Dead Over Heels by Charlaine Harris Narrator: Therese Plummer
Series: Aurora Teagarden #5
Published by Recorded Books on November 12, 2009
Genres: Cozy Mystery
Length: 6 hours, 10 minutes
Format: Audiobook
Source: Library
Goodreads
Amazon, Audible, Libro.fm, Barnes & Noble, Apple
Part-time librarian Aurora "Roe" Teagarden never liked Detective Sergeant Jack Burns, but she also never wanted to see him dead— especially not dropped from a plane right into her own backyard. But when other strange things happen around her, ranging from peculiar (her irascible cat turns up wearing a pink ribbon) to violent (her assistant at the library is attacked) to potentially deadly (her former lover is stabbed), she must decipher the personal message in the madness before it's too late.
Dead Over Heels begins a after a gap of a year or two since the events of The Julius House and has a settled tone. Roe and Martin are adjusting to married life, not always easily, but getting on well. Then a body falls from the sky and a new murder mystery lands, literally, at Roe’s feet. Charlaine Harris does a fantastic job of blending life, love, and mystery in a Southern small town with her Aurora Teagarden series.
Dead Over Heels is the fifth in the “read-in-order” Aurora Teagarden cozy mystery series.
As I mentioned, the honeymoon is over and Roe is more settled as a married lady in her newly renovated Julius House. She’s gone back to work part-time at the library, needing something fulfilling to do with her time especially since Martin’s job as the executive running the agricultural plant keeps him late and sometimes out of town. She’s also more settled with Angel as her bodyguard and friend, while Shelby is less bodyguard and is putting down roots working his way up the ladder at the plant.
It was like things were sleeping for Roe until Detective Jack Burns’ body drops from a plane into her backyard. A mysterious stalker gets active and she’s not sure if it’s her or Angel who has the stalker’s attention. People around her are getting assaulted and the rest of the police department including her ex, Arthur Smith, can’t help but note this. Speaking of Arthur, he and Lynn have separated and now he’s giving Roe long looks that she ignores as best she can. Angel and Shelby get a surprise and Roe has her own personal disappointment to work through. While working through what a series of events have to do with each other, Roe is right back to detecting and pulls out more secrets and has to find the truth before the killer strikes again.
Dead Over Heels has a mystery, but unlike past books, Roe’s personal life and relationship entanglements seems to take center stage. In previous books, she had to deal with loneliness and finding her own special someone, then adjusting to Martin’s past and how their marriage will work out, and in, this one, she’s dealing with the emotional side of learning she is sterile and can’t have kids. Charlaine Harris does a good job of showing emotional depth even while progressing the plot forward.
Another strong entry of the series with that breath-stealing reveal and climax scene to top off the slow-burn mystery. Those who want their cozies to have a little edge and emotional struggle should look up the Aurora Teagarden  series.
Narration:
Therese Plummer’s voicing of Roe, the cast of characters around her, and all the variety of situations and scenes continues to be spectacular.
Listen to a clip: HERE
About Therese Plummer
Therese Plummer is an actor and voice over artist living and working in New York City. Favorite roles to date include TV: Rose Nerrick, The Good Wife, Andy in Law and Order SVU. Stage: Celebrity Row; New York Theatre Workshop, Under Tillage, The Irish Repertory Theatre. Off-off Broadway credits include The Vagina Monologues, Suzanne in Twilight of the Gold’s and Madeline in the Award Winning Samuel French Short play The Sweet Room. Comedy Credits include Improv at Upright Citizens Brigade and Stand-up at Caroline’s Comedy Club. Therese also performed her one woman show, Ribbons Undone, at the Here Arts Center.
Therese records audio books for Audible.com, Recorded Books and Talking Books, Inc. As an adolescent counselor, Therese spent five years utilizing Drama therapy techniques in individual and group settings before moving to New York. She shares a passion of creating, helping and entertaining and feels incredibly lucky to do all three.
About Charlaine Harris
Tired of abiding by the mystery rules, Harris wrote a novel about a telepathic barmaid that took at least two years to sell. When the book was published, it turned into a best seller, and DEAD UNTIL DARK and the subsequent Sookie books were adapted in Alan Ball’s “True Blood” series. At the same time, Harris began the Harper Connelly books. Harper can find the bones of the dead and see their last minute.
When those two series wound to a close, the next three books were about a mysterious town in Texas, called Midnight.
A change in publisher and editor led to Harris’s novels about a female gunslinger in an alternate America, Lizbeth Rose. The Gunnie Rose books concluded with the sixth novel.
She’s thinking about what to write next.
As a lifelong reader, it was inevitable that Sophia would discover book blogs and the joy of blog reviewing.Sophia is a prolific reader and audiobook listener which allows her to experience so many wonderful books, authors, and narrators.Few genres are outside her reading tastes, but her true love is fiction particularly history, mystery, sci-fi, and romance.Though, sorry, no horror or she will run like Shaggy and Scooby.
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I don’t mind when a mystery focuses heavily on the character’s personal lives and growth as long as it’s interesting and not too angsty. You’re getting through the series fast!
Yeah, these can get borderline too much angst for me, but tend to stay on the calmer side and keep the plot moving forward.
You have me wanting to listen to these! Great review Sophia.
Yay, glad the series is tempting you, Kimberly. I’m having a good time with them. 🙂
This sounds so good.
This whole series has been great, Mary. 🙂
How fun!!! I have heard of this author before….I might have some on my TBR
These are good cozies. Oh yeah, she’s written a ton and I’ve enjoyed hitting her backlist over the last few years. 🙂
Glad you’re enjoying this series still. Thanks for the review!
It’s still a hit for me. 🙂