My Thought's of A Murder in Shakespeare

I thought Shakespeare's Landlord was a quaint story. I'm glad we found out what happened to Lily pretty quickly in the plot. The cautiousness she shows through the story was well explained, but I found myself getting annoyed at not knowing what had happened and was a little concerned we wouldn't find out in book 1. Thankfully we did and it gave us a much better handle on her.

I love that Marshall was able to help her cease existing and start living again. Truthfully, I'm hoping things work out for them in the long run. I don't think Thea has a full grasp of who she's dealing with by trying to torment Lily. I like Claude, and he definitely seemed excited at the end to know there's something going on with Thea than what meets the eye :-)

Truthfully, I thought the whodunit was Norvil, and was very surprised when we found out who the real culprit was. With all the characters floating around and Lily's in depth knowledge of them, I thought it would either be Norvil or the Reverend. Something seems very off with the Reverend to me. I can't place it, though.

It's a good start to a series. Good pick, Liz. :-)

Lily Bard: The real mystery

At first, I had a hard time connecting with Lily. There were so few details about her.  Then I realized that it was because Lily is a mystery herself and actually the real mystery of the story.  I found myself wanting to know more about Lily and who was tormenting her by leaving her the horrid objects that represented her past more than I cared about who killed the landlord.

I think its obvious that Lily is a strong character.  I can't imagine trying to get over what happened to her and being reminded daily by the scars.  I am glad she hasn't put up so many barriers that she pushes away Marshall. Of course, I love Marshall because to me he is a REAL guy.  When he looks at Lily he's not looking for just a physical relationship but he's attracted to her as a person.  I think he understands that she has a terrible past that is a part of her but it's not what defines her.

I am curious what happens to Lily next.  I believe there are more books and I wonder what other mysteries could happen in this little town of Shakespeare.  Will Lily continue her relationship with Marshall or will she grow closer to Claude?  I may have to go get the books...

A Bard resides in Shakespeare

Murder is not some fictional conceit, imagined for the purpose of entertainment, but actually happens: and afterwards no credits roll, and life has to continue to be lived even if you have absolutely no idea where the deeds to the house are kept, or who services the lawn mower.

MICHAEL MARSHALL, Blood of Angels

Allow me to admit up front that I am not a fan of Charlaine Harris. Or more precisely, I am not a fan of Harris's writing style. I tried her fist series and made it exactly one book and less than half a chapter in before selling the rest of the books I had. I just find her technique rather bland and her characters a little dry, and some VERY annoying. BUT, in regards to Shakespeare's Landlord, I did enjoy the mystery and was surprised when my assumption turned out to be incorrect.

In the beginning it took me a little bit to get into the book. Mostly because I had a hard time warming up to Lily. I understood that she was aloof for a reason and it was hinted that her reclusive ways were a result of some past trauma but I just didn't feel very sympathetic towards her and had a hard time connecting with her character. The one thing I really did admire about Lily though was her ability to keep mum. Being the town cleaner, she was pretty much in a position of power. She knew everything about the people she worked for; things that could damage their reputation and wreck some of their lives. But she showed such discretion and chose not to use the information she gathered to gain any type of foothold.

I enjoyed learning about Shakespeare and those who lived in it. The community seemed like a cross between the apartment complex in Lady in the Water and Melrose Place. Probably leaning a little more towards Melrose considering when murder and tragedy struck the town, there was a whole lot of finger pointing and a lot less bonding together.

Since I am not sure how far the rest of you are, I will keep quiet on other observations and comments. I don't want to ruin the mystery or give anything a way. This one has a nice little twist to it that I enjoyed.