Grave Sight

Arkansas socialite Sybil Teague and her lawyer, Paul Edwards, have hired Harper Connolly because of her unique talent for finding dead bodies. This is a skill that might make you want to avoid thunderstorms since it's something that Harper’s had since she was struck by lightning when she was 15. Once she serves the purpose she was hired for and locates Teenie Hopkins, who vanished with Sybil’s son, Dell, and confirms that both teenagers had been murdered, her employers join the rest of the folks in this Arkansas town, in regarding her "gift" with revulsion, ranging from mild to hostile. Harper wants nothing more than to get into her stepbrother, Tolliver Lang’s Subaru and drive far away from it all. Even the budding romance with show more deputy Hollis Boxleitner, who once used Harper’s "powers" to confirm that his wife Sally's death by drowning, was in no way an accident... can’t convince her to stay around. After the beating death of Helen Hopkins, Sally and Teenie’s recovering-alcoholic mom, Sheriff Harvey Branscom demands that the siblings stay in town, despite minor harassment by Vernon McCluskey, the owner of the motel where they’re stuck for however long the duration may be. Then there is more serious persecution from Scot Briscoe who is a high school student who is "irked", (his word not mine), by the crush that Dell’s sister Mary Nell has developed on Tolliver. Branscom’s so busy getting on Tolliver's case for a broken taillight that solving the murder cases themselves might be only way that the pair can get out of this town. Not a bad start for this short series... (There's only 4 books). You get a really good sense of what Harper is facing with the people who are afraid of her, those that are bigots and think her power is evil and her relationship with her brother/manager is REALLY suspicious. I didn't think the characters were as engaging as the ones in her "Sookie" series, but I liked Harper well enough as a character to give it a 4.5-star rating. If mysteries and the paranormal are your "thing"... then you'll probably like this story. show less

I devoured Charlaine Harris’ entire five-book Lily Bard series, set in Shakespeare, Arkansas, so reading Grave Sight, the first in a series about a 24-year-old woman with an odd form of second sight was an easy sell.

Ever since she was struck by lightning at 15, Harper Connelly has been able to sense the dead. She can’t communicate with them — nothing like that. But she can find corpses and sense how they died and see the last few minutes before death. That’s how she and her stepbrother, Tolliver Lang, make their livings: traveling across the country, selling Harper’s services. Some people appreciate the closure and the help; most look at them as distasteful at best and demonic at worst. Especially in their latest gig in Sarne, show more Ark.

Dell Teague and Teenie Hopkins — both 17, he a rich boy and she, the wild daughter of a drunk — disappeared. His body was found, shot to death, but hers was not. That’s what Harper’s been hired to find. But she finds out a whole lot more, and someone fears she’s getting too close to discovering a secret that was worth murdering to conceal.

Harris has worked her magic over this novel, as well, with wonderful characters and surprises and twists aplenty. And that ending? OMG! I already realize that I will be devouring the Harper Connelly novels as fast as I can, as well. Highly, highly recommended. show less

Ugh. Just... Ugh. I am beginning to think that the more I read of Charlaine Harris, the less I like her. This was just... bad. And creepy. Poorly written, weak plot, cardboard cut-out characters, creepy relationships and creepy romance, and trademark Charlaine Harris character name and detail errors all in one book.

I don't even know where to begin... I guess I could just write a list, like our heroine, who Charlaine describes as a list-maker with little opportunity, first does 26 pages from the end of the book. You'd think, in a mystery, that a list writer would probably, maybe, keep a list while she's running around tracking down all those clues. Guess not. More likely, Charlaine (hereafter known as "CH") just wanted to rehash show more everything and wrote in a "personality trait" to do so.

Speaking of personality, oh lordy me. Were there any personalities in this book? From ANYONE? Harper was just about as boring and cold and unlikeable a character as I've ever read. Why anyone would want to read an entire series about her is beyond me. Tolliver, her brother, is essentially an assistant/care-giver/babysitter/bodyguard to Harper, and besides being a womanizer, he's boring and uninteresting. Hollis is the Haunted Small-Town Cop™. Sybil is the Cold Rich Widow™. Mary Nell is the Teen Cheerleader (With Jealous Teen Admirer) Who Is Lovestruck for Mysterious Older Man™. There is nobody, at all, in this book that was even remotely interesting or unique.

Harper's relationship with her 'brother' is super creepy. SUPER. CREEPY. Even if Harper and Tolliver aren't blood related, their relationship is just... disturbing. Harper is almost totally and completely dependent on Tolliver. She's jealous of his conquests, and he of hers, although neither come right out and say so, but their ONLY disagreements with each other were over the other half making the beast with two backs with some "outsider". They talk about buying a house together, and Harper talks about the possibility of Tolliver marrying, and fleetingly thinks of that for herself, but she seems very reluctant to think about that, and the thought of Tolliver committing himself to someone besides her seems to give her anxiety.

Harper's parents were well-to-do who didn't do too well, and became alcohol and drug dependent and neglected the kids, but that's OK because the kids had each other... mostly. Apparently, this, along with Harper's injury, the one which caused her ability to sense the dead, are where her co-dependence on her brother stems from, but I don't get it. OK, right, you're struck by lightning. Sure, you'd be afraid of storms afterward. Logical. What is not logical is sheer panic when your "lifeline" brother is out of your line of sight for any length of time without a suitable male stand-in. OMG noes! HOW will you copez?!1? Harper and Tolliver seem more like exes who realized that they love each other but are better as friends but who don't really want to let go either. He called her "baby" and "honey", and, sorry, but if my brother ever called me that I'd be really, really grossed out. Harper is even described as having her stomach clench when Tolliver "sweet talks" someone else. CREEPY.

Then, there's the "back story" that CH probably should start hinting at if she wants to drag this out into another too-long series... This includes Harper Family Mystery and Drama. There's the Parental Situation I mentioned above, for starters. Then there's one missing and presumed dead sister that Harper is very clinically detached and cold (aka "avoiding false hope") about, but determined to find, at least her body, and two other sisters raised by Tolliver's religious and manipulative aunt to despise Tolliver and Harper both for reasons unknown. I'm sure that will come out somewhere in book 8 or 9. Stick with it. All in all, there was just no... substance there. It was like the details were thrown in because they had to be, not because they were the characters' actual histories. Sorry Charlaine, you need to know your characters before any reader can. Giving her a gimp leg and some superficial insecurities along with saying that her hobbies include reading and nail-painting isn't characterization. Nor is giving someone acne scars and then saying that he likes really smooth skinned women probably because of that.

Harper's thing with Hollis is another kind of creepy in itself. I really have to wonder what kind of publisher would read this and say, "Yes! This is what we've been waiting to publish!!". We have either a way, way too close brother and sister relationship or a way dysfunctional couple-night stand relationship with extremely-recently-widowed young cop. Hmm... Neither one is exactly steaming up THESE windows.

The story takes place in very late October/early November. Hollis's wife Sally died sometime after February. That's eight months. He gets all almost choked up when he talks about her, and he says he loved her, and even hired Harper to tell him some info about how she died. OK... not creepy so far. Then Hollis and Harper do the nasty. Strange, but not unheard of. Then, during the course of the "investigation", this appears: (There are Sally death spoilers!)

"I'm sorry," I said, making a great effort. "I know this is dredging up stuff for you that you're trying to put behind you."

"No, I'm not trying to put Sally behind me," he said. "But I am trying to think about the rest of my life. And the ideas of the last few days, the idea that Sally was murdered, that the son of a bitch who did it has been walking around this town, talking to me, free, has been curdling my gut. And the fact that every time I see you, I want to screw you so bad it hurts. You practically break into my house, my damn house, and I want to fuck you right here on the floor."

Then they did.

WHAT?!? You go from talking about your DEAD LESS THAN 8 MONTHS WIFE to screwing some new girl in TWO SENTENCES?? It was described as "short and violent and the most exciting encounter Harper had ever experienced." CREEPY.

I almost closed the book right there. That was just... too much. But I was curious about the mystery. I wanted to know. I finished it. I want my two days back. There's absolutely, positively no way that I will be reading any more of this series. It's also unlikely that I'll be reading anything else CH's written. It's sad, because I quite liked the first few books of the Sookie Stackhouse series, but now I'm even doubting myself on that.

Don't read this. It's BAD. Did I mention it was creepy too? show less

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:

I felt a little let down with this book. I love the True Blood series by Charliane Harris so got myself a copy of the Harper Connelly series. As always I feel show more that I need to read books in order and I get the impression that this series may build as it goes along. There are questions that may well be answered as the series goes along.

However unlike the True Blood series I feel that there is something missing. I just didn’t get a connection with the characters. I felt that this book was just an average read but from a good author. Not sure if I liked this book enough to go and get the next in the series. show less

The first good thing about the book is the protagonist has a decidedly different feel to that of Charlaine Harris’s most famous leading lady. There’s no confusing Harper Connolly with Sookie Stackhouse. I immediately liked many of the characters, and Harper comes across as strong but vulnerable, an intriguing combination. The series appears to be very much mystery thriller and has a more focused and mature quality to the work. I enjoyed trying to figure out the culprit. The end is logical and entertaining, but the twists to get there more so. One of four. I’m reading on.

Grave Sight
4 Stars

Harper Connelly has the unique ability to sense not only the whereabout of human remains, but also the cause of death. Together with her stepbrother/business manager, Tolliver Lang, Harper travels to Sarne Alabama at the request of a grieving mother desperate to locate the body of the young woman her deceased son is accused of killing in a murder/suicide. However, this seemingly simple case takes a dangerous turn when Harper becomes the target of someone determined to keep the truth buried...

Charlaine Harris’s cozy mysteries are rapidly becoming addictive. Harris is a master at characterization and is exceptionally skilled at capturing the essence of small town life (although not everyone is Sarne is as open and show more accepting of Harper’s differences).

Harper's dry, matter of fact personality and intriguing abilities make her a very appealing heroine. She and Tolliver have an interesting dynamic as they share a closeness not usually found in non-biological siblings, and there is a certain amount of subtle sexual tension between the two that they are apparently not yet ready to confront.

The who-done-it is well written with a number of plausible suspects and sufficient clues to figure out the twist before the end. The incorporation of paranormal elements feels natural and adds another layer to the suspense.

Alyssa Bresnahan's narration is well-executed and she relays the dry wit and stoicism inherent to Harper's character very well. Looking forward to Harper and Tolliver's further adventures. show less

I started Grave Sight not expecting much. I abhor the trend cozy mysteries have taken - If the detective is female she has to have a gimmick (like recipes included YUCK! I love recipe books, I love mysteries. I do not love them combined. Nor do I want my mysteries combined with quilting, sewing, animals etc), and she has to have a love interest with whom she fights attraction but ends up in bed. (I do not like romances in any form; I find them far less believable than mysteries even). So having ranted about what I don't like, I reckon I should mention that I liked Grave Sight very much.

It's not really a cozy, and the female detective does have a 'thing', but it's a paranormal thing, and intrinsically attached to her detecting. The plot show more was very good, the clues were well laid out, and the characters fully formed. There was a smidge of sex but no goofy romance, thank goodness. Harper Connelly is very complicated in a way that made me want to read more. My only - not really a complaint, because it's entirely personal to me - but I was uncomfortable with the violence against her, and I have a feeling it wasn't a one time thing. I shan't say too much as it could be a spoiler, but it was the absolute hatred behind the violence that made me wonder if I will be able to read many of these if it continues. show less