Life Before Sookie Stackhouse

“You’re different,” he said. “What are you?” . . . “Well. I’m Sookie Stackhouse, and I’m a waitress,” I told him. “What’s your name?” . . . “Bill,” he said. Dead Until Dark (2001) by Charlaine Harris

If you’re a fan of the TV show True Blood, I’m sure you know all about Sookie and Bill. What you may not know is that long before Charlaine Harris wrote her first Sookie Stackhouse novel, she was writing a mystery series featuring librarian-turned-detective Aurora Teagarden. The first Aurora Teagarden novel, Real Murders, was published in 1990. Due to the success of True Blood and the Sookie Stackhouse books, Harris’s Aurora Teagarden series is being republished in hardcover. The new hardcover edition of Real Murders was released in 2010 and books two through four were released in 2011. Book five of the series, Dead Over Heels, will be released in March. If you like Charlaine Harris, check out this series and follow the adventures of Aurora Teagarden.

1. Real Murders -- One of the members of Aurora Teagarden's crime club, Real Murders, is murdered and the other members of the club become suspects.


2. A Bone to Pick -- Aurora inherits the estate of a deceased Real Murders Club member and discovers a human skull inside the house with the note, "I didn't do it."


3. Three Bedrooms, One Corpse -- Having quit her librarian job after she inherited a fellow club member's estate, Aurora decides to pursue a real estate career. At her first house showing, she finds the naked corpse of another real estate agent.


4. The Julius House -- Aurora marries wealthy businessman Martin Bartell and moves into the Julius House. The Julius family disappeared six years earlier and when Aurora is attacked inside the house, she tries to uncover the secrets of the house and her new husband.


5. Dead Over Heels -- A plane circling overhead drops the murdered body of Detective Sergeant Jack Burns into Aurora's backyard.