More than a decade before she started writing her Southern Vampire Mysteries featuring Sookie Stackhouse and a supernatural world, Charlaine Harris won readers' affection when she introduced librarian and amateur sleuth Aurora Teagarden in a series of cozy mysteries. This 10th outing, Sleep Like a Baby, begins with Aurora giving birth to little Sophie, the infant she was carrying in 2016's All the Little Liars. Two months later, Aurora is in need of a nurse to help with the baby for a couple days, while she recovers from a mysterious flu and her husband, Robin Crusoe, attends an out-of-town awards ceremony for mystery writers.
During the night, Aurora is awakened by Sophie's crying and discovers that her nurse-for-hire, Victoria, is missing. When Aurora and her teenage half-brother, Phillip, begin searching for the missing RN, they discover a dead woman under a tree in their yard. The body is almost immediately identified as Tracy Beal, a stalker fan of Robin who had previously tried to kill Aurora. While struggling to regain her strength, Aurora tries to figure out who killed Tracy and what happened to Victoria. Clues and red herrings involve a purse snatching, some anonymously sent flowers, a barking dog, an active shooter, a family medical crisis and footage from a hidden nanny camera.
Sleep Like a Baby is a leisurely paced cozy graced with likable and sympathetic characters, deadpan humor and plenty of clues sprinkled throughout to delight mystery buffs. Harris spins her tale with relaxed ease and confidence. --Kevin Howell, independent reviewer and marketing consultant