Differerent then I expected but not in a bad way. Starting the second book now.

It didn't grab me the way the Southern Vampire Mysteries did but I am going to read at least the next in the series.

This is part of the Harper Cooper series. I will have to go back and read all of the series from the start. Great read.

The Harper Connelly "grave" series is my favorite among Charlaine Harris's several series. Its protagonist is a young woman, Harper, who survived a lightning strike at age fifteen, and later discovered she could sense where dead bodies lay. She's not psychic, nor can she see ghosts; but she knows when she is near a dead body, and with practice she has developed the ability to also "see" how they died. When she turned eighteen, she and her step brother, Tolliver, began to advertise her ability, and now make a decent living helping people find the bodies of missing people, including occasionally working for law enforcement.
The small town of Sarne, Arkansas, is the site of Harper and Tolliver's latest job. A young man was found dead, an apparent suicide; only later did anyone realize a young girl was also missing. Harper starts at the scene of the boy's death, and within a short time, she locates the body of Teenie--a young woman whom Harper "sees" running from some threat, then being shot in the back. She also learns the boy did not kill himself. Both were murdered.
The local sheriff is anything but welcoming, and it is quickly apparent that all of Sarne's power brokers are related by either blood or marriage, with secrets they fear Harper may discover. When Tolliver is arrested on a trumped up charge, Harper must try to solve the murders so she can retrieve Tolliver and leave before the murderer decides to kill them to protect his secret.

I really enjoyed the Sookie Stackhouse books, so that's why I thought I'd try these. The characters are very different, and these books are a little more "in the real world" than the SS novels, but they do have enough supernatural to keep them interesting. I enjoyed this, and it read quickly. I plan to read the other 3 Harper Connely novels now.

Do I ever enjoy Harris' books. I loved the Sookie Sackhouse books and decided that I should try this series. First off, the characters all have names that are completely bonkers. Like, fantasy novel levels of bonkers and it's weird/great.
Harper is a somewhat more intelligent character than Sookie, thank the gods. But, of course there's still crazy random attacks, accidental incest, a crazy-ass final reveal and everything else you expect from Harris. To top it all off, it's a nice quick read. Perfect for a summer afternoon when you don't want to deal with the world (but are too broke to afford an actual vacation).

Book was just okay. The story seemed like a good idea and started off well but then fizzled toward the end. More was spent on the characters then seemed necessary.

Harper Connelly is no Sookie Stackhouse, but I still enjoyed this one. Will continue on with the series.

Quick, easy mystery read. I look forward to continuing the series