While these might not top the list of Hallmark’s greatest hits, the 21 films in the Aurora Teagarden series offer a deep dive into its engaging narrative, making it challenging for newcomers to decide where to begin. Viewing them in chronological order is advisable, starting with “A Bone to Pick” released in 2015. Each installment builds upon the last with continuous storylines that interlace Aurora’s personal growth and relationships, making it essential to follow her journey from the beginning to fully appreciate the overarching narrative.

The initial trio of movies—“A Bone to Pick,” “Real Murders,” and “Three Bedrooms, One Corpse”—lay the groundwork for Aurora’s character and her world in Lawrenceton, Washington. Portrayed by Candace Cameron Bure, Aurora’s journey kicks off with a substantial inheritance from a friend, including a house and various belongings in “A Bone to Pick.”

Experiencing the series in release order allows audiences to witness Aurora’s evolution as intended. Each film builds upon the last, seamlessly weaving together aspects of her life and detective work in Washington. This solid foundation sets the stage for Aurora’s future adventures and keeps viewers eagerly anticipating what lies ahead.

It’s a heck of a way to begin a franchise, and it’s partially why watching in release order is the best option. “A Bone to Pick” shows Aurora’s life as a librarian, her friends in the Real Murders Club, and her passion for finding the truth. What follows in the next two films is Aurora cementing herself as a detective by solving several murders and building a career in real estate by the end of the third installment, “Three Bedrooms, One Corpse.”

By watching these movies in release order, you see Aurora’s story play out how you’re meant to. Each one adds to the next, connecting more building blocks to her life in Washington as she settles into her detective work. These films lay the foundation for what comes next in Aurora’s life and what audiences can expect from future projects.

• “A Bone to Pick” (2015)
• “Real Murders” (2015)
• “Three Bedrooms, One Corpse” (2016)

In the next five movies, Aurora’s life continues to grow. She buys a house in the fourth installment, “The Julius House” – and, much like “A Bone to Pick,” this new home presents a new mystery. It also marks a change in the types of cases she’s handling. Initially, we see her handling deaths and murders, but starting with “The Julius House,” the cases become more complex as she looks into a family disappearance, affairs, breaking and entering, and even an abandoned baby in “A Bundle of Trouble.” People from her past also begin trickling in, including an ex-boyfriend and an old friend, adding more people to her circle.

This set of movies shows the next phase of Aurora’s life in Washington and her detective work, which is only meaningful if you watch them in release order. While many of the cases she solves still involve deaths, things aren’t as easy to piece together, with more moving parts and layers to peel back compared to the first three cases audiences see. These five films also follow Aurora’s relationship with Martin (Yannick Bisson), a former CIA agent introduced in the third entry. For those interested in romantic arcs, it’s best to watch these movies in release order to see Aurora’s first big romance storyline and how it connects to her investigations.

• “The Julius House” (2016)
• “Dead Over Heels” (2017)
• “A Bundle of Trouble” (2017)
• “Last Scene Alive” (2018)
• “Reap What You Sew” (2018)

In the next set of movies, starting with the ninth installment “The Disappearing Game” and ending with the 13th entry “Heist and Seek,” Aurora’s life changes as she meets Nick Miller (Niall Matter). He’s a professor who moves in across the street, making them neighbors, and he becomes her partner in solving crime. The cases Aurora works on continue to become more intense, like the kidnapping of her nephew in “The Disappearing Game,” trying to prove that nephew is innocent of murder in “A Very Foul Play,” and even a nuptial poisoning in “An Inheritance to Die For.”

These movies don’t just follow Aurora and Nick investigating mysteries together, but also their budding love story. It’s a bit of a roller-coaster as they try to figure out the best balance between their working and personal relationships, especially as the stakes surrounding their cases keep growing. However, seeing how Aurora is with Nick compared to Martin is important, so continuing to watch the movies in release order is still the best option. And that fact is solidified with the help of more recurring characters, like Aurora’s nephew.

• “The Disappearing Game” (2018)
• “A Game of Cat and Mouse” (2019)
• “An Inheritance to Die For” (2019)
• “A Very Foul Play” (2019)
• “Heist and Seek” (2020)

With the 14th entry of the Aurora Teagarden series, “Reunited and It Feels So Deadly,” Aurora and Nick are engaged, moving them into the next chapter of their relationship and life together. The films that follow take audiences on their journey of trying to wedding plan while solving mysteries around them. Aurora is thrown into the past when someone is murdered at her high school reunion in “Reunited and It Feels So Deadly,” presenting plenty of suspects she has to rule out. When their wedding is just around the corner in “Til Death Do Us Part,” they try to solve a murder in record time, and they even end up trying to solve a murder on a trip in “Honeymoon, Honeymurder.”

This group of films covers the last of Candace Cameron Bure’s time as Aurora Teagarden following the character’s engagement and marriage to Nick. It lets audiences see the pay off of watching the couple across the previous five projects, giving them a happy ending together. These movies only make sense after watching all the ones that came before them, allowing the audience to see the full context of Aurora’s life in Washington, her previous romantic relationships, and meeting and falling in love with Nick. 

• “Reunited and It Feels So Deadly” (2020)
• “How to Con a Con” (2021)
• “Til Death Do Us Part” (2021)
• “Honeymoon, Honeymurder” (2021)
• “Haunted by Murder” (2022)

2023’s “Something New” begins an era of films that follows a post-college Aurora, played by Skyler Samuels, moving back home to Lawrenceton. This group of movies effectively serve as prequels, taking audiences back in time to see how Aurora began solving mysteries, starting with the disappearance of her best friend’s fiancé. Aurora isn’t a librarian yet, instead working at the local diner while she completes her graduate degree. Her first cases are nothing to scoff at, as she investigates the murder of a classmate in “A Lesson in Murder” and tries to show her boyfriend is innocent of murder in “Death at the Diner.”

Despite being prequels (and not simultaneously sequels), it’s better to watch these in release order after the other films. These three movies show Aurora working out her investigation style, and it’s more enjoyable to see where she started from if you know where she ends up. While the first 18 entries show who Aurora is later in life, these projects give a better look at Aurora as she’s figuring out who she wants to be, adding more to what we know about the detective.

• “Something New” (2023)
• “A Lesson in Murder” (2024)
• “Death at the Diner” (2025)