I was first introduced to Charlaine Harris when I started to read her Sookie Stackhouse 'Southern Vampire' series - and enjoyed her so much so that when she came out with a new series, I picked it up right away. While the worlds of Sookie Stackhouse and Harper Connelly (the heroine of this series) touch on the supernatural, they could not be further apart.
There are no vampires, werewolves, and fairies in Harper's world - she is much more grounded in ours, with the bad guys being serial killers, neglectful parents, and kidnappers. How does Harper connect with all of this? She can find corpses - and on the odd occasion, see ghosts and souls. As a teenager Harper was struck by lightning, and while horribly injured in the event - she came away with this gift. She senses a 'tingle' in her brain when there is a dead body nearby - and the fresher the corpse, the stronger the feeling she gets. So what does she do with this gift? Along with her stepbrother/companion Tolliver, she has a business where she finds lost children and solves murders.
It's not an easy job - people naturally think she and Tolliver are mercenary frauds, and time and time again she has to prove herself - and then on top of that prove that they had nothing to do with the crime on hand. She says in one part of this book that the FBI has a thick file on her to do with this exact thing. They don't like her, are suspicious of her, but resort to using her abilities when nothing else works.
An Ice Cold Grave is the third book in the Harper Connelly series, and Harper and Tolliver find themselves in rural South Carolina to help a (stereotypically) mistrustful Sheriff with the disappearance of six local teenage boys. Sheriff Rockwell is new to the position, and elected to it because of these crimes. Her predecessor dismissed the disappearances as runaways but she knew in her gut that it couldn't have happened to the range of boys gone missing. Harper does her job, but in doing so angers the perpetrator coming after her and putting her into the hospital - all in the midst of an ice storm.
The book moves at a very fast pace - 280 pages and it only took me a day to read (yeah, I had the day off yesterday). There are some surprising changes to Harper and Tolliver's relationship - apparently Harper wasn't the only one struggling with the 'brother' label. Harper's mother and Tolliver's father had married when Harper and Tolliver were teenagers - but they are not blood relations. I have to say I guessed the perp quite early in the story, but still liked how the story was brought about - and am eagerly awaiting the next volume in this series.
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Extra Credit Thursday Book Report
Fairyville by Emma Holly
Yeah... Just read Susan Johnson's caption on the front cover. Yum. I think that is all that is required.
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Oh - and the nephew still hasn't got a name yet!
4 comments:
Hi Jo, I think I might have to pick up this new series. Sounds good. Received my Blue Moon Fibers yarn order yesterday. WOW! Bunny Foo Foo and Foostsy Foo - - love the colors. One more day here at work then it's vacation till the new year. Does your new nephew have a name.... he's such a cutie pie.
Michelle
that first series does sound interesting. May have to look out for it.
I don't always comment, but I love your book reports!
I might have to try this series out.
Hee hee! I was wondering what that second book was about.
You should review that southern vampire series. I get the feeling your and Dr. MS's reading tastes align a bit. He's always looking for new books to read.
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