Dead Over Heels: An Aurora Teagarden Mystery

The film begins with Captain Burns, the Lawrenceton Chief of Police, cryptically warning Aurora Teagarden to stay out of an undisclosed investigation and demanding to speak with her boyfriend, Martin Bartell. Shortly after, while Aurora and her friend Sally are outside her home, a small plane flies low and drops Captain Burns' body into Aurora's yard. The town is thrown into chaos as Detective Arthur Smith becomes acting chief, while a rival detective, Pete Lambert, returns to town and immediately begins targeting Martin as a suspect due to his CIA background. Aurora’s 'Real Murders Club' meets to discuss the case, where new resident Tim Prentiss—an old CIA colleague of Martin’s—offers his expertise. The investigation takes a personal turn when Aurora’s boss, Lillian, is brutally attacked at the library and left with a concussion, seemingly because she knew something about Burns' death. Aurora begins receiving creepy 'gifts' from an anonymous source, including peonies and a kitten, which Martin views as a security threat. Tensions rise when Detective Lambert produces a flight manifest suggesting Martin was in Seattle during the murder of a software mogul, David Ansen, a case Burns was secretly investigating. After Arthur Smith is stabbed at a memorial service, Aurora realizes the killer is using professional CIA techniques. Through a combination of Lillian’s returning memory and a manipulated police sketch, Aurora discovers that Tim Prentiss is the true culprit. Tim killed Ansen for money and murdered Burns to cover his tracks, all while attempting to frame Martin out of professional jealousy. In a final confrontation at the library, Aurora tricks Tim into confessing before the police arrive to arrest him. The movie concludes with Martin being cleared of all charges and giving Aurora a first-edition book on Bonnie and Clyde, hinting at their future together.