5 Best Hallmark Movies In The Aurora Teagarden Mysteries Series, Ranked

Hallmark has become just as famous for its murder mystery movies as it is for its romances, with a whole channel dedicated to the genre. Hallmark Mystery has spawned many successful franchises, including the "Garage Sale Mysteries" and the "Hannah Swensen Mysteries," but the longest-running one is the "Aurora Teagarden Mysteries" series. Aurora is a librarian with an interest in murder mysteries. She solves crimes with her Real Murders Club friends while balancing a romance with psychology professor Nick Miller (Niall Matter) and meddling from her mother Aida (Marilu Henner).

Candace Cameron Bure starred in a whopping 18 Aurora Teagarden TV movies beginning in April 2015 before she left Hallmark for GAC Family in 2022. Skyler Samuels then took over and played a younger version of Aurora in three prequel installments beginning in 2023. That's 21 films in all, so the Aurora franchise is quite a time commitment, even for the most dedicated Hallmarkies. If you're intrigued but you don't want to watch all the Aurora Teagarden films in order, here are the five best titles among the 21 films.

Aurora Teagaden and her fiancé, Nick Miller, attend her high school reunion in "Reunited and It Feels So Deadly," the 14th installment of the Aurora Teagarden series. While there, they find one of the attendees, Jack (Toby Levins), dead in a pool. Jack didn't drown — he was stabbed. Witnesses saw him fighting with a few people, including a former coach who is suing him. And that's not to mention the scene that Jack's wife Amy (Tegan Moss) and his high school sweetheart Cassie (Kate Craven) made about the latter dancing with him earlier in the evening.

As the investigation into Jack's murder intensifies, the suspects fade away until there's only a few remaining, including Aurora's high school sweetheart, Parker (Matthew MacCaull). Aurora romanticizes him in her mind, but Nick believes he uses manipulative tactics. A memory about her past eventually leads Aurora to find the murder weapon, and a confrontation with the killer follows – seeing Aurora held hostage at knifepoint is as intense as any Hallmark movie gets. But don't worry, her Prince Charming saves her and the story is tied in a perfect bow in the end.

"A Game of Cat and Mouse," which is the 10th Aurora Teagarden film, begins with a woman being murdered three years prior to the main story. She enters her home after a date with her fiancé and finds signs of a break in as well as a note written in bright red ink. Her killer sneaks up on her from behind, cloaked in black. In the present day, Aurora is the target, baited to notice escalating crimes that include notes as clues. 

First, someone breaks into the building where the Real Murders Club is held, then into her mother's real estate office. Another librarian's car is stolen, and the crimes keep escalating as Aurora and her friends realize people in her orbit are being targeted. A strange member of the club is a suspect, as is an angry library patron. After Aurora's friend Sally (Lexa Doig) is strangled near her car outside Aurora's house, police turn to Nick's psychology professor colleague Bree (Tammy Gillis), who theorizes that the suspect is a female who sees Aurora as a romantic rival. One of Nick's teaching assistants becomes a suspect, as does a town cleaning lady. 

"A Game of Cat and Mouse" feels more intense than most of the Aurora Teagarden films because it's the first time Aurora is a direct target from the beginning. Plus, the criminal reveal is one of the most surprising in the whole series, and even though you might logically know Aurora is going to live, the climax will have you holding your breath. Plus, Aurora and Nick's romance begins in this film, making it a must-see.

Aurora is all set to marry Nick in "Til Death Do Us Part," but when human remains are discovered on a building site linked to one of her mother's clients, her mind is suddenly elsewhere. Aurora's dad, Charles Teagarden (Andrew Airlie), makes his first and only appearance in the series here. He even becomes a suspect after the remains are determined to be that of Sam Woods, a friend of Charles who everyone thought had left town.

Naturally, Aurora can't avoid being drawn into the investigation with her Real Murders Club friends, and it's revealed that Sam had lots of problems before he "left." He had rivalries at work, problems with his girlfriend, and the last time he was seen in Lawrenceton was during a fight at a poker game. All the Aurora Teagarden movies establish red herrings to throw the audience off the scent, but this one does it particularly well — "Til Death Do Us Part" has one of the most surprising endings in the franchise.

On top of boasting a memorable mystery, the 16th movie in the series delivers on the romance front, combining the two well. It's fun to see Aurora and Nick's pre-wedding events and wedding day intertwined with a murder mystery. Wedding dress reveals are always fun, and the unexpected love connection between Aida and her ex-husband is delightful to root for. "Til Death Do Us Part" contains everything we've come to love about Aurora Teagarden movies.

"Haunted By Murder" was Candace Cameron Bure's last Aurora Teagarden film before she left Hallmark, so it's a bittersweet watch for long-time fans, but she went out on a real high — her 18th and final outing as Aurora is a gripping watch from start to finish. Part of the reason is that it uses the setting of the haunted house so well. Aida buys Lawrenceton's infamous haunted house, known as the Enshaw House, to flip it. Town lore is that it's haunted by its former owner, Ezra Enshaw. But that's not all – when Aurora and Sally were teenagers, they went inside as part of a dare, and they found the body of a known ghost hunter.

As Aida begins working on the house, messages start appearing on mirrors and things start breaking in the house, making Aurora and the gang think that the haunting stories might actually be true. Everyone is smart enough to conclude that someone is breaking into the house, even on a night when Aida, Aurora, Nick, and Sally are staying over. Someone leaves a note on a mirror telling them to leave, and Nick is pushed down stairs in an apparent attempted murder. 

All the commotion brings neighbor Mona Dilger (Lynda Boyd) and her daughter Tamara (Jodelle Ferland) to the house. Boyd has an impressive filmography featuring heartwarming TV movies and shows like "Virgin River" and "Sullivan's Crossing." Her performance as the anxiety-ridden Mona makes "Haunted By Murder" stand out in the franchise, as does the paranormal element and the fun use of Lillian (Ellie Harvie), Aurora's curmudgeon colleague. The final scene is fantastic, capping Candace Cameron Bure's run as Aurora perfectly.

The best Aurora Teagarden movie starring Candace Cameron Bure is "Haunted By Murder," but the best Aurora Teagarden movie of the lot is "A Lesson in Murder," led by Skyler Samuels as a younger version of Aurora. Samuels shines in the prequel film (the 20th overall), which sees Aurora investigating the death of a student from her true crime literature class alongside a young Arthur (played here by Evan Roderick), who is early in his law enforcement career.

It's determined that the student, Kevin (Aiden Howard), died by ingesting a lethal amount of sodium nitrate that had been added to his shake. Aurora can't help but insert herself into the investigation because she feels she has a duty to protect her students. Kevin had a rival on the baseball field who had it in for him, but we won't reveal much more than that, because "A Lesson in Murder" has an interesting structure that's best experienced with your own eyes.

Some fans were no doubt skeptical when Hallmark decided to go in a different direction following Candace Cameron Bure's exit, but the franchise's reinvention was successful. The prequels stand apart from the original series because the tone of the films with Samuels is darker and more authentic. The ages of the characters allows the filmmakers to lean into "Riverdale" vibes and it works, especially in "A Lesson in Murder."