Poppy Done to Death

Aurora Teagarden, mild-mannered librarian, has spent her entire life in the same small Georgia town. Along with her sister-in-law Poppy, Roe has finally earned a coveted spot in the Uppity Women, an exclusive group that does more than flower arranging. But Poppy is a no-show on their induction day. Roe stops by Poppy’s house to find out why and is shocked to discover Poppy dead on the kitchen floor, and it’s not by accident. There’s no lack of suspects, since both Poppy and her husband were unfaithful. Even the detective in charge of the case, Roe’s former lover Arthur Smith, has a past with Poppy.
As if that weren’t enough, Roe has rekindled a relationship with another old flame and things are moving fast, with plans to meet his mother at Thanksgiving. She’s also acquired an unexpected house guest: her half-brother, who’s run away from his parents’ home in California. Balancing her personal life while looking into Poppy’s murder isn’t easy, but Roe is determined to give it -- and Poppy -- her best effort. And when Roe discovers that the crime scene has been ransacked, she knows someone is desperate to hide a secret. Roe will have to dig through Poppy’s life to uncover the truth and bring the killer to justice.
Poppy Done to Death is the engaging eighth installment of the Aurora Teagarden mysteries by #1 New York Times bestselling author Charlaine Harris. The series has been adapted into film for Hallmark Movies & Mysteries.
"I paid almost no attention at all to the last conversation I had with my stepsister-in-law, Poppy Queensland. Though I liked Poppymore or less my main feeling when she called was one of irritation. I was only five years older than Poppy, but she made me feel like a Victorian grandmother, and when she told me she was going to foul up our plans, I felt very... miffed. Doesn’t that sound grumpy? “Listen,” said Poppy. As always, she sounded imperative and excited. Poppy always made her own life sound more important and exciting than anyone else’s (mine, for example). “I’m going to be late this morning, so you two just go on. I’ll meet you there. Save me a place.” Later, I figured that Poppy called me about 10:30, because I was almost ready to leave my house to get her, and then Melinda. Poppy and Melinda were the wives of my stepbrothers. Since I’d acquired my new family well into my adulthood, we didn’t have any shared history, and it was taking us a long time to get comfortable. I generally just introduced Poppy and Melinda as my sisters-in-law, to avoid this complicated explanation. In our small Georgia town, Lawrenceton, most often no explanation was required. Lawrenceton is gradually being swallowed by the Atlanta metroplex, but here we still generally know all our family histories."