Discover millions of ebooks, audiobooks, and so much more with a free trial

Only $11.99/month after trial. Cancel anytime.

Shakespeare's Christmas
Shakespeare's Christmas
Shakespeare's Christmas
Audiobook6 hours

Shakespeare's Christmas

Written by Charlaine Harris

Narrated by Julia Gibson

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

4/5

()

About this audiobook

From the New York Times best-selling author of the Southern Vampire series comes this dazzling mystery featuring karate-loving cleaning lady Lily Bard. When Lily fled a violent past and planted herself in Shakespeare, Arkansas, she had no intention of ever going back. But now that her sister is getting married, Lily heads home-only to find herself pulled into a murder investigation.
LanguageEnglish
Release dateDec 4, 2009
ISBN9781440789564
Shakespeare's Christmas
Author

Charlaine Harris

Charlaine Harris is a New York Times bestselling author who has been writing for over thirty years. She was born and raised in the Mississippi River Delta area. She has written four series, and two stand-alone novels, in addition to numerous short stories, novellas, and graphic novels (cowritten with Christopher Golden). Her Sookie Stackhouse books have appeared in twenty-five different languages and on many bestseller lists. They’re also the basis of the HBO series True Blood. Harris now lives in Texas, and when she is not writing her own books, she reads omnivorously. Her house is full of rescue dogs.

More audiobooks from Charlaine Harris

Related to Shakespeare's Christmas

Titles in the series (5)

View More

Related audiobooks

Mystery For You

View More

Related articles

Reviews for Shakespeare's Christmas

Rating: 4.052631578947368 out of 5 stars
4/5

57 ratings19 reviews

What did you think?

Tap to rate

Review must be at least 10 words

  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    As much as I've enjoyed the setting of Shakespeare, Arkansas, for the rest of this series, I did enjoy the change of scenery as protagonist Lily Bard returned to her small hometown of Bartley for her sister's wedding. Since I've just recently read the first book in this series (backtracking a bit), I liked learning more about Lily's background and family.

    At the risk of sounding like I'm blaming the victim, Lily does seem to get in a lot of situations where she needs to use her karate skills, but since I've been thinking about taking up a martial art, it continues to intrigue me to see this side of her. Add to the mix that she's a house cleaner by trade, she continues to be an interesting and well-rounded character.

    Now that I've read all of the books in the Lily Bard series, I'm hoping that Charlaine Harris will write another!
  • Rating: 2 out of 5 stars
    2/5
    I enjoyed Harris's "Shakespeare" series, but this one was weak sauce compared to the rest, almost as if she had to write it because of a contractual obligation -- the mystery was forced, the characters I enjoyed were sleepwalking, and the conclusion was jumbled, hurried, and unsatisfying.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Yet another good entry into the Bard series...looking forward to more.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    While Lily Bard is an entertaining heroine and this story had more depth than the earlier Shakespeare novels, it does seem a cheat to call it "Shakespeare's" whatever, when almost all the action takes place far away from Lily's new home. It was still a cozy read for murder mysteries, however, and I will read the next in order.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Love Lily Bard Mysteries... keeps you guessing until the end. Love Lily's boyfriend Jack. Enjoyed getting to know Lily's family and some of her old friends. I'm looking forward to reading the next two Lily Bard Mystries
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    The book takes place before Christmas in Lily Bard's home town, Bartley, Arkansas. In addition to trying to survive her sister's wedding and all of its related socializing, Lily tries to find a young girl kidnapped as a baby eight years earlier before the body count rises more. Kept my interest and I guessed whodunit.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    I've not read any of this series before, and its not at all bad. I loved the awkwardness of the family reunions, due to Lily's being so traumatised by the attack that the only way she could cope and move on was to isolates herself from everyone she loves and the fact that only a big family event - her sister's wedding - could bring her home. Harris writes great Southern USA Gothic novels, which, while seemingly quick throwaway reads, like the best of the Gothic tradition, make subtle comments about social conditions in little asides - the downturn in Bartley's fortunes encapsulated in the surgery's picture window, the ongoing segregation as the black community look after a black homeless man, while the white store owners wrestle with the idea of the Christian thing to do. Very enjoyable.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Lily Bard is a heroine worth following. Charlaine Harris has a knack for depicting interesting characters.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Another great entry in the Lily Bard Mystery series. In this one, Lily travels home during the holidays to be a bridesmaid in her sister's wedding, and of course trouble follows her... as does her sexy new boyfriend Jack! ;)We learn a bit more about Lily's background in this one as she stays with her family during her homecoming. This is really the first time she's been home since the incident which scarred her both physically and emotionally.I'm looking forward to reading more of this series! Thanks for sharing them Amber! :)
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    I have liked the character of Lily Bard from my first introduction to her in "Shakespeare's Landlord". I read with interest both that volume as well as the second book, "Shakespeare's Champion". Honestly, I found them to be just so-so. I thought the charcters were interesting, and Lily's background trauma and personality the meat and bones of each of those novels, much more so than than the actual mysteries within. I was pleasantly suprised with "Shakespeare's Christmas". The mystery of a murdered physician and his nurse and how it related to a missing baby case eight years old was very interesting. We know almost immediately that there are three children who may be this missing baby, living a new life. The process of figuring out which child was stolen, and thereby which parents did what, was more exciting in my opinion, than the first two installments. I also enjoyed seeing a softer side of Lily, as she faces her first trip back home since she left years ago, after suffering a gang rape and mutilations to nearly every part of her body. It was good to see Lily fight to do the right thing in her interactions with her family, and understandable when she needed to leave, get away, and run from all the pitying looks and whispered murmurs. As for the negatives of this book, they are few. I know that "Shakespeare's" always begins the titles but here the book takes place mostly outside of Shakespeare and so I didn't think the title fit as well as the previous ones...And my biggest complaint is that I felt the book ended too suddenly. I thought the mystery wrapped up quite nicely, but I felt we should have seen a final goodbye scene with her parents and sister. Something to show that either everything was fragile, but going to be alright between them, or that nothing had really changed in their complex relationships. If you have been a fan of Charlaine Harris in general or the Lily series in particular I do recommend this one as the best yet.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    I was surprised to find a mystery that I enjoyed so much from the lady I think of as a vampire romance author. It was an interesting story plot, but not overly complex. There was a limited number of suspects. It moved along quickly and had enough action that it kept me involved and engaged. There were many subplots, and relationship plots that it didn’t need a ton of confusing characters, it still moved along smoothly and quickly. It was interesting enough that I would maybe go back and read one of the earlier books in the series, or maybe even try one of the vampire romances. ;)
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    This is the third installment of the Lily Bard series and I think the most compelling. Lily Bard lives in small town Shakespeare, Arkansas a small town populated by eccentric characters, a place where everyone knows everyone else's business and Lily as the town cleaner knows more of those secrets than most. Lily Bard is an incredible and surprisingly complex character for the genre. After surviving a vicious gang rape and attempted murder Lily hones herself into an organic weapon with martial arts training. One thing that Lily hasn't faced up to in moving on from her troubled memories is her family. In this installment she reluctantly goes home to reunite with her family for her sister's wedding but trouble, not just of the personal kind, comes home to roost with her. Lily's new love Jack, a private detective ends up spending Christmas in her home town too, as he tracks down a missing child who was abducted years ago. The problem is that he has three likely suspects including Lily's soon to be new brother in law. This is a wonderfully crafted novel, the mystery cracks on at a terrific pace seamlessly blending with the personal angst of the overall character arc. The reactions of Lily's parents regarding their daughter's attack are sensitively handled and Harris eschews taking the easy sloppily characterised route and delivers an uncompromising look at the darker heart of small town America. This is a keeper and well worth shelling money out for. It would be all too easy to make Lily a whiner or self pitying but for the most part this is neatly avoided, and her tragedy is never overplayed there is a particularly lovely scene about her friendship with a boy she grew up with who is now a cop. The overall child abduction mystery keeps you guessing until the last page. I don't give 5 stars lightly but this earned it on every level.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    Lily Bard, 31, now lives in Shakespeare, Arkansas, having fled to this sleepy town in search of solace and anonymity after a brutal rape four years earlier. Her family still acts awkwardly around her, so she dreads returning to Bartley for her sister Varena’s Christmas wedding.As it turns out, an eight-year-old cold case of a missing girl, Summer Dawn Macklesby, gets hot again, and the suspects are all in Bartley. Lily’s boyfriend, Jack Leeds, who is a private investigator, ends up in Bartley working on the case, and the two of them join forces since one of the suspects is Varena’s husband-to-be Dill.As dead bodies start accumulating in Bartley, Lily and Jack have to act quickly to solve the crimes and either absolve or convict Dill before Varena commits to him for life.Evaluation: There was a bit too much about the wedding planning in this third book of the Lily Bard series for my liking. On the other hand, part of Harris’s charm is her ability to evoke the details of life in a small town and to provide a realistic picture of interfamilial relationships. It isn’t the best of the series, but is nevertheless entertaining, and Lily and Jack have great couple dynamics.
  • Rating: 2 out of 5 stars
    2/5
    Unlike some other mystery series, this is not one where you can skip books! I've read these out of order so far, and I have no idea how the character got from where she was in the first book to the relationship she has now (two books later). Quite a jump! Also, this is a particularly annoying series in that there is no reason for the character to do the sleuthing. She could have just passed what she knew to the police and been out of danger.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    like it like the characters,stories liked that lily is a cleaning women at different houses who she meets and she has overcome some terrible things and is getting stronger she karate and weight lifting.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Lily returns to her hometown for a week before Christmas for her sisters wedding on Christmas Eve. She has just started seeing detective Jack Leeds and isn’t sure quite where things stand. Due to her dark past she has a lot of trouble getting close to people and has determined not to ask anything of him. She does take the plunge and ask him to spend Christmas Day with her when she returns to Shakespeare which he accepts.When she gets to home things are much as she left them. Her family still find it difficult to be around her, but her sister in particular is making a real effort. Lily is out of her depth having to dress up for various dinners, showers and the wedding itself where she is the maid of honour. Problem is that people are starting to die. First the local doctor and his assistant are brutally killed in their office and it looks like it was by someone they knew. More bodies begin to follow and it all seems to be linked to an unsolved case from 8 years ago. Jack turns up to work on the case and there are three main suspects, one of which is Lily’s prospective brother-in-law. They need to solve the case in 3 days before her sister marries Dill.This was by far the best in the series so far. It kept me guessing right until the end as you don’t really know which of the three men is responsible for the murders and previous crime. Again there is lots of character development and I really like both Lily and Jack. Plus spending time with her family and old friends was interesting to see how her life was completely thrown in the air after her horrendous ordeal. I can’t wait to read the next one.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Another entry in the Lily Bard mystery series, I really enjoyed this one. Again, I've read the series out of order, but that doesn't seem to hurt. Harris manages a noirish vibe in small-town southern settings, and a prickly heroine who jumps off the page. I don't know quite what to make of Lily, and neither do the people in her life. All of it rings true. The mystery is satisfying if a bit conveniently (or inconveniently, from Lily's point of view) tangled in her life. Her relationship with Jack is particularly appealing and well-drawn. Recommended.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Another entry in the Lily Bard mystery series. In this one, Lily leaves Shakespeare to go back to her hometown for her sister's wedding. We learn more about her past and her family, and when people start getting murdered, and her PI lover Jack shows up on a missing child assignment, the mystery heats up. I really enjoyed the development of the relationship between Lily and Jack. While it was interesting to learn more about Lily, I missed the peripheral characters back in Shakespeare. Three and a half stars.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    I've enjoyed every one of Charlaine Harris' 'Shakespeare' mysteries. These are much darker than her other series with the exception of the 'Harper Connelly' series. If you're expecting anything like her 'Dead' series...don't. But if you like a gritty mystery with a kick-ass heroine with a dark past...you'd be doing yourself a favor to try this series out. These were originally written in the 90s, but have been reprinted in the last couple of years.Lily has to return to her hometown after all this time. Her sister is getting married and Lily will be one of the attendants. Lily isn't doing too badly back home. But then two people are murdered, her detective boyfriend shows up looking into an old missing baby case, and there's another murder. All Lily really wanted was a quiet Christmas!Like I said, I've read the whole Shakespeare series and only wish there were more.