Review of The Julius House (An Aurora Teagarden mystery)

Since she met her fiance Martin Bartell, Roe Teagarden has never been happier. There's a difference in age and in background, but he seems to know exactly what she wants - like the Julius house. Roe is thrilled when Martin gives her the house as a wedding present. She's a keen amateur sleuth, and she has always been intrigued by its infamous history: six years ago, the family who lived there disappeared, never to be seen again. As Roe throws herself into renovating the Julius house, her misgivings about Martin's rather murky past recede. But when Roe is attacked by an axe-wielding maniac, she realises that the secrets inside her four walls - and her brand-new marriage - could destroy her. (www.goodreads.com)

Wow. And not in a good way either. I struggled through it, not expecting this kind of rubbish after the others were kind of okay.
First, each time I read this Lauren Bacall reference and I don't care, really I don't . I don't know that woman and am not about to look her up. I love to have each character developed solely in my mind and comparing to someone else is cheap and easy. And doesn't need to be mentioned in each book.
Second, I don't need to have an agenda of every time Martin and Roe get it on. God, each time I have to read such a reference I feel like I'm like 15 years too old to be reading this. Yes, they are married and yes they have lots and lots of sex. Sometimes we can grasp a good time without it actually being pointed out.
Third, lazy and sloppy story. I wasn't prepared for this and felt definitely bad for spending my time on it. Halfway through the novel I already had figured out what had happened and the 'clues' the writer leaves behind are really not necessary, it couldn't be more see through if you meant it to be that way.

My conclusion. I definitely need a break from Aurora Teagarden, because I find her to be a whiny, nosy and too naive to be believable at all.
I had read a few pages from the successor, 'Dead over Heels', but feel I probably will get disappointed. Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me.. so I'm switching to something else. Not sure what yet.

My opinion: 2 stars