Aurora Teagarden Mysteries: A Very Foul Play

The film opens with Aurora Teagarden and her boyfriend Nick Miller preparing for a True Crime and Mystery Conference at a mountain resort. Aurora is a featured speaker, alongside Lawrenceton Police Chief Lynn Liggett Smith and famous true crime author Robert Brown. The event is hosted by Linda Bennett, who owns the local mystery theater. As part of a conference tradition, the guest speakers and Aurora’s family members—her mother Aida and cousin Phillip—are recruited to fill roles in the opening night play, 'A Very Foul Play.' During the performance, a planned stage blackout occurs, but when the lights return, actress Monica Swanson is found dead from a real stab wound. Phillip is discovered standing over her holding the murder weapon, leading the local Detective Reynolds to immediately suspect him. Aurora begins investigating Monica’s past and discovers the victim was a former intern for Boyd Stauberg, a ruthless real estate developer who has been pressuring Linda to sell her theater. A subplot involves Aurora’s librarian colleague Lillian, who is on a romantic rendezvous with an internet friend named Andrew; however, Andrew becomes a suspect when it's revealed he has a criminal past as an accountant for Stauberg. The stakes rise when Boyd Stauberg is found bludgeoned to death with a stage candlestick at his home. Phillip is framed for this second murder after being lured to the scene by a forged note, leading to his arrest. Aurora’s breakthrough comes when Linda Bennett 'accidentally' drops a manuscript she claims belongs to Robert Brown. Using her expertise in library science and syntax analysis, Aurora realizes the manuscript—which details the murders in advance—was actually written by Linda. Aurora deduces that Linda is a narcissist who killed Monica for being a 'double agent' for Stauberg and killed Stauberg to protect her theater, while simultaneously framing Robert Brown out of spite for a past romantic rejection. In the climax, Aurora wears a wire and confronts Linda at the theater. Linda confesses to the crimes, boasting about her planning, before being apprehended by the police. Phillip is cleared of all charges, and the movie ends with Nick and Aurora sharing a romantic moment at the resort.