Product Description

Harper Connelly was struck by lightning as a teenager, and now she can find the dead. In her third case, Harper and Tolliver, her stepbrother, are hired to find a missing grandson. But the truth is far worse than a single dead child, for numerous teenage boys, all unlikely runaways, have disappeared from Doraville, North Carolina. Harper soon finds the eight bodies, buried in the half-frozen ground, but then, still reeling from coming into contact with her first serial killer, she is attacked and injured. Now she and Tolliver have no choice but to stay in Doraville while she recovers, and as she reluctantly becomes part of the investigation, she learns more than she cares to about the dark mysteries and long-hidden secrets of the town: knowledge that makes her the most likely person to be next to end up in an ice-cold grave.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #11702 in Books
• Published on: 2008-07-17
• Binding: Hardcover
• 288 pages

Synopsis
Harper Connelly was struck by lightning as a teenager, and now she can find the dead. In her third case, Harper and Tolliver, her stepbrother, are hired to find a missing grandson. But the truth is far worse than a single dead child, for numerous teenage boys, all unlikely runaways, have disappeared from Doraville, North Carolina. Harper soon finds the eight bodies, buried in the half-frozen ground, but then, still reeling from coming into contact with her first serial killer, she is attacked and injured. Now she and Tolliver have no choice but to stay in Doraville while she recovers, and as she reluctantly becomes part of the investigation, she learns more than she cares to about the dark mysteries and long-hidden secrets of the town: knowledge that makes her the most likely person to be next to end up in an ice-cold grave.

About the Author
Charlaine Harris is the author of the New York Times bestselling series of supernatural romantic mysteries starring Sookie Stackhouse, the telepathic bar maid, and a cast of vampires, werewolves and things that really do go bump in the night, the Harper Connelly series, about a girl who makes her living finding the dead, and the 'Lily Bard' mystery series. She is married, with children.

Customer Reviews

Another winner but...(spoiler)
I like all the Charlaine Harris novels I have read (Sookie is my favourite) and Harper is a good character- real, a good person with depth. Think that the next novel needs to branch out a bit though. The premise of this series is that, after being struck by lightning, Harper Connelly can sense dead bodies. She can find them, confirm who they are and how they died. Employed by grieving families and law enforcement agencies, she and her 'brother' travel around the US offering this as as service. So far so original and very well written as you would expect from this author. 2 subplots are within the books- 1 is the disappearance of her older sister as a teenager (references to finding her dead one day are made) and the other reaches its climax (so to speak) in this installment when Harper and Tollier (the 'brother') have sex. Not as gross as it sounds as they are step siblings whose parents married when they were teenagers but for me, it was still weird!! The sex scene was just a bit strange even though the ground work had been laid in the earlier books.
I hope that the next book branches out a bit, truthfully short of finding the sister I am not sure where this could go without getting a bit old. The mystery side of things are good but in terms of character development, we need a real move now to keep interested. I am no author but I can't see this series having the longevity of some.

expecting the inevitable
The third in the series and it didn't let me down.

That said, the storyline is becoming rather formulaic. Call in Harper and Tolliver, find bodies, stay around for whatever reason to solve the murder mystery, leave for another case.

In this story, there is a development in the relationship between Harper and Tolliver which was, of course, broadcast in the previous novel. I don't know whether this helps or hinders future stories but it does rather slow down this one.

Nevertheless, fans of the genre will enjoy this book. I did but I do hope the next one branches out somewhat. It's becoming a little tiresome when the police call in these guys to help them find the bodies then try to discover how they were involved in the first place. In this day of mass communication, one would have thought that even the US police nationally would have heard about Harper's strange ability - especially when we discover that there is a website following her every move.

So, I look forward to her next outing but not before I pick up the latest Sookie Stackhouse novel when that is released!

This Series Just Gets Better and Better
Fellow readers, I couldn't put this book down and so, despite it being a Saturday and me a mother, I read it in one sitting.

This book has a much faster pace than the two other 'Harper' outings, and Harper is much more physically involved in the action - but not in a forced out of character way, rather in a wrong place wrong time way! Add in the Tolliver/Harper changing relationship, and what you get is a book you have to read quickly but conversely don't want it to end!