Aurora Teagarden Mysteries: Something New

Aurora 'Roe' Teagarden has returned to Lawrenceton to pursue her Master's in Library Science, specializing in true crime, while working as a teaching assistant and a diner server. Her best friend Sally is preparing to marry Matt Walker, a successful tech entrepreneur. During a pre-wedding party, a stranger named Brody Kresser aggressively confronts Matt, claiming Matt owes him. The next morning, Matt is missing, and Aurora discovers Brody’s body beneath Matt’s balcony. Inside the condo, Aurora and her friend Arthur, a local police officer, find blood and a ceramic shard, suggesting a struggle. Detective Cook immediately suspects Matt, who has abandoned his car and vanished. Aurora applies 'Information Science' principles to her investigation, researching Brody's background and discovering that his father, John Kresser, was Matt’s former mentor who died in a suspicious car accident years prior. Matt eventually resurfaces, claiming he was hiding at a motel to clear his head, and provides an alibi through a man named Fred Haskins. However, Aurora exposes this as a lie after finding a photo proving Matt and Haskins were long-time associates. The investigation reveals that Matt and his partner Carson stole the code for their successful platform from John Kresser. On the wedding day, Carson takes Aurora and Sally hostage, desperate to retrieve a flash drive containing evidence of his crimes, including hiring Haskins to kill John Kresser. While Carson is arrested for the old murder, Aurora realizes he didn't kill Brody because he didn't know Matt's rotating door codes. She deduces that Matt's sister, Kara, who knew the codes (based on childhood pets), killed Brody during a confrontation to protect Matt's reputation. The film ends with the wedding cancelled, the criminals in custody, and Aurora beginning her thesis on how amateur sleuths impact the justice system.