79) Grave Secret by Charlaine Harris

The Blurb :


Lightning-struck sleuth Harper Connelly and her stepbrother Tolliver take a break from looking for the dead to visit the two little girls they both think of as sisters. But, as always happens when they travel to Texas, memories of their horrible childhood resurface...

To make matter worse, Tolliver learns from his older brother that their father is out of jail and trying to reestablish contact with other family members. Tolliver wants nothing to do with the man - but he may not have a say in the matter.

Soon, family secrets ensnare them both, as Harper finally discovers what happened to her missing sister, Cameron, so may years before.

And what she finds out will change her world forever...

My Thoughts :

I read the whole Harper Connolly series back when it released.  However I have a thing with Charlaine Harris and always end up reading her books again but via Audible.  Why?  One reason is that she has been graced by the audio book gods and always has amazing narrators.  Another reason is that her books are just so good they are worth reading again.  Especially when the series is over and you can binge listen to them.

The Harper Connolly series was always hard to get hold of on Audio but I noticed a while ago that they had become available and I couldn't wait to revisit the series.  Despite having read the whole series I found that I had forgotten so much about all the books.  I knew the general story about Harper and the lightning strike, what happened after, her abilities, her family and so on but the details that I had completely disappeared were the mysteries from each book.  The plots came across, in most instances as completely new.  Sounds bad in a way but it meant that this second visit to the series was even more fun.

This fourth and last book in the series tied up the loose ends.  As everything started to come together there is a sense of shock but relief as Harper finally finds out what happened to her sister all those years ago and more surprisingly finds out she lost another family member around the same time.  She just didn't know.

In Grave Secret is all about family.  Harper and Tolliver go back to their hometown to visit some family, both welcome and unwelcome.  People get hurt and people die.  It is dim at times but the story is compelling and has a story you can't give up on.  Especially if you have read the rest of the series.

Charlaine Harris recently released a new Aurora Teagarden Mystery and I have to wonder if she will do the same for her other series.  It would be nice to catch up with Harper and Tolliver.  See how they are doing.  Maybe a collection of short stories.  Other cases they have worked on.  I feel like Harper's ability keeps filling their lives with mysteries.

A great series, interesting characters and an unique paranormal twist.  Well worth reading.  Definitely worth listening to.

66) An Ice Cold Grave by Charlaine Harris

The Blurb :

Hired to find a boy gene missing in Doraville, North Carolina, Harper Connelly and her brother Tolliver head there, only to discover that the boy was the only one left of several who had disappeared over the previous five years. All of them teenagers. All unlikely runaways.

All calling for Harper.

Harper soon finds them—eight victims, buried in the half-frozen ground, all come to an unspeakable end. Afterward, what she most wants to do is collect her fee and get out of town ahead of the media storm that's soon to descend. But when she's attacked and prevented from leaving, she reluctantly becomes a part of the investigation as she learns more than she cares to about the dark mysteries and long-hidden secrets of Doraville—knowledge that makes her the next person likely to rest in an ice-cold grave.

My Thoughts :

August hasn't been a great month for reading any kind of Kindle or physical books.  However I am doing pretty well on the audio book front.  All fans of Charlaine Harris will of, like me, have already read the Harper Connelly series but Charlaine Harris has managed to achieve something that rarely happens.  I want to read her books again.  So far I have read listened to all the Sookie Stackhouse, Aurora Teagarden, Midnight and Lily Bard books so I only have the Harper Connelly ones left.  Yes I have read all of them before but the audio books are so good!

I only just listened to the second book in the series, Grave Surprise the other week.  While I have many other books to listen to I just couldn't resist this third installment.  Just like the second book, I couldn't really remember anything about what happened.  It has been a long time since I read An Ice Cold Grave and the majority of the plot was forgotten long ago.  Which made listening to this one even more interesting.

As with all other books by Charlaine Harris it was a great listen and once again a pleasure to read.  The series is unusual, exciting and keeps you guessing until the end.  I was happy see Manfred again in this third book.  A character who also appears in the Midnight series. Most of the characters from Midnight have made appearances in other books but they have been forgotten over the years. One thing I didn't forget is Harper and Tolliver changing their relationship status.  You can see it coming throughout the series but it was still an interesting development.

I am looking forward to listening to next and final book in the series.  I really can't remember why this series stopped after the fourth book but with a new Aurora Teagarden installment due for release soon maybe there will also be a new Harper Connolly book sometime in the future.

64) Grave Surprise by Charlaine Harris

The Blurb :

When I was fifteen, I was struck by a bolt of lightning through an open window of the trailer where we lived...I recovered, mostly. I have a strange spiderweb pattern of red on my torso and right leg, which has episodes of weakness. Sometimes my right hand shakes. I have headaches. I have many fears. And I can find dead people. That was the part that interested the professor...

At the request of anthropology professor Dr. Clyde Nunley, Harper Connelly and her stepbrother Tolliver come to Memphis to give a demonstration of Harper's unique talent. And what better place to have that demonstration than in a very old cemetery?

Dr. Nunley doesn't bother to hide his skepticism, especially when Harper stands atop a grave and senses two bodies beneath her - one of a centuries-dead man and the other of a young girl, recently deceased. When the grave is opened, Harper's claim is proven true.

The dead girl is Tabitha Morgenstern, an eleven-year-old abducted from Nashville two years previously - a child whom Harper had tried, and failed, to find. The coincidence raises suspicions about her among the police - so she and Tolliver undertake their own hunt to find the killer. They make a nocturnal visit to the cemetery, hoping that Harper can sense something further about the murder.

And then, the next morning, a third dead body is found in the grave...

My Thoughts :

Any fans of Charlaine Harris will of, like me, have already read this series.  However Charlaine Harris has managed to achieve something that no other author has.  She has me going back to re-read or at least to listen to her books again.  I have read nearly all of her books and slowly but surely I have been listening to them all too.  I have already read and listened to all the Sookie Stackhouse, Aurora Teagarden, Midnight and Lily Bard books so I only have the Harper Connelly ones left.

Grave Surprise is the second book in the series and even though I definitely read it when it releases, I couldn't remember anything about it while I listened to it.  Sure this book was released ten years ago and a lot has happened since then but I expected to at least remember some of the plot.  Which I didn't.

The book was a great listen and once again a pleasure to read.  The series is unusual and exciting with some interesting details.  I was pleasantly surprised to meet Manfred in this book.  A character who also appears in the Midnight series.  I know a lot of the characters from Midnight have made appearances in other books but some of them have been long forgotten over the years.  So I love putting those pieces together.

I can't wait to listen to the next book in the series.  Luckily they all seem to be available on Audible and I can revisit the series in full.  Well worth the listen, the narrator does a great job of bringing the series to life and I look forward to hearing her voice again soon.

7) Grave Sight by Charlaine Harris

The Blurb :

Harper Connelly has what you might call a strange job: she finds dead people. She can sense the final location of a person who's passed, and share their very last moment. The way Harper sees it, she's providing a service to the dead while bringing some closure to the living - but she's used to most people treating her like a blood-sucking leech. Traveling with her step-brother Tolliver as manager and sometime-bodyguard, she's become an expert at getting in, getting paid, and getting out fast. Because for the living it's always urgent - even if the dead can wait forever.

My Thoughts :

Charlaine Harris is one of my favourite cozy mystery writers.  Her Sookie Stackhouse series was my first find and then I read her Lily Bard series.  Aurora Teagarden was next and ten years ago when the Harper Connelly series started I remember pre-ordering it. I have revisited all of the series over the years via Audio book but the Harper Connelly series was somewhat hard to get hold of.  The first in the series didn't seem to be available for a long time and I didn't want to listen to them out of order.  So when Grave Sight finally popped up I knew it was time to check out the series again.  After all, shock and horror, it has been over ten years since it released!!!!

Harper Connelly was struck by lightening and can now feel the dead.  She feels their remains and can see the cause of death.  With no other skill set available to her she has turned this ability/curse into a paying job.  She finds the graves of lost people who have passed on.  She doesn't find it morbid or cruel because she is bringing closure to all concerned but some people don't see it that way and her career choice can cause some trouble.

Brother Tolliver travels with Harper and is her manager/bodyguard.  Although they are not blood related they have been through more than enough with each other and have a special relationship that even they aren't quite sure about sometimes.  There is a lot of history between the two and throughout the series the other siblings come into play as well.

Now I read this years ago and remembered the general concept and plot. When I started listening to the book I even had some 'Oh yeah' moments as my memory was jogged about certain aspects.  However as things progressed I realised how much I had forgotten.  It made revisiting this book even more fun because, for instance, I couldn't remember how it ended or how they solved the mystery.

This is a great series and I can't wait to read (listen) to the others again.  It is a great way to have some Charlaine Harris time while waiting for the new installment in the Midnight Series and the narrator for Grave Sight was very good.  If you haven't already tried this paranormal cozy then I suggest you do!  Unique, well written and exciting this is on par with all of Charlaine's other series!