Haunted by Murder

Haunted by Murder is the latest in the Hallmark movie Aurora Teagarden series (one of my three favorites along with Hannah Swensen's Murder she Baked and Mystery 101).

I am happy to say it brought back our beloved cast of characters: Aurora, new husband the professor Nick Miller, best friend Sally, high school friend/ex/police detective Arthur, police chief and Arthur's wife Lynn, Aurora's cousin Phillip, Sally's cousin Lizzy, grumpy librarian and co-worker Lillian, and Aurora's mother Aida.

This was a fun haunted house mystery that starts with Aurora, Sally and Arthur taking a trip down memory lane to their teenage past when the three of them ended up inside Enshaw house, a known Lawrenceton haunted house, where they found the body of a paranormal scientist in a secret room inside the house. They relay the story to the Real Murders club and Aurora says she feels like it is the only mystery she didn't solve...because the death was ruled an accident but it just didn't seem right. Aurora learns that her mother has purchased the property to keep it out of the hands of developers who would tear it down. Her intention is to finish the renovations that were started by the previous owners, who went bankrupt trying to turn it in to a bed and breakfast, and sell it. Aurora takes it as an opportunity to go back and look for clues from their past...this leads to an interesting discovery about Lilian and another body!

"You librarians are intriguingly complex."-Nick

I absolutely loved that they cast the real life daughters of both Candace Cameron Bure and Alexa Doig to play their younger selves. (I am also thrilled that Sally is back as our best friend, I missed her.)

I loved that the cast was back together and I thought this was actually a good mystery on top of it.

In the ads I didn't recognize Niall Matters with his new bearded look, I was worried he wasn't in this episode...so I was very happy to see that he was! I just have one thing to say about the look...are we sure about the beard? I am sure more people besides me will miss seeing his face, literally.

I highly recommend this series and I highly recommend this episode. I think fans of this series are going to love it. I also think it will be a great one for Hallmark to bring back out for Halloween...spooky fog, dancing lights and a haunted house!

"Well, if anything is stronger than death, of course it would be love."-Aurora.

Let's go investigate the haunted house. Secret rooms and everything that screams "ruh roh'. Lots of fun. Daughters were cute in their roles. Enjoy it.

Candace Cameron Bure's daughter, Natasha Bure, and Lexa Doig's daughter, Mia Shanks, both play the parts of a teenage Aurora and Sally perfectly! They look, talk, and move just like their adult counterparts. I loved it! I didn't love Niall Matter's beard, though, - it looks fake and he looks like a different person! One question: why did Hallmark release a Halloween movie in February?

7/10 - if I'm honest many of the latest Aurora Teagarden mysteries have teetered on bland, but this one provides a nice, new jolt of life into the series thanks to an interesting parapsychology-centered plot and a genuinely well-written mystery.

I love all the Aurora Teagarden Mysteries & this one was no different. I have just treated myself to the previous 17 on DVD! I hope they continue to make more. I must say that Niall Matter was unrecognisable - the beard & dyed hair looked so false - it was like Aurora was married to a different man!