Charlie M. (bookaddicted) -
Helpful Score: 12
I admit that I found this book hard to get into in the beginning. Lily and her actions puzzled me until Harris explains her background and why she is the way she is. After that I was able to warm up to the character and able to enjoy the book. First book of a series I will continue to read.
Helpful Score: 9
Those of you who know Charlaine Harris' other books will not be disappointed. The series isn't as fun as the Southern Vampire books, but the quality of the writing remains. First in the series.
Helpful Score: 6
I agree with some of the other reviews, at first this was hard to get into. Then it found a groove. I was completely caught up in the story and the characters. I loved the Sookie Stackhouse series that Charlaine Harris wrote and this book is a great beginning. I think I might be addicted to another series!
Helpful Score: 4
Not your run of the mill amateur detective--not one bit of perkiness.
Jessica D. (JessicaRabbit) reviewed Shakespeare's Landlord (Lily Bard, Bk 1) on + 110 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 4
My first Charlaine Harris book and I really enjoyed it. I couldn't figure out who the killer was and usually I am good at picking the person out before the end of the book. A very good read.
** edited to add, I perfer this series to her Sookie Stackhouse series. **
** edited to add, I perfer this series to her Sookie Stackhouse series. **
Helpful Score: 4
I enjoyed this small town mystery. I especially liked the way Lily observed her neighbors and employers and how she created a new life for herself.
Helpful Score: 3
This is the first book in the Lily Bard series. Lily has secrets from her past and a wish to remain unnoticed - but her surroundings and the people she encounters lead her to the attentions of others and finally, she must to solve a mystery to save her own life. Ms. Harris can really hold your attention!
Helpful Score: 3
Lily is a spunky heroine with a mean kick. She may be only a maid but she can solve mysteries better than the Sherriff. Harriss first novel in this series has a fast paced plot, unique characters, and a gripping mystery that I couldnt put down.
Helpful Score: 2
This is first in series, I loved it,wonderful series by charlaine harris When you read the first book you have to have all of them to see what happens with Lily. great mystery with a little romance thrown in.
Helpful Score: 2
This is the first in the Lily Bard series. It is very good...though I found it slower to get into than the rest of her series.
Helpful Score: 2
Excellent series of hers. Lily Bard is a complicated interesting woman. Charlaine Harris has a knack for offbeat heroines.
Helpful Score: 2
Great read, good strong female hero - her exploits in a small Southern town - murder, love, etc..
Helpful Score: 2
First of an interesting series. Lily Bard is not as engaging as Charlaine Harris' other heroines, but her wary ways and mysterious past are entertaining nonetheless. This one has the backstory of what exactly happened to Lily that made her so circumspect and slightly antisocial. A good, fast read!
Chris C. (chrisnsally) -
Helpful Score: 2
This is a very different, new approach of mystery novel. Lilly Bard is a very strong character with a shady background of her own. The pace of the plot is very quick and it is an easy, light, enjoyable read. It's just a fun book, combined with mystery and romance, to enjoy some weekend.
Helpful Score: 2
I didn't like this book. The main character, Lily, was rather unsympathetic, even after learning of her terrible story. It's a decent enough mystery story. I did enjoy when Lily made a brief stop into "Dead as a Doornail," book #5 in the Southern Vampire series.
Helpful Score: 2
I am so glad I started reading her books. This is so much fun to read and the characters are great.
Helpful Score: 2
This is the first Lily Bard mystery. Lily disconers the dead body of her nosy landlord. She has to uncover the mystery and unmask the murderer before her carefully constructed life falls apart. A quick read. I enjoyed it enough to read the second book.
Helpful Score: 2
Great book,read it in one sitting. Love the way she builds her characters.
Helpful Score: 2
I just got hooked on this series. Have read 2 of this particular series. I just adore Lily Bard. She is my kind of woman!!! Smart, tough, and doesn't take flack from anyone!!! She's my hero!
Helpful Score: 2
Lily Bard has been hiding in Shakespeare, Arkansas...now someone has been murdered and Lily is one of the accused...Can she help find the killer before she is put in jail and all without her ugly past coming out?!
Great story!!!
Great story!!!
Robin M. (robinmy) -
Helpful Score: 2
Good start to Lily Bard mystery series. I wasn't even close to figuring out whodunit.
Helpful Score: 2
Charlaine Harris always delivers! Great book! Beginning of the Lily Bard series.
Helpful Score: 1
A wounded but strong heroine, 2 tough but tender hero possibilities and a good mystery - delightful!
Helpful Score: 1
This was a pretty good book. I didn't enjoy it as much as the Sookie Stackhouse series by Charlaine Harris but it was still good. This is more of a mystery series and was pretty tame compared to the other Charlaine Harris novels I have read.
Helpful Score: 1
This is an excellent start to this set. Looking forward to reading the rest. This is my Third Set i have read by her
Helpful Score: 1
This was a really fun quick read. You will love Lily.
Helpful Score: 1
This was odd at first until you knew Lily's background. THen the book was flowing and interesting. I enjoyed it and will read the reswt of the series.
SUSAN S. (susieqmillsacoustics) -
Helpful Score: 1
I enjoyed this little mystery tale. I liked the character Lily Bard very much. I am usually good at figuring out "whodunnits", but this was well done and kept me guessing to the end, even then it's a surprise. I read this because I enjoy watching True Blood, and tried reading the first one, but found the show very much followed the book, so I couldn't get into it. I wanted to read this author without knowing anything ahead of time. Overall, it's an entertaining read with colorful characters and an amusing mystery story.
#1 in the Lily Bard series, a great little mystery and a quick read.
Helpful Score: 1
Your basic cozy mystery, you pretty much figure it out, but the characters are enjoyable.
Helpful Score: 1
Disguising herself with short hair and baggy clothes, Lily Bard has started over in the sleepy town of Shakespeare, Arkansas, where, working as a cleaning lady, she can sweep away the secrets of her dark and violent past.
Helpful Score: 1
Loved the character of Lily Bart. She has faced a nightmare and has managed to do things in her life to give her the confidence and self-assuredness to get up everyday. I love that she is able to develop guarded friendships with the men in her daily routines.
Mary Ruth
Mary Ruth
Helpful Score: 1
Wonderful characters!
AnnA H. (stormchaserblue) reviewed Shakespeare's Landlord (Lily Bard, Bk 1) on + 43 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1
The Lily Bard series by Charlaine Harris is nothing like the dead series as far as content but it is also a well written series, with a strong female lead, who has a problem filled past.
The first book starts slow and it takes several chapters to discover that Lily is mentally recovering from being brutally gang raped years before, Lily has painstakingly rebuilt her life. She is now must stronger physically and is gaining confidence in her martial arts studies. However, she still disguises her looks and maintains a low profile. After all, housecleaners aren't exactly noticed.
The first book forces her to loose her hard won anonymity and begin to reconnect with people. Each book we see the changes in Lily and the skills she has developed to keep herself safe from ever being a victim again.
A great series for mystery lovers, with a little steam in each book (I am so not lending this to my mother.)
The first book starts slow and it takes several chapters to discover that Lily is mentally recovering from being brutally gang raped years before, Lily has painstakingly rebuilt her life. She is now must stronger physically and is gaining confidence in her martial arts studies. However, she still disguises her looks and maintains a low profile. After all, housecleaners aren't exactly noticed.
The first book forces her to loose her hard won anonymity and begin to reconnect with people. Each book we see the changes in Lily and the skills she has developed to keep herself safe from ever being a victim again.
A great series for mystery lovers, with a little steam in each book (I am so not lending this to my mother.)
Barbara S. (barbsis) -
Helpful Score: 1
I enjoyed the mystery of who killed Pardon Albee but all the time Lily Bard spent cleaning was boring as hell. The characters have the strangest names and they are all bizarre people. Though I did like the police chief, Claude Friedrich. It wouldn't surprise me if Lily and Claude had a relationship in future books. The interest was there but Lily was already involved in a relationship.
I'm not sure I could stand more cleaning adventures in Shakespeare, Arkansas so probably won't continue this series.
I'm not sure I could stand more cleaning adventures in Shakespeare, Arkansas so probably won't continue this series.
She is an excellent author
Having read the Sookie Stackhouse books, I was interested in reading some of Harris's other series. I was immediately drawn into the strong character of Lily Bard who is an unspoken vigilante of a town called Shakespeare. This is a quick fun mystery read. With only 5 in the series, I plan on reading the rest.
Loved it!!!
Good, quick, read.
Danielle R. (danielleraybuck) reviewed Shakespeare's Landlord (Lily Bard, Bk 1) on + 76 more book reviews
Really complex storyline with a great twist at the end and a wonderful cast of characters. I'll be reading more...
Love this series by Charlaine Harris! It's funny and different and very interesting. Wasn't sure at first but now this whole set is on my keeper bookshelf. Definitely worth the credit!
First in the Lily Bard series -- Lily cleans houses in Shakespeare, Arkansas, and finds more than just dirty floors!
Good read. Lily is a likeable character
Melissa A. (melymermaid) -
Lily Bard is a dark character As Meredith Grey would say, 'dark and twisty inside'. But she is incredibly brave. When others would have given up, choosing to die physically and/or emotionally. Not Lily. She chose to live, to take charge, to move on. So much so, it made me warm up to her. I loved to see her transformation, or the beginning of it. Her wounds had started to heal, without her even taking notice.
The story is a nice, entertaining mystery. But it is also about a woman letting go of her past and taking care of her wounds. I loved it and can't wait to read the second book.
The story is a nice, entertaining mystery. But it is also about a woman letting go of her past and taking care of her wounds. I loved it and can't wait to read the second book.
Some pretty gruesome descriptions but a good read.
The first half of this book was not terribly easy for me to get in to. I always love the Charlaine Harris books I've read, including all the Sookie Stackhouse series and the Aurora Teagarden books, so I jumped into this first book in the series. I read it slowly over a few weeks and by the end I was looking forward to reading it before bed each night. I just finished it the other night and quite enjoyed it, can't wait to read another.
A quick and fun read. Very much in the style of all her other books, the characters are quirky and quite southern. Those who loved the Sookie Stackhouse novels will enjoy sitting down with this for a couple of days.
I did find it a bit hard to connect with Lily in the beginning of the book, but by the end of the story, I found that I was kind of liking her "straight-forwardness". The mystery kept me going up until almost the very end, which is pretty good, because I've usually figured out a cozy about halfway through. I will probably give the second one a try... I don't know if I'd get the whole series, but I am interested to see what happens to Lily and the town of Shakespeare in the next book.
I have read all the Sookie Stackhouse books. So I decided to move on to the Authors other works. I find that her talent for storytelling carries over. I am enjoying this series as much as I did the Vampire ones.
I really loved this book. Another hit from Charlaine Harris! Lily's story really sucks you.
Lisa B. (momof3boysandagirl) reviewed Shakespeare's Landlord (Lily Bard, Bk 1) on + 58 more book reviews
I like the way Harris spins a mystery, I have to admit I am on my third series of hers and the descriptions are getting somewhat tedious. In the Sookie books is how blonde bombshell Sookie is, in Aurora books its how petite she is and the glasses and the clothes, with this series its how many reps Lily is up to a the gym. Enough already. I love every thing else about Harris and the pace of her books is just terrific for a busy life.
AnnA H. (stormchaserblue) reviewed Shakespeare's Landlord (Lily Bard, Bk 1) on + 43 more book reviews
The Lily Bard series by Charlaine Harris is nothing like the dead series as far as content but it is also a well written series, with a strong female lead, who has a problem filled past.
The first book starts slow and it takes several chapters to discover that Lily is mentally recovering from being brutally gang raped years before, Lily has painstakingly rebuilt her life. She is now must stronger physically and is gaining confidence in her martial arts studies. However, she still disguises her looks and maintains a low profile. After all, housecleaners aren't exactly noticed.
The first book forces her to loose her hard won anonymity and begin to reconnect with people. Each book we see the changes in Lily and the skills she has developed to keep herself safe from ever being a victim again.
A great series for mystery lovers, with a little steam in each book (I am so not lending this to my mother.)
The first book starts slow and it takes several chapters to discover that Lily is mentally recovering from being brutally gang raped years before, Lily has painstakingly rebuilt her life. She is now must stronger physically and is gaining confidence in her martial arts studies. However, she still disguises her looks and maintains a low profile. After all, housecleaners aren't exactly noticed.
The first book forces her to loose her hard won anonymity and begin to reconnect with people. Each book we see the changes in Lily and the skills she has developed to keep herself safe from ever being a victim again.
A great series for mystery lovers, with a little steam in each book (I am so not lending this to my mother.)
1st in this series, reissued.....straight mystery - no vampires
Christine H. (solarawynn) reviewed Shakespeare's Landlord (Lily Bard, Bk 1) on + 724 more book reviews
The first Lily Bard mystery. INtroduces you to everyone. I ended up buying the rest of them.
This book is about a women who is hiding herself in the small town of Shakespeare, Arkansas. She finds the dead body of her former land lord in a park and calls the police anonymously, not wanting to blow her cover. She soon realizes the suspicions are turning to her and in order to save herself needs to find the murderer.
I have to be honest, I am not much of mystery fan. I know this, but, I do love Charlaine Harris's Sookie Stackhouse and Harper Connelly books so I decided to try this one as well. The story line was ok, but the narration and writing of the story seemed impersonal to me at times, and I just could not pick up a flow and get in to it. The book itself is small, only about 214 pages, so it didn't take too long, but actually reading it, it felt like an eternity.
Also posted: http://nexttimesaymyname.blogspot.com/2009/09/book-review-shakespeares-landlord-by.html
I have to be honest, I am not much of mystery fan. I know this, but, I do love Charlaine Harris's Sookie Stackhouse and Harper Connelly books so I decided to try this one as well. The story line was ok, but the narration and writing of the story seemed impersonal to me at times, and I just could not pick up a flow and get in to it. The book itself is small, only about 214 pages, so it didn't take too long, but actually reading it, it felt like an eternity.
Also posted: http://nexttimesaymyname.blogspot.com/2009/09/book-review-shakespeares-landlord-by.html
Charlaine Harris is a great southern writer. Her main character is quirky, talented, intense and extremely strong. Lily discovers a body -- a dead one -- and so, gets swept up in solving the mystery. Shakespeare, Arkansas is an the place in which the story happens. It's a small southern town, just like those towns we all know about. You will NOT want to put this book down. It's a quick read, never a dull moment!
I really enjoy these books. The characters are well-done and the plotting is excellent.
In a sleepy Southern town Charlaine Harris spills another great mystery!
This book was a very quick read with a few interesting quirks and plot twists. It is certainly not very intense - just a fun "summer read". I like Charlaine Harris' characters, she does a good job of making them original for a short, quick book.
On a late-night in tiny Shakespeare, Lily Bard sees a furtive figure placing large plastic garbage bags in the local park and then goes out to check and discovers the landlord living next door. In a quick but anonymous phone call she reports it to the police chief. Realizing, however, that her fingerprints on the body of the dead man might make her a suspect, Lily subtly and insightfully queries her customers, some of them tenants of the murdered landlord. The renters are a well-defined lot. As Lily investigates, she develops a wary but cordial relationship with the police chief and forms a warmer tie with her karate instructor. But at the same time, someone has discovered the unspeakable facts about Lily's past and has begun stalking her.
Charlaine Harris has scored another hit. Her characters are always great and Lily Bard is her latest creation. If you have liked any of her other series, you will definitely go for this one.
Lily is a loner. Other than the day-to-day workings of her cleaning service, she pays little attention to the town around her. But when her landlord is murdered, Lily is singled out as the prime suspect, and proving her innocence will depend on finding the real killer in quiet, secretive Shakespeare.
Lily is a loner. Other than the day-to-day workings of her cleaning service, she pays little attention to the town around her. But when her landlord is murdered, Lily is singled out as the prime suspect, and proving her innocence will depend on finding the real killer in quiet, secretive Shakespeare.
I liked the story and am in the process of reading the next book. Interesting people and different approach to crime solving.
If you like the author's Sookie Stackhouse books, you will enjoy this series as well.
I really enjoyed this light mystery. The character of Lily has her own back story. She just happens to be the one who sees the body disposal. Overall I found it to be a fun read.
This promises to be a good series, although it is written in a different tone from Charlaine Harris's other works. That is a good thing, however. I would hate for them to all sound the same. I like it well enough to order the next installment.
The book was pretty well written, but the characters were a bit flat, to me. Maybe I just expected too much.
Kathy N. (addicated-to-reading) reviewed Shakespeare's Landlord (Lily Bard, Bk 1) on + 150 more book reviews
Have always liked Charlaine Harris and liked this so much I read the entire series in a week. Liked Lily a lot, a hard working, regular woman without any super natural powers and a trauma to try and keep recovering from. Characters were well developed and Lily kept evolving - would recommend it for any who likes light, quick mystery stories.
Disguising herself with short hair and baggy clothes, Lily Bard has started over in the sleepy town of Shakespeare, Arkansas working as a cleaning lady. Ater discovering the dead body of her nosy landlard, her plans to live a quiet, unobserved life start to crumble. Good murder mystery with humor!
June R. (coppermouse) - reviewed Shakespeare's Landlord (Lily Bard, Bk 1) on + 109 more book reviews
A Lily Bard mystery.
On a late-night in tiny Shakespeare, Lily Bard sees a furtive figure placing large plastic garbage bags in the local park and then goes out to check and discovers the landlord living next door. In a quick but anonymous phone call she reports it to the police chief. Realizing, however, that her fingerprints on the body of the dead man might make her a suspect, Lily subtly and insightfully queries her customers, some of them tenants of the murdered landlord. The renters are a well-defined lot. As Lily investigates, she develops a wary but cordial relationship with the police chief and forms a warmer tie with her karate instructor. But at the same time, someone has discovered the unspeakable facts about Lily's past and has begun stalking her.
From Publishers Weekly: "While on a late-night walk in tiny Shakespeare, Ark., Lily Bard, 31, sees a furtive figure placing large plastic garbage bags in the local park and, untying one, discovers the body of her former landlord. In a quick but anonymous phone call (she is determined to avoid any questioning), she reports it to the police chief. With skill and wry wit, Harris, the author of the Aurora Teagarden series, soon reveals the horrific facts in Lily's background that explain why she is solitary, confrontational, obsessed with self-defense-and why she chooses, despite a first-rate education, to eke out a living as a cleaning woman. Realizing, however, that her fingerprints on the body of the dead man might make her a suspect, Lily subtly and insightfully queries her customers, some of them tenants of the murdered landlord, in the process meticulously evaluating their closets, drawers and motives. The renters are a well-defined lot: a happily promiscuous idler; a sanctimonious and hypocritical reverend; and an aging couple with much to grieve about. As Lily investigates, she develops a wary but cordial relationship with the police chief and forms a warmer tie with her karate instructor. But at the same time, someone has discovered the unspeakable facts about Lily's past and has begun stalking her. Harris's finely tuned, colorful and suspenseful tale, filled with vigorous and unique characters, will leave readers hoping it's the start of a series." Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.
First in the Lily Bard series.
Kerry K. (mistysmere) -
Lily Bard #1
