Aurora Teagarden Mysteries: A Game of Cat and Mouse

The film begins with a flashback to a woman named Jessica being murdered after being walked to her door by her fiancé, Andrew. In the present day, Aurora 'Roe' Teagarden is preparing for a meeting of the Real Murders Club in Lawrenceton. The peace is shattered when the club's meeting space is vandalized, and a quote from Edgar Allan Poe’s 'The Murders in the Rue Morgue' is left behind. This marks the beginning of a 'cat and mouse' game where a mysterious antagonist commits crimes—theft, breaking and entering, and eventually attempted murder—while leaving clues from the Golden Age of detective fiction. First, Aurora’s mother Aida’s office is burgled, followed by the theft of Lillian’s car. Aurora, with the help of her boyfriend Nick Miller, a psychology professor, realizes the crimes are following the plots of specific books: a mother/daughter murder, a library murder, and a reporter's death. The stakes escalate when Aurora’s best friend Sally, a reporter, is nearly strangled in Aurora's driveway, accompanied by a quote from Dorothy L. Sayers' 'Gaudy Night'. Suspicion initially falls on club member Davis Mettle and a disgruntled library patron, Edward Irons, but Aurora begins to suspect the clues are too precise. A major turning point occurs when Valerie, Aurora's housekeeper, is found poisoned with foxglove, appearing to be a suicide and confession. However, Aurora notices the scene is staged and the handwriting on the 'confession' note is forged. By researching cold cases involving similar literary signatures, Aurora discovers a murder in Tacoma involving romance novel quotes. She realizes the killer is actually Bree Carson, the Head of the Psychology Department and Nick’s colleague. Bree, who previously went by the name Sabrina, was the one who killed Jessica years ago and is now obsessed with Nick. Bree kidnaps Aurora and her teaching assistant Dina, taking them to a remote farm to stage a murder-suicide. Aurora manages to activate a tracking app on her phone, allowing Nick and the police to find them. After a tense standoff where Bree attempts to manipulate the situation, she is apprehended. The movie concludes with Sally recovering and Aurora and Nick finally enjoying a normal date, though Aida still worries about Aurora's dangerous hobbies.