Charlaine Harris never passes up the chance to build up her plots around aspects of social injustice, and you’ve got to love her for that. Most people associate the Sookie Stackhouse series of books with vampires and werewolves, but there are a lot of lessons about homophobia in them as well. And in the Lily Bard series that take place in the town of Shakespeare, Arkansas, we not only see Lily help solve crimes and engage in romances, but we also get insight into violence against women and into the lingering racism that still infects at least some white citizens of the South.
In Shakespeare’s Champion, Lily once again is in the wrong places at the wrong times, and ends up involved in another crime investigation. There is a white supremacist group operating in town, and some unexplained murders seem connected to it. Lily gets too close to finding out the truth, and she almost loses her life. Really, she gets so beat up in these books that I find myself wishing one of the vampires from the Sookie Stackhouse series would make its way to the town of Shakespeare and give her some blood to help her recuperate!
There’s a romance going on, and some sex – it would hardly be a Charlaine Harris book without that, but it’s all done with humor and tact.
Evaluation: This isn’t my favorite Harris series, but it’s still enjoyable enough to keep me coming back for more.
Rating: 3/5
Published by St. Martin’s Press, 1997
Rhapsody in Books Weblog 
I do think of Sookie when I think of Harris. The Sookie book I read wasn’t my favorite – maybe I need to try one of her other series.
I don’t like the Sookie series but I think this one would catch my interest. I do like her writing; have reviewed Grave Secret from the Harper Connelly series and liked it very much.
I think I may have picked a few of these up from my library sales…sounds interesting. I’ve only read #1 in the Sookie series to date.
So, I can be a Charlaine Harris fan without reading about vampires? Okay, I like that. Cozy mysteries with a little romancer suits me better.
I still haven’t read the Sookie series, but have enjoyed a few from the Harper Connelly series. I’m going to keep my eye out for books in this series, too – they sound like good reads.
This does sound good! I like Charlaine Harris’ style.
Sounds like a fun, relaxing read! Plus I like that it has a few messages thrown in!
I had no idea Harris had written other series. (Such is my ignorance!) I’m not a fan of the Sookie series but I do like a bit of crime. Might have to try this. 🙂
I started reading all of Harris’ non-Sookie series a few years ago and I enjoyed them. I think my favorite is the Aurora Teagarden books, followed by Harper Connelly and then Lily Bard. I agree with your assessment of the Lily Bard series, it’s not my favorite but it’s worth reading.
Jeez … how many series does Charlaine Harris have????