Grave Secret by Charlaine Harris

Grave Secret (Harper Connelly Mysteries, Book 4) by Charlaine Harris is (as you might can guess from that link) the fourth book in the Harper Connelly series. Despite being on the fence about it, I managed to read it all in one night so perhaps I enjoyed it more than I think.

Harper has the unique ability to see a person's last moments when in close proximity to their remains. She's gone to Texas to visit her little sisters and while there manages to stir up some trouble by "seeing" something that wasn't meant to be public knowledge.  There are threats to her life and when her partner Tolliver is injured they are unable to just leave town (as they would prefer.)  While there, they visit both their younger half-sisters and Tolliver's older brother and father.  There is a second storyline about Harper's missing sister Cameron, which plays out rather nicely.

If you're reading this series you know that something vaguely creepy happened in the last installment (An Ice Cold Grave (Harper Connelly Mysteries, No. 3) ) that seemed to resolve itself ok. In this one, it comes up again and again and while the talking about it makes it less creepy, the display of it was still wierd. (And yes, this is vague, other readers know what I'm talking about though.)

I'm really on the fence about this one. I don't think the writing is as tight as the Sookie Stackhouse books (Sookie Stackhouse, Books 1-7) also by Charlaine Harris. I found several plot points to be completely useless information that added nothing to the story.  The family dynamics are awkward as well (see previous paragraph) and it makes me wonder where Harris is going- does she want them to have family or to be complete loners?  I loved seeing Manfred again and kinda wish he had his own series, and still enjoy the premise of Harpers ability.  It seems likely that I'll continue with the series, but it's definitely not a favorite.

You can find Charlaine Harris on the web here, and be sure to visit her blog where she recommends great books to her readers.

Grave Secret by Charlaine Harris
Berkley Hardcover
2009
320 pages



I am an Amazon Associate. As such, any purchase you make at Amazon.com after following a link from this blog will earn me a (tiny) percentage back as income. Thanks.

An Ice Cold Grave by Charlaine Harris

One of the series that I'm hoping to get caught up on this year is the Harper Connelly series by Charlaine Harris.  Over my Christmas vacation I read An Ice Cold Grave (Harper Connelly Mysteries, No. 3) which only leaves me one more- Grave Secret (Harper Connelly Mysteries, Book 4)- before I can check one item off my list.  (Am I the only one who peppers my list with easy wins like this?) I was nervous about the direction that the series was heading at the end of book three, but Harris manages to pull off exactly what I was fearful of without totally creeping me out. (If you've read the book you totally know what I refer to!)

So what's the series about? Harper was struck by lightning as a teen and ever since then has been able to located dead bodies. While this seems like a bit of a parlour trick, Harper has built up a reputation and a earns a living locating bodies for police departments and grieving relatives. She is able to "see" a person's last moments as well and can tell how a person died. As you can imagine there is some skepticism around this and she has to continually prove herself to not be a fraud.

And what is this one about, specifically? Harper has been called to a small town where high school boys have been disappearing for the last 5 or 6 years. The old sheriff refused to believe it was foul play, but the new sheriff knows some one is taking the boys and wants answers. Harper finds the bodies and then discovers some horrible secrets.  Of course this leads to a threat against Harper herself as more and more people get involved.

Harris does a great job making Harper and her partner Tolliver into believable people.  I find them to be a little bit too anti-social and sometimes that is wearing on the reader, but otherwise they are great characters.  I don't see any shades of the Sookie Stackhouse series in the books but they have the same consistent, strong storylines.  They are a bit formulaic, you always know there will be suspicion cast on Harper and Tolliver, but my experience is that all mysteries are a bit predictable.  I'd recommend them as a nice alternative to the vampires and werewolves that populate most of the paranormal world.

You can find Charlaine Harris online here.
I also enjoy reading her blog entries, where she is in the habit of recommending other great books.


An Ice Cold Grave by Charlaine Harris
Berkley
2008
288 pages





I am an Amazon Associate. As such, any purchase you make at Amazon.com after following a link from this blog will earn me a (tiny) percentage back as income. Thanks.

Dead and Gone by Charlaine Harris

Just a brief review today because when it's the 9th book in a series it's really hard to write a review that doesn't give anything major away.

Dead and Gone brings me completely current on two series by Charlaine Harris, the Sookie Stackhouse and the Lily Bard series. It makes me want to quick read An Ice Cold Grave to bring myself current all the way around. (Yes, I know she has one more series, I don't like that one.)

So what's this one about? Things have come to a head with the faeries and the weres have decided to come out. The former takes place in secret, since faeries are not out, but the reaction to the existence of the weres take an ugly turn.

What did I think? Definitely stronger than From Dead to Worse , this one seemed to follower a smoother path to the conclusion. While there are two different storylines, Harris brings them together in the end in a way that doesn't seem as disjointed. Bill works towards redeeming himself, there is a Bubba sighting, and there is a nice little open-ended plot line with Eric. There is a lot more specific violence in this one than I remember in previous ones- as in violence against specific people as opposed to big werewolf or vampire brawls. The conclusion has shades of Iron Kissed for me, and I wonder if the great response to that influenced her. Overall, a good entry in the series with enjough of a hook to leave me wanting the next one.

Dead and Gone by Charlaine Harris
Ace Hardcover
2009
320 pages

From Dead to Worse by Charlaine Harris

From Dead to Worse by Charlaine Harris is the 8th book in the Sookie Stackhouse series. This is one of the best paranormal series out there right now, in my opinion. It manages to be funny without being ridiculous and intense without being graphic. It really makes me think of a cozy mystery in the vampire world, which makes sense as that is Harris's background.

So what's this one about? Does it matter? If you love the series you're going to want to read this one, regardless of the actual plot, but I'll try to sum it up anyway. The werewolves in Shreveport are still fighting, the Queen of Louisiana has never recovered from the bombing in the last book so her position is in jeopardy, Sookie's brother and his wife are on the outs, and Quinn, who was missing, is back. Sookie, of course, is in the middle of it all. Amelia (the witch) is still living with Sookie and Bob is still a cat.

What did I think, the short version: It was fun. Very fast paced and true to the characters. Barely a twinge of romance in this one, which was disappointing.

The long version: I thought the plot was a bit disjointed, but it did come together nicely in the end. It would have been a bit smoother if the werewolf portion hadn't ended exactly as the vampire portion began. It seemed a bit like this one was just set up for the next, but I can live with that. I still haven't seen any contradictions in her world, everyone seems to abide by the laws she has created and I haven't been completely disbelieving of any of it.

Sookie doesn't find romance in this one but Bill does try to redeem himself a bit. Eric is still hott and he seems to have found his memory. The vampires are still not above faking a relationship in order to further their causes but it doesn't have the same emotional impact as the last time they did it. I still love Sam and I can't wait to see what Niall brings to the table. All in all, a strong entry and leaves me wanting to read Dead and Gone which is the 9th and most recent entry in the series.

Have you read these? What do you think? Should I splurge and buy Dead and Gone or wait and get it when my turn comes up at the library? I'm #212 on paperbackswap, so it'll be a while there.

Charlaine Harris has a website and a blog, where she posts a weekly book review.

From Dead to Worse by Charlaine Harris

Ace Hardcover

2008

368 pages

Grave Surprise by Charlaine Harris

Grave Surprise is the second book in the Harper Connelly series. Since being struck by lightning as a teen, Harper has had the ability to find bodies, and to tell what killed them. In this book, Harper and her brother/keeper Tolliver have come to Memphis to demonstrate her talent when Harper discovers a grave that contains not one, but two bodies. Through coincidence (or not) they become suspects in the murder of the unexpected body.

When I read the first in the series, Grave Sight, I liked it but didn't love it. I had the same response to this one. While I enjoy Charlaine Harris, I definitely prefer the Sookie Stackhouse books to these. Harper is a good character and has a lot of potential. She has flaws (sometimes contradictory- her leg is weak to the point of needing help walking at times as a result of the lightning, but she enjoys jogging?), she isn't sociable and doesn't feel the need to apologize for herself. Tolliver is a bit of a cliche- not traditionally good looking but has a woman in every town clamoring for his attention. While I like the idea of a brother-sister team, this isn't one that I enjoy. I find the relationship between the two of them incredibly creepy. This is somewhat addressed in the book, but before I got to that point I almost put the book aside for good.

The plot itself was ok. The mystery had plenty of clues and I'm sure the average reader could figure it out. I really like the "senses dead people" idea and will certainly continue to read the books, but they won't be at the top of my wish list.

It's Christmas Eve Eve!

Everyone ready? We're almost ready here, just the baking left to do which will be done today. My sewing is very very close to done- I have three or four mittens left and one overgrown crayon roll that's all, I think. I'm pondering making a little rag doll to go with one gift, but it is not necessary. Oh, and might still make an apron for the monkey since we're giving him a ton of fake food. Hopefully soon I can post pictures of all the lovely things I've made.

Today we're making coconut cookies, chocolate chip cookies and Shasta cookies for Santa. I'm also making little sausage balls for work. This evening we're headed over to Grandpa's for dinner and to see all the cousins. Christmas Day we'll be home just the three of us. Next weekend we're meeting my mother in Sioux Falls (360 miles from home for us, 980 miles from home for them- but they'll be coming from Iowa, so only a few hours drive that day.) My mom sees the monkey once a year, so even this quick trip is worth it. Then on Sunday we're meeting up with my in-laws (all 23 of them) to exchange gifts. Whew. Half day of work on the 31st and then a full day to recover. We'll need it!

Last night I finished up yet another book. How is it that the busiest time of the year I'm reading more than ever? I think it has something to do with the fact that no one seems to be blogging or emailing me. Anyway, I read Shakespeare's Counselor by Charlaine Harris. I read it out of order, but now I've read all five in the series. I read it quickly, so it gets points for that, but in retrospect the plot line was not that interesting. The final scene was good, but there were a lot of little unnecessary things thrown in that just seemed to be taking up pages. I am happy to be completely current on the series, and since the last one was published in 2001 I feel confident that I won't be behind this time next year.

Charlaine Harris reviews

I haven't read a lot lately, but do have a couple of books to talk about. I managed to finish off Definitely Dead and All Together Dead by Charlaine Harris, which finishes off an entire series. I had really enjoyed the Sookie Stackhouse series to this point, but feel like these two books are significantly better than the first 5.

Definitely Dead takes place in New Orleans, where Sookie has gone to clear out her cousin Hadley's apartment. All Together Dead takes place in Illinois during the vampire convention. If you know me, you know that I generally don't like series books that stray from the characters main residence too much. In this case, I thought both of them were excellent. All Together Dead is my favorite in the series. I love Quinn. I love Barry. I did miss Sam, but was glad to see less of Bill. I like the queen a lot, she's the perfect blend of power with the illusion of caring. I can't wait to see what happens next.

I have a few more things to post about, but am going to break them up into smaller posts because they don't really go together.

Shakespeare's Champion by Charlaine Harris

Shakespeare's Champion is the second book in Harris' Lily Bard series. It is the 4th that I have read. Somehow I got out of order on them, which is unusual, but it's not really affecting my enjoyment of them. This one does a great job of filling you in on Lily's backstory, without devoting actual time to it. Shakespeare's Champion is a little darker than the first one, with a little more of an agenda than most mysteries I read (granted, I don't read a lot.) Here's the summary from Amazon.com:

No steel magnolia, Lily Bard is one blunt, tough Southern woman--a tiny,
karate-chopping, bodybuilding dynamo who's come to Shakespeare, Arkansas, to
restart her life after a series of traumatic events just hinted at in this
second novel in Charlaine Harris's series (after Shakespeare's
Landlord). When she slips into her gym for an early morning workout and
finds Del Packard with a barbell across his throat, she doesn't think for more
than a second that it's an accident. Not when it's the third death in a couple
of months in a town hardly big enough for its own WalMart. Then the blue
broadsheets with thinly veiled hints of white supremacist activity start turning
up under the windshield wipers of every car on Main Street. Lily's a relative
newcomer to Shakespeare, but as a cleaning woman for the local landed gentry,
she's privy to many secrets that most outsiders never learn. When a handsome
stranger keeps turning up at the scene of an increasingly bizarre series of
events, including a burglary at one of her regular clients and a bombing in a
black church, she suspects he may be more than an innocent bystander. Which is
too bad, because he stirs up desires that Lily hasn't felt for any man for a
very long time. Lily Bard is a complex woman who embodies many of the
contradictions of the modern South--its dark side as well as its charm--and this
suspenseful, deftly written novel will send new fans scrambling to read its
predecessor.

Hrm. That actually summarizes it pretty well! The action is fairly fast paced, there weren't a lot (or really any) leaps of faith, or questions about why she knew more than law enforcement. I really enjoyed this one, if you like Charlaine Harris' other books, you should check these out also. I definately like them more than Aurora Teagarden, but less than Sookie Stackhouse. And best of all, all I have left is Shakespeare's Counselor (which I have at home) and I'll be all caught up on the series. Plus, they are both easy PBS credits.

The Second Coming of Lucy Hatch, Real Murders, Math and notes

Two reviews in one post today! Last night I finished up The Second Coming of Lucy Hatch by Marsha Moyer. Marketed as chick-lit, trade paperback sized, red shoes on the cover- but reads like any other romance novel out there. This might be a bad thing for some people, but as I happen to enjoy the occasional romance this was fine by me. It was a nice change from everything serious.

Lucy Hatch is 33 years old, and was recently widowed after a 14 year marriage. She moves back home to Mooney, population 1200. Her actions quickly scandalize her family. She attracts the notice and attention of local bad-boy Ash Farrell and all bets are off.

I really enjoyed this book. This was the author's first novel, but it really sucked me in and held my attention. I read it in two sittings, which is rare for me lately. The romance is sweet, there is no Big Misunderstanding, the main characters all seem believable. The plot turns on an issue from her first marriage that is completely believable (spoiler here, if you want one) and not too overdone. I enjoyed it so much that I looked up the author's other two books on Amazon, and discovered that they are continuations of this story. Unfortunately, just the first complete sentences of each summary gives spoilers to this first book, so don't go there if you don't want to know.

This book was on my TBR challenge list.

This weekend I finished up Real Murders by Charlaine Harris. This one is a little mystery first published in 1990. I requested this through Paperbackswap because I enjoy the Sookie Stackhouse books so much. It was ok. I'm not going to summarize, it wasn't anything special. I will probably hold off on requesting any more of this series until I have exhausted all the other Charlaine Harris books. I assume they get better, the most recent one was published in 2004.

I'm dropping behind again in books. I'm at 72 in (the last one in being An Unquiet Mind) and 32 read, so 40 behind for the year. I am reading more than ever so this is really challenging me to keep track. Speaking of challenges, I'm about to finalize my Southern Challenge list, so stay tuned. I am returning The Road to the library unread, and even unopened. I could not make myself take the plunge, and it's on a wait list. I will add my name again after vacation. We leave in 10 days!

Charlaine Harris, Carrie Vaughn, and a little weekend reading

I actually finished two books this weekend!

The first book I read was Kitty and the Midnight Hour by Carrie Vaughn. This is another entry in the vampire/werewolf alternate reality genre. I seem to be obsessed with these books lately. This one is about Kitty (duh), the werewolf host of a popular radio station. There's a few murders, a little bit of pack dominance to work out, the usual. I didn't find anything about this one particularly unusual or noteworthy. It was good, but it didn't stand out of it's crowd. I'll probably go ahead and get the second one on paperbackswap, but it won't be at the top of the TBR.

On Saturday we took a road trip to Pierre, which is about 3 hours away. I did a little crocheting in the car, and read a little here and there. I finished up Shakespeare's Christmas by Charlaine Harris on Saturday night. If you've read any other of the Lily Bard mysteries you know how this one was. It was good, taken together this is a good series. If I didn't love the Sookie Stackhouse books I probably wouldn't continue on with these, but they are very quick and I only have two left in the series, so I'll read them.

Then I started reading Carpe Demon: Adventures of a Demon-Hunting Soccer Mom by Julie Kenner. This one is part of my TBR challenge books. The first line of the Publishers Weekly review is " What would happen if Buffy the Vampire Slayer got married, moved to the suburbs and became a stay-at-home mom?" I'm about 80 pages in and so far I am not impressed.

For this week's math: 57 in, 21 read, 36 behind. I'm still behind, but the rate is a little slower!

Weekend Reading

I got some reading done this weekend, yay! I spent a lot less time online than usual and had time to read. We also did a lot of little family things, which was fun. So what did I read?

Last week I read Under the Duvet by Marian Keyes. This is a little collection of essays about just about everything. Some of them are pretty light (shoes!) and some are pretty heavy (there is a really good one on being an alcoholic.) It was a really quick little book, with lots of humor. She reminds me a little of Meg Cabot, but I can't put my finger on why. A lot of the essays were previously published, mostly in 1998 or 1999, so it is a little dated. It got me geared up to start Rachel's Holiday, also by Keyes, for my TBR challenge. So far, Rachel's Holiday is very good. I will use this one for my M author. 3/5

Yesterday after sorting my books for the Themed Lists post, I moved a couple of the shorter books to the top. I figured I have to get some reading going or I'll just have more and more staring at me. I started Statements: True Tales of Life, Love, and Credit Card Bills by Amy Borkowsky during naptime and managed to read almost all of it before the Monkey woke up. The premise is great, the author uses her American Express bills to recreate her life and we get to read all about it. In practice, it's not so great. The chapters are anywhere from 2 to 6 pages long, and sometimes it's quite a stretch to make the purchase into a story. About 15 pages in (so soon!) I almost gave up, but decided that since it was so easy to read I'd keep going. About 80 pages in I wasn't any more impressed, but I'd already read nearly half so I kept going. By the end I knew I wouldn't recommend it to anyone. It just wasn't interesting. I give this one a 2/5.

Today I picked up Dead as a Doornail by Charlaine Harris. This is the fifth book in a series by a tried and true author. While I think the previous book was better, this one had some great moments. Lots of the secondary characters are fleshed out and Sookie is (of course) tested more. I'm a bit nervous about the amount of sexual tension (no actual sex, sorry) between Sookie and the various guys. Until this book I thought Harris did a great job of making me love all the potential suitors, in this one a couple of the guys dropped out for me. I LOVE Sam, and Eric. Oh, and Quinn. 4/5

Hopefully I can keep up the pace this week and finish up a few more!

Grave Sight by Charlaine Harris

Harper Connelly has an unusual talent- she can locate dead people. Like a psychic in a murder investigation, she is distrusted and unwelcome, but her services are often valuable. Harper and her brother, Tolliver, are in Sarne, Arkansas to help find the body of a teenager gone missing. Sarne has secrets though, and it seems that someone doesn't want them uncovered.

I really enjoyed this book. Harper's "talent" is interesting and her character seems well developed. Her brother is a bit of a cliche, but I expect Harris will make him unique as the series progresses. I'm interested in seeing how she makes this into a series, as there are very few characters from this book that can reappear in the next. The mystery itself was a big thin, I definately knew the plot twist, and was 99% sure on who-dun-it. Regular mystery readers would know the minute the villian appears. I don't think this one was as good as the first Sookie Stackhouse mystery, but am more than that willing to keep reading.