Grave Secret (Harper Connelly Mysteries, Book 4)

I like this series better than some of the author's other series, which I've also read. Harper's supernatural ability to tell what caused a death from standing near the person's grave but not to tell who killed them seems more realistic. Harris is also really good at painting a picture of what life is like for people who are struggling for money and who worry about insurance, who shop at Wal-Mart, and who have real low life family members. It all adds to the realism of the series. This book is largely about Harper's low life and/or abused family members, dead and living, and the relatives who mean well but can't quite get Harper and her romantic relationship with her stepbrother. To say more would give away the ending, but it's well written and well drawn and the conclusion, as always, is one that is both very fast, like a one-two punch, and something you don't see coming. Personally, I'd rather read about Harper than Sookie, so I hope the author revisits them sometime.

Another book in the Harper Connelly mystery series. I love this series as it combines mystery with a woman that can read dead people and find dead people. Harper and her step-brother Tolliver travel around the country as they are hired to find out what happened to loved ones and how they died. Harper was struck by lightning when she was a teen and every since she can read the dead. In the other books we seen a Harper that needed taken care of and Tolliver did that for her. We got to see them fall in love with each other and face the "ick" factor that a lot of people had when they found out they were a couple. We also learned about their combined family and the hell they grew up in and in this book there is closure for both Harper and Tolliver with the answer to why their sister Cameron disappeared so many years before and how Tolliver's brother and father played into that. We also discover that a sister they thought was theirs is really a baby that was born under mysterious conditions. It is a real page turner and I read it in one setting.

Charlaine Harris shows off awsome talent in this mystery that deals with drug addiction, parental abuse, extreme child abuse and a missing and a dead baby. These are mighty horrible subjects that she is dealing with and she also uses Harper to deal with the after effects of multiple abuse. This is a touching, sorrowful but excelllent mystery and pulls together the mystery of Harper and her family and Tolliver and how he deals with what is going on with him and his abuse as a child. This is a haunting story, an excellent mystery and a peek into the world of the abused child and how it does not have to be the end of the world. I have heard that this is the end of the Harper novels and I certainly hope not since I have grown to love her and her world but I will say this , "You will not forget Harper Connelly in a hurry".

If this is the last book - it was a great conclusion! What I love about these books is that I can never guess "who did it"....I am literally still guessing until the last minute. I was very satisfied with this book and thought all the unanswered questions about Harper's family and Cameron were answered. If Charlaine writes more of these I will definitely get them but if not I am happy with the way it ended. Highly recommended!

Now better known for her Sookie Stackhouse series, this series was my first introdution to this authors' work. Having read all her writings, I don't know why this series did not take off. It seems so much deeper and had a melancholy richness that her other stories do not. Considering how deeply skilled this author is, from the silly cozy mysteries to the philosphical quandry of this series--I cannot pass up a book with her name on it. All of her books are keepers, but this series has a special place on my bookshelf. The common theme of her stories is how women cope when undreamed of changes shatter an old life and demand new groundrules. Plus the various "helpers" all come with their own set of challenges. Start at the beginning of this series and allow yourself a place in Harpers' world. Notice how the rhythm of the writing is different--almost slower--and the problems far more tragic and pointed. Be very careful--as is wise Harper--as to who you let get close.