Shakespeare's Landlord Audiobook By Charlaine Harris cover art

Shakespeare's Landlord

Lily Bard Mysteries, Book 1

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Shakespeare's Landlord

By: Charlaine Harris
Narrated by: Julia Gibson
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About this listen

From the Anthony Award-winning author of the immensely popular Sookie Stackhouse mysteries comes the first book starring Lily Bard, a reclusive cleaning lady with a penchant for karate. When Lily finds and reports a dead body, her shady past and connections to potential perpetrators make her a leading suspect.©1996 Charlaine Harris (P)2009 Recorded Books, LLC Detective Fiction Mystery Suspense Thriller & Suspense Women Sleuths Women's Fiction Scary
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Critic reviews

"While on a late-night job 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....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." ( Publishers Weekly)
"[Lily Bard is] the equal of Kay Scarpetta." ( Library Journal)

What listeners say about Shakespeare's Landlord

Highly rated for:

Engaging Mystery Compelling Protagonist Great Narration Intriguing Plot Twists Well-crafted Storytelling
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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Very good book

What did you love best about Shakespeare's Landlord?

The Pace of this book was great. Kept me interested during my daily commutes and while walking.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Lily was the main character and my favorite. She isn't perfect and don't know that I'd want to spend time with her in reality, but she is a great leading lady.

Which scene was your favorite?

Any scene where Lilly was cleaning the houses of Shakespeare's well to do families.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

No, too much to digest at once. Great to come back to again and again though.

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Great story, but downloaded book has technical pro

Really loved the characters, and had a difficult time putting it down. However, the audiobook has a tendency to stop frequently because of technical errors... very annoying

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Harris has created another strong and compelling lead character in Lily Bard

This is a great story and performance. I enjoyed getting to know Lily Bard, who worked hard to emerge strong despite her past. The story kept me engaged and all loose ends were tied up at the end. I look forward to enjoying the other books in this series.

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars

Started with promise

I am a big Charlaine Harris fan, I was very excited when this became available, it started with promise, proceeded to dry and ended flat.
Charlaine has a dry sense of humor that she normally weaves through out her books, along with intrigue and guise, and this book was sadly lacking her normal luster.
As a side note this is not a supernatural book, which was actually intriguing for me at first since I am used to her sci-fi/fantasy books, but as I said this book was for me disappointing.

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25 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Not Sookie Stackhouse

If you are looking for Sookie Stackhouse, move on down the line. This is a non-paranormal mystery series. It is more of a Murder She Wrote book although Lily is definitely NOT a Jessica Fletcher in any way. She is dark because of her past which she wants to keep in the past. It is revealed, however, and that is the part that is difficult to read but necessary to understanding this complex character.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars
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Liked it

I will be finishing the series, but I feel like the narrator makes the character almost unlikable. It's more tone of voice than actual words that make you think the main character is mean and a huge snob.

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Enjoyable

I always like a Charlaine Harris book. Not my favorite but enjoyable. One the less.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Strong Powerful Female Lead

I really enjoyed this series with the very powerful Lily and her ability to be so independent and strong willed. Someone for other women to look up to. It makes me want to go to the gym when I read these series.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

really great story and performance

Read this after all of Charlaine Harris’ series. Wanted a background story on Lily Bard from the Sookie books and Bobo from the Midnight series. I was prepared for the gruesome parts from reviews. I’m fascinated by the blaming the victim syndrome throughout Harris’ books. I also wonder about how the bad guys scream the loudest when hurt. Everything rings so true to life. Harris’ main female characters are my heroines.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Love this series

I originally read this series about 20 years ago and it still holds up. I prefer it to Harris’s more popular works.

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