There’s a nice little comforting feel I get when I enter one of Charlaine Harris’ worlds. I know that her characters will be realistic – even her paranormal characters have a touch of the mundane. I know I will be in a nice, down home, small town world.This down home comfort feel is most evident in her Lily Bard series. Shakespeare’s Landlord seems to be a novel about ordinary people living their ordinary lives in a small, ordinary town. Well, at least until someone gets murdered.Somehow between the first and second chapter, I was sucked into this world. I just could not put the book down. What better way to give insight into a world than by using a cleaning lady as a main character? This cleaning lady knows everyone’s secrets. I found it fascinating that the main character Lily could learn so much about her clients without really having to speak with them.Lily’s character is an exercise in contracts. She’s smart – she was a National Merit Scholar and graduated from college with a 3.9 GPA. She’s athletic – she body trains daily and attends martial arts classes at her local gym. She is scarred – both emotionally and physically. Lily is a survivor and has worked hard to rebuild her life. Lily’s character is truly likable – she is an ordinary, hard working woman. I’m looking forward to reading the rest of this series.
