in her voice and manages to have different voices for each character, and does men as well. Listening in order, they are like one long extended story, with character growth as it moves along. I found this one to be the best yet. There are plenty of new marriage issues Ro goes through and redecorating the house- which is amazingly- not boring. Some new interesting characters come along, for interesting reasons. Then the murder finally takes the center of attention and boy is it a doozy. I did not see that ending coming.
I am pretty sad that CH dumped this and the other non-Sookie series to devote all her time to the vampire business, for which I have no interest at all. But who can blame her? She hit it big with that one. Great writer.

So this is a pretty good book, with a couple twists that, honestly, I did not see coming. And at less than 300 pages, you can get through it pretty quickly. Basically, Roe's dreamboat of a soon-to-be husband buys her a house once owned by a family who suddenly disappeared. Naturally, Roe just HAS to find out why they vanished. Getting herself nearly killed in the process. Add to that her fiancé's somewhat shady friends staying with her for awhile, seemingly out of the blue and you get yourself one good little book.
My criticism? I find it to be a trend in a lot of her books (and I've read many, from Sookie, to Lily Bard, to this, to Harper Connelley) that whenever some minor character appears, she has to let us know their race or nationality. In this book she let's us know the security guard in an apartment building is "black". And goes on to write his dialogue in slang and poor grammar. As if that is how all African Americans speak. I'm white and I am SURE there are tons of grammatical errors in this review that I am not aware of. It just seems to me that the race a of a security guard is immaterial. I guess we have to assume that all the other characters are white because she didn't specify. In an early Sookie Stackhouse novel, she actually named an Italian character "Guido" or something like that. And don't get me started on the couple of scenes where Roe and her fiance get intimate. Not that they are explicit by any means, not at all. They are just kind of hokey. Ms. Harris actually wrote the words "Readers, he carried me" (into the bedroom I guess) in one scene where they reunite after being apart.
So of course I recommend this book. Not everyone is going to react to the somewhat negative things I pointed out the way I did.

The Julius House, newly reprinted by Berkely Prime Crime, is the fourth in the Aurora Teagarden series by Charlaine Harris. Just over six years ago, the Julius family disappeared, taking none of their belongings. The mystery was never solved, and for amateur sleuth "Roe" it becomes the perfect wedding present from her handsome, wealthy fiancé, Martin.

Roe is finally going to be the bride and not a bridesmaid. To top that, now she has a new home to decorate, a wedding to plan and a mystery to solve, all of which makes her happier than she has ever been in her life. She is surprised when her fiancé, Martin, informs her that two of his friends are moving into the apartment over the garage of their new home. She does her best to welcome the odd pair while putting aside her worries that maybe she doesn't know her husband-to-be as well as she thought. But she is in love and looking forward to taking up their life together in the remodeled home when they return from the perfect honeymoon in England.

But life isn't a fairy tale with all happy endings, as Roe soon discovers. Her new husband's recently revealed and unsavory past, an axe wielding madman, her friends' concerns about her living in the mystery house and the so-called "friends" over the garage who turn out to be her bodyguards--all this soon has her thinking that maybe some secrets are better left to remain buried. The depth of characterizations and twists of the plot will keep you guessing to the shocking, unexpected end.

by Rhonda Esakov
for Story Circle Book Reviews
reviewing books by, for, and about women

Aurora Teagarden's fiance, Martin Bartell, gives her the deed to the Julius House as a wedding gift. The house has a dark history. Some six years before an entire family named Julius had disappeared from the residence leaving all of their belongings. Despite a careful investigation into their disppearance by the authorities no trace was ever found. Aurora decides that she is going to find the Julius family.
On the personal side, though, she is also finding out some things about her future husband that make her more than a bit uneasy. Then Martin tells her that he a friend from Vietnam who has lost his job in Florida and will be staying in their garage apartment. When she meets the Youngbloods she knows that Martin is not being completely open with her.
There's a satisfactory resolution of the story but as with many literary villains, much of the detail comes out only because the evil person, once immobilized, cannot keep their mouth shut. However, Harris has created a page turner as the focus moves from Aurora's less than idyllic personal life to the puzzle of what happened to the former owners of her home.

In Lawrenceton, Georgia wealthy businessman Martin Bartell, the manager of the Pan Am Agra Plant, fell in love with Aurora "Roe" Teagarden from the moment they first met. Older and more sophisticated than her, they set a wedding date within weeks of their first meeting. As a wedding present Martin gives his fiancée the deed to the Julius House.

The house has a mysterious history because one night six years ago the family vanished without a reason or a trace; leaving everything behind. When Roe finds something illegal that her new spouse is involved in, she tries to ignore her qualms by investigating what happened to the Julius family. Her inquiries almost kill her; and it is only thanks to her tenant Angel that she survived the harrowing situation. When she finds the bodies of the family members, a new mystery surfaces that takes Roe and Angel into danger in New Orleans where people want them dead.

Charlaine Harris is one of the best writers of regional cozies. Her amateur sleuth tales are filled with colorful characters, red herrings, plenty of suspects, and clues that ask more questions than they answer. The protagonist is a classical southern steel magnolia; beautiful to look at with a strong metallic spine as she is not afraid to face danger and confront horrors even involving the man she loves.

Harriet Klausner

I am quite the Charlaine Harris fan; I own all of her books (except the last two in this series). Basically my favorite thing about her books is the quick pace of the story-- Ms. Harris tends to get you interested and involved within the first few pages, oftentimes not even introducing the most important conflict of the novel until several chapters in. The result is the creation of likable, realistic characters that you are able to bring to life in your imagination and fully empathize with. Of the entire Aurora Teagarden series, this book is probably my second favorite (after the first one-- I just loved it!). I enjoyed the descriptions of the house and thought that the way the action played out was exciting and believable. I really liked the addition of the new "bodyguard" characters for Roe in this installment-- it is about time the woman had some regular friends (that is one thing that I prefer about some of Harris's other series; this one is lacking in recurring characters. While a constantly revolving door of new faces is fun, there are some characters in Miss Teagarden's world that I would have liked to hear more from! I hope that Shelby and his wife stick around for at least a couple more novels!). The pacing of the book was fun and I couldn't find Roe any more charming-- being a "single" thirty year old woman myself who is still in college (like Roe, "spinning my wheels") with parents who want to see me succeed while I am perfectly happy just getting by, I can totally relate to the fictional woman. I don't think I would relish finding murder victims all of the time, but I think I would enjoy a dose of the excitement that seems to be teeming over in the life of this fictional accidental detective. For fans of the series, this is a definite buy! If you haven't been introduced to Roe yet, go pick up the first installment of the series. For any Charlaine Harris fan, whether you love Sookie Stackhouse, Harper Connelly or Lily Bard-- give Roe Teagarden a try! She is a perfect fit with the rest of Ms. Harris's strong-hearted female leads.

I like this whole series a lot, and I read them after I read Sookie, then Harper Connelly. So, it was my third series to tackle and I could see that Charlaine has grown a lot as an author, but this is a true mystery book, so it is way different than the Sookie books. I found that Aurora's character is getting more and more interesting as the series goes on, and in this particular book, I have to say it was a nice read. I'd recommend this book, but read them in order or they'll be confusing! This particular book is about a house that a family was murdered/missing from, and Aurora gets the house as a gift, and refinishes it. She solves the mystery accidentally, like always. It's a good relaxing read. Much lighter than the Sookie or Harper books.

Yes, the book is entertaining but in reading more than several reveiws, none mention the ridiculous ending.STOP! if you haven't finished the book.

Why didn't Angel & Roe call the police after subdueing Charity and her boyfriend. Roe was immediately attacked and Angel was trying to protect Roe from getting shot. Why did they think they would be arrested for self-defense and WHY did they let them off the hook for the murders. Don't understand the ending.

The story starts out happy and with the expected mystery. But, the author throws in a bit of a second mystery that makes the story much more interesting. This second mystery shows us that not every one is completely good or completely bad, that there are several states of in between. As the story unfolds we learn how Roe learns this for herself and how she copes with where her heart leads her.

I look forward to reading the next book in the series and hope that the author will continue with the second mystery in the next novel.

In the fourth book of this series, Roe Teagarden marries her handsome businessman boyfriend, Martin Bartell. He buys her a house she has admired which once housed a family who mysteriously disappeared. During the course of the story, Roe discovers the mystery of the Julius family as well as some rather unsavory things about her husband. This book is not as fun as the earlier books of the series and her marriage seems contrived as Martin and Roe seem to have little in common other than a physical attraction.

Excellent book. I am totally enjoying the Aurora Teagarden series. I read the Sookie series first and fell in love with Charlaine Harris's writing. I even watch the True Blood series on HBO tho they are a bit more graphic than the books. Can't wait to start the next book in this series. Keep up the great work Charlaine.

This was the final Aurora Teagarden mystery that I read, and it was for the same reason that I stopped reading the Harper Connelly mysteries. The first few of this series were entertaining enough, but eventually I couldn't get past the fact that Roe was just a plain, boring person who found herself in ridiculous situations. She's a very one dimensional character with few redeeming qualities except that she's graceful when confronted by the absurdity of her name. A joke that gets old quickly.

Though I don't know who came first, Sookie, Roe or Harper. But it feels as if Harris created Sookie, and thought to herself, "Well this is going well, let's see what else I can do!" and created the other two, who paled in comparison.

This is the best book in the series so far. Aurora is learning that things are not always what they appear to be and acting impulsively can be dangerous. Fun, but dangerous. She has developed a thicker skin. However, being in love has made her vulnerable.

I enjoy Charlaine Harris' work. She is easy to read and gives you just the right mix of fun and suspense. Looking forward to seeing what happens to Aurora and the rest of the folks in that Atlanta suburb.

Aurora gets married and moves into the Julius house with her new husband. Out of sheer boredom she takes on a case of the former house owners' mysterious disappearance and (you guessed it), she solves it!

While I liked Charlaine Harris' writing style and enjoyed the mystery case, there was something out of place in this book. I think the story line about Aurora's husband's dark dealings was really overdone and felt very foreign to the small-town feel of the entire series.

I hope Ms. Harris will be able to abandon this unnecessary "twist" in her future Aurora Teagarden mysteries books and come back to the cozy feel of her previous creations.

After reading multiple series by Charlaine Harris, with lots of great characters, I found this book and the Aurora Teagarden series fun and different. I recommend it to anyone who enjoys a tale spun with fun, and not TOO long to enjoy quickly.

This is my favorite Aurora Teagarden book so far. She is in love and very happy. Her fiance buys her a house for an engagement present. The house is one that has a local mystery attached to it. Aurora starts to dig into the past to find out what happened to the family who lived in the house before she acquired it. Along with that mystery, she is beginning to have some doubts about her fiance. Is he the hard working business executive she fell in love with? A very good read.

I had read all the Aurora Teagarden books with the exception of this title. I picked up last week and read it in an afternoon. The mystery keeps you guessing until the end. It's a great, quick read, as are all the Roe Teagarden books!

i asbolutely LOVE Charlaine Harris books and this one does not dissappoint. i completely identify with her characters even though we are worlds apart in situations, ideas and mannerisms. She truly does help us to see each other as people, not so different from ourselves really where it counts. two thumbs up all the way