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106th out of 660 books
—
636 voters
Grave Surprise (Harper Connelly #2)
Charlaine Harris is already a star and a New York Times bestseller with her vampire mysteries starring Sookie Stackhouse and her Lily Bard mysteries. This second installment to her new supernatural mystery series might just be her biggest hit yet. Grave Sight's Harper Connelly is back, and her ability to find the dead and see their last moments is in higher demand than eve...more
Hardcover, 304 pages
Published
September 26th 2006
by Berkley Hardcover
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Not a bad book, but not quite as good as the first due to redundancy. Very similar to the first in the plot & all. Again, the heroine isn't very upbeat nor is the story line. Same issues with folks accepting her for what she is/does.
The biggest drawback was background of the heroine. We're treated to several pages where she crams in all the background info we learned through the first book & then she dishes it out again through out the book. OK, she & her step-brother had a rough tim...more
The biggest drawback was background of the heroine. We're treated to several pages where she crams in all the background info we learned through the first book & then she dishes it out again through out the book. OK, she & her step-brother had a rough tim...more
GRAVE SURPRISE (Paranormal Suspense-Memphis-Cont) – VG
Harris, Charlaine – 2nd in series
Berkeley Prime Crime, 2006- Hardcover
*** Harper Collins and her stepbrother Tolliver have come to Memphis at the request of Professor Clyde Nunley. He has asked Harper to demonstrate her unique ability to find the dead and know how they died. When she comes the grave of a centuries-old man she not only identifies him, but a second corpse buried on top—the body of a girl Harper had been hired, but failed, to fi...more
Harris, Charlaine – 2nd in series
Berkeley Prime Crime, 2006- Hardcover
*** Harper Collins and her stepbrother Tolliver have come to Memphis at the request of Professor Clyde Nunley. He has asked Harper to demonstrate her unique ability to find the dead and know how they died. When she comes the grave of a centuries-old man she not only identifies him, but a second corpse buried on top—the body of a girl Harper had been hired, but failed, to fi...more
3.5 stars...good paranormal murder mystery story
A lighting strike survivor, Harper Connelly has the unusual ability to find dead people and read their cause of death. She and her partner Tolliver turned it into a business--traveling on the road as they work cases. Not everyone is accepting of her ability, some thinking her a fraud. The law enforcement cases are the worst--the cops are more skeptical of her power and the cause of death is more often a horrible foul play.
Wow, this book really sur...more
A lighting strike survivor, Harper Connelly has the unusual ability to find dead people and read their cause of death. She and her partner Tolliver turned it into a business--traveling on the road as they work cases. Not everyone is accepting of her ability, some thinking her a fraud. The law enforcement cases are the worst--the cops are more skeptical of her power and the cause of death is more often a horrible foul play.
Wow, this book really sur...more
1 like · like · see review
May 25, 2007
Caty
rated it
3 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
people who are not bothered by odd boundary issues
This is another series by Charlaine Harris. I have read two and will not read more. The heroine and a stepbrother (odd, odd boundary issues here that get in the way of the plot) travel from town to town using the heroine's ability to communicate with the dead to resolve death's and settle spirits. Good premise. Good read. Creep factor too much to bother with again.
5 likes · like · see review
Definitely need to read "Grave Sight" first; this one doesn't stand on its own. Story developed nicely ... until the end. Read as though the author had stopped short, put away the manuscript, and returned close to the contract deadline to tack on a thrown-together ending.
Boooriiiing!
The plot is thin, the characters are cardboardey, the MC's are weird and not very likable - and ms Harris keeps mixing up her facts, which ruins books for me.
Another pet peeve is characters that keep repeating and rehashing things they've already gone over in previous instalments (or earlier on in the book). Yep. Gotcha, thanks. Not stupid - move on, please! This book does that all-the-frickin'-time.
I'm NOT gonna read the rest of these books.
(view spoiler)...more
The plot is thin, the characters are cardboardey, the MC's are weird and not very likable - and ms Harris keeps mixing up her facts, which ruins books for me.
Another pet peeve is characters that keep repeating and rehashing things they've already gone over in previous instalments (or earlier on in the book). Yep. Gotcha, thanks. Not stupid - move on, please! This book does that all-the-frickin'-time.
I'm NOT gonna read the rest of these books.
(view spoiler)...more
Harper and Tolliver are back and this time Harper is showing her skills off to a college professor and his class. While it is obvious that the professor believes that Harper is a fraud, as only he has seen the secret records of how every person in the cemetary has died there isn't much he can say to discredit her especially when she finds an unexpected body. Before Harper and Tolliver know it they are caught up in the midst of another mystery with some clients from their past.
Likes?
Hmm...I liked...more
Likes?
Hmm...I liked...more
From back cover blurb:
When I was fifteen, I was struck by lightning. I recovered, mostly. I have a strange spiderweb pattern of red on my torso and right leg. 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 Clyde Nunley, Harper Connelly and her stepbrother Tolliver come to Memphis to demonstrate Harper's unique talent-in an old cemetery. Nunley is skeptical, even after Harper senses-and find...more
When I was fifteen, I was struck by lightning. I recovered, mostly. I have a strange spiderweb pattern of red on my torso and right leg. 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 Clyde Nunley, Harper Connelly and her stepbrother Tolliver come to Memphis to demonstrate Harper's unique talent-in an old cemetery. Nunley is skeptical, even after Harper senses-and find...more
As I believe I'd posted earlier in the year while working on some of the Lily Bard books, I'm these days definitely liking Charlaine Harris better when she's slanting more towards the mystery side of her spectrum than the fantasy side. The Harper Connelly series seems to occupy a space between the Lily Bards and the Sookie Stackhouses--but it's closer to the former than the latter, even given Harper's strange talent of being able to find dead bodies and sense the causes of their deaths.
I found t...more
I found t...more
I liked this book a lot more than I liked the first; the story is more engaging and the mystery more complex. There's the college professor who invites Harper to demonstrate her talents so he can debunk her, and then there's the mystery that arises when in the course of this demonstration Harper finds an extra body in a grave. And when the extra body happens to be that of a girl Harper had been hired to find, and failed, several months back, the mystery deepens. Harris continues to think through...more
A tasty bite from Charlaine Harris:
1. You can start here.
I did. I thought this was book one in a new series. Nowhere on the cover does it say it's a sequel, but I had no problems catching on. What's more--until I went to Goodreads after reading, I still hadn't noticed it was a sequel.
No annoying paragraphs of backstory.
And they sell it at Walgreens!
2. Great main character Harper.
I like her.
Harper is focused on her career as a psychic. She has the ability to sense how dead people died. When she'...more
1. You can start here.
I did. I thought this was book one in a new series. Nowhere on the cover does it say it's a sequel, but I had no problems catching on. What's more--until I went to Goodreads after reading, I still hadn't noticed it was a sequel.
No annoying paragraphs of backstory.
And they sell it at Walgreens!
2. Great main character Harper.
I like her.
Harper is focused on her career as a psychic. She has the ability to sense how dead people died. When she'...more
I started this one mere minutes after finishing the first, and I'll probably start the third one in the next couple of hours.
I liked this one a bit more compared to Grave Sight. There's history in this book, and it's developed and explored nicely. The mystery is a bit more complex and I didn't figure it out until the reveal which was a very nice surprise.
Also, the creepiness between the siblings has gone away for me. Mainly because Harper has stopped referring to Tolliver as her brother, and m...more
I liked this one a bit more compared to Grave Sight. There's history in this book, and it's developed and explored nicely. The mystery is a bit more complex and I didn't figure it out until the reveal which was a very nice surprise.
Also, the creepiness between the siblings has gone away for me. Mainly because Harper has stopped referring to Tolliver as her brother, and m...more
I liked the Sookie Stackhouse novels for the characters, the fast action and the sense of humour in them. I don't know how Charlaine Harris manages to balance all that action and keeps you from getting bored with the characters at the same time, but she does!
I have just read the second in the Connely Harper series now. This time Harris goes for some classic mystery writing with some paranormal twists . As in the Sookie Stackhouse series she writes the whole book from a single perspective, which...more
I have just read the second in the Connely Harper series now. This time Harris goes for some classic mystery writing with some paranormal twists . As in the Sookie Stackhouse series she writes the whole book from a single perspective, which...more
My review of all four of these can be found at Harper Connelly Mysteries Quartet
Grave Surprise 4.5 stars- I wish I'd read this over just a few days instead of getting side tracked, but oh well. I think I was right about the UST between Harper and Tolliver, but I'm not completely sure. there was something odd going on there. (view spoiler)...more
Grave Surprise 4.5 stars- I wish I'd read this over just a few days instead of getting side tracked, but oh well. I think I was right about the UST between Harper and Tolliver, but I'm not completely sure. there was something odd going on there. (view spoiler)...more
Meine Meinung:
Harper Connelly ist wieder Barfuß auf Amerikas Friedhöfen unterwegs. Im zweiten Teil der Grabes-Saga muss sie sich wieder den skeptischen Blicken ihrer Widersacher stellen und stößt dabei auf einen grausamen Fund, den sie und ihr Bruder Tolliver sehr mitnimmt. Denn was sie vor zwei Jahren nicht schaffte, fiel ihr nun im wahrsten Sinne vor die Füße. Die Leiche der in Nashville vermissten Tabitha Morgenstern wurde in einem Grab in Memphis abgelegt. Oder extra für Harper platziert? Je...more
Harper Connelly ist wieder Barfuß auf Amerikas Friedhöfen unterwegs. Im zweiten Teil der Grabes-Saga muss sie sich wieder den skeptischen Blicken ihrer Widersacher stellen und stößt dabei auf einen grausamen Fund, den sie und ihr Bruder Tolliver sehr mitnimmt. Denn was sie vor zwei Jahren nicht schaffte, fiel ihr nun im wahrsten Sinne vor die Füße. Die Leiche der in Nashville vermissten Tabitha Morgenstern wurde in einem Grab in Memphis abgelegt. Oder extra für Harper platziert? Je...more
Quel plaisir de retrouver notre chère Harper et son demi frère Tolliver. Un livre qui s'est encore lu en très peu de temps et qui en plus me fait avancer dans une des nombreuses saga que j'ai commencé cette année.
Nous retrouvons dans ce livre nos deux héros pour une démonstration de compétence dans un vieux cimetière de la ville de Memphis. Invité par Clyde Nunley, professeur au Bingham College, Harper a pour objectif de montrer que son "talent" est réel, pouvoir en lequel le professeur ne crois...more
Nous retrouvons dans ce livre nos deux héros pour une démonstration de compétence dans un vieux cimetière de la ville de Memphis. Invité par Clyde Nunley, professeur au Bingham College, Harper a pour objectif de montrer que son "talent" est réel, pouvoir en lequel le professeur ne crois...more
Review:
This book is better than Grave Sight! It seems like Charlaine Harris is improving in her writing style as she writes more books! If this trend continues, this series could be more addictive than the Sookie Stackhouse ever was! And I almost did not listen to this audiobook because Harper Connelly, the main protagonist, was too stupid to live (TSTL) in Book 1. However, she was not TSTL in this book. There were hints but nothing out and out stupidity like Sookie does usually! I can readily...more
This book is better than Grave Sight! It seems like Charlaine Harris is improving in her writing style as she writes more books! If this trend continues, this series could be more addictive than the Sookie Stackhouse ever was! And I almost did not listen to this audiobook because Harper Connelly, the main protagonist, was too stupid to live (TSTL) in Book 1. However, she was not TSTL in this book. There were hints but nothing out and out stupidity like Sookie does usually! I can readily...more
The first in the series Harper Connelly, who was struck by lightening and now is able to connect with dead people by coming in contact with their physical remains.
While it sounds like a weird subject for a plot, Harris is able to hold interest through good character development and an interesting story line.
In this book Harper is called to a small minded, secretive and nasty little town in the Ozark Mountains of Sarne, Arkansas. A wealthy, self absorbed widow who owns most of the town, lost her...more
While it sounds like a weird subject for a plot, Harris is able to hold interest through good character development and an interesting story line.
In this book Harper is called to a small minded, secretive and nasty little town in the Ozark Mountains of Sarne, Arkansas. A wealthy, self absorbed widow who owns most of the town, lost her...more
I say this book is a must-read and that’s because a lot of Harper and Tolliver is revealed in more detail. It also sheds more light on the motivations behind Harper becoming a body locator (there’s got to be a better term for this but my brain is failing me!) and delves deeper into hers and Tolliver’s darker pasts. Even though I thought the book veered off track from the overlying mystery of the murders, it was still interesting enough to keep me reading on.
Once again I have to nod to Harris’ un...more
Once again I have to nod to Harris’ un...more
Paranormal events in literature always seem to symbolize something. In Grave Surprise, it's not some allegory about religion, sex, or power - rather, a marker of difference. Harper Connely's ability places her apart from the ideas and beliefs common to modern America. I feel like the real drama in the novel is in how Harper deals with the disbelief and scorn she meets almost everywhere she goes. Harper's corpse-finding is treated very matter-of-factly; there's no fanfare or mystery about it. The...more
Harper Connelly finds dead people, but she eschews the term "psychic." It doesn't matter how she refers to herself; people don't like her because they think she's a con artist, regardless of her nearly perfect record of results for her clients.
How do I know how she feels about this?
Because she whines about it so often.
Everything that is resilient and charming about Sookie Stackhouse seems to be lacking in Harper Connelly. I'm not saying that Harper doesn't deserve some measure of pathos. Her bac...more
How do I know how she feels about this?
Because she whines about it so often.
Everything that is resilient and charming about Sookie Stackhouse seems to be lacking in Harper Connelly. I'm not saying that Harper doesn't deserve some measure of pathos. Her bac...more
Apr 30, 2011
Mike Finn
rated it
3 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
speculative-fiction
That the Harper Connelly books are not what they seem becomes apparent in this, the second book in the series.
Like the first book, this one is focused around the consequences of Harper using her strange gift for finding the dead and knowing how they died. The plot is complex enough to be satisfying and plausible enough not to be irritating but you soon realise that the purpose of the book is to understand more about Harper and her relationships to her family.
During the book, I was curious to fin...more
Like the first book, this one is focused around the consequences of Harper using her strange gift for finding the dead and knowing how they died. The plot is complex enough to be satisfying and plausible enough not to be irritating but you soon realise that the purpose of the book is to understand more about Harper and her relationships to her family.
During the book, I was curious to fin...more
This was great. Again, as I've said in other sequels I've reviewed, this was a success for me partly because I was familiar with the characters, having got to know some of their quirks and qualities in the previous book allows me to slip into their lives quicker the second time around.
I really enjoyed the mystery in this book, though i guessed the perp early on (side note: I've often pondered whether mystery novelists and crime show writers make it easy to pick the perp so that the reader/viewe...more
I really enjoyed the mystery in this book, though i guessed the perp early on (side note: I've often pondered whether mystery novelists and crime show writers make it easy to pick the perp so that the reader/viewe...more
Firstly, I have to say that the American covers for the Harper Connelly series are super creepy! Especially this one. Honestly, when I started reading the book and realised just what this cover was supposed to represent... *shiver*
I've had this book (and the third one) on my bookshelf for quite some time and decided to catch up on it, since the fourth one's going to be released very soon.
I really enjoyed the first one, so I knew this one would be great too. I love the mysteries in this series. A...more
I've had this book (and the third one) on my bookshelf for quite some time and decided to catch up on it, since the fourth one's going to be released very soon.
I really enjoyed the first one, so I knew this one would be great too. I love the mysteries in this series. A...more
Okay, I tried. I really tried. I got another book from this series, just to see if it left me feeling icky. And it did. Oh, it did.
Once again, the creepy relationship between Harper and Tolliver was there for all to see. Every time she mentioned him "holding" her or kissing her, I just wanted to pull my eyeballs out and scrub them. Once again, Harper had to talk about how Tolliver was all about having sex with waitresses. Why waitresses? I mean...why would the author include that? Why not just "...more
Once again, the creepy relationship between Harper and Tolliver was there for all to see. Every time she mentioned him "holding" her or kissing her, I just wanted to pull my eyeballs out and scrub them. Once again, Harper had to talk about how Tolliver was all about having sex with waitresses. Why waitresses? I mean...why would the author include that? Why not just "...more
3 likes · like · see review
This series is like crack to me. First off, the books you can read fast, and they're fun, but they're such a fast read that it's almost like novellas rather than novels.
Anyway, one of the most interesting and weird aspects of this series is the vaguely-incestuous overtones between the main character and her brother Tolliver. (They call themselves brother and sister even though they're step-siblings that didn't meet until they were in their teens.) Now it's obvious that they chemistry, crazy chem...more
Anyway, one of the most interesting and weird aspects of this series is the vaguely-incestuous overtones between the main character and her brother Tolliver. (They call themselves brother and sister even though they're step-siblings that didn't meet until they were in their teens.) Now it's obvious that they chemistry, crazy chem...more
This was a solid read. Not as good as the first book, but still enjoyable. I suspected the killer pretty early on, as I did with the last book, which was kind of disappointing. But there were enough red herrings that I couldn't say who it was with 100% certainty, so it kept me curious until the end. As for that, I did think it seemed a bit rushed, though. Maybe that was just me, but after all the build up, the climax and the resolution felt more like a summary because it all happened within less...more
Harper and her stepbrother Tolliver have been invited to Memphis to give a demonstration. Dr Nunley, who teaches an unorthodox class at Bingham College, has it in mind to expose Harper as a fraud. But when Harper makes a surprising discovery at the old cemetery, even Dr Nunley is left speechless.
Harper had finally found Tabitha Morgenstern who had disappeared eighteen months ago in Nashville; only its months later and in the wrong city. Something about all this was not quite right, and when a ne...more
Harper had finally found Tabitha Morgenstern who had disappeared eighteen months ago in Nashville; only its months later and in the wrong city. Something about all this was not quite right, and when a ne...more
Harper Connelly is back in her 2nd book and this time she finds a missing girl in an old grave. Months before, she'd been hired by the girls parents to find her, but she'd had no luck locating her body. When a professor of a paranormal class invites her to "read" the graves in the university cemetary in hopes of exposing her as a fraud, Harper finds young Tabitha in the grave of a man who'd dies more than a 100 years before. Of course, it is highly suspicious that Tabitha's body is there and Har...more
I needed something lighter and less intense than all the non-fiction I've been reading. This is the second, I believe, in the Harper Connelly series. As a recap, Harper was struck by lightning when she was young and now she can find corpses and see how they died. She travels with her brother on jobs, she's who people call as a last resort.
This one is a case within a case. Harper, on another assignment, actually finds a body of a child that she was asked to find (and couldn't) months earlier. In...more
This one is a case within a case. Harper, on another assignment, actually finds a body of a child that she was asked to find (and couldn't) months earlier. In...more
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Charlaine Harris has been a published novelist for over twenty-five years. A native of the Mississippi Delta, she grew up in the middle of a cotton field. Now she lives in southern Arkansas with her husband, her three children, three dogs, and a duck. The duck stays outside.
Though her early output consisted largely of ghost stories, by the time she hit college (Rhodes, in Memphis) Charlaine was wr...more
More about Charlaine Harris...
Though her early output consisted largely of ghost stories, by the time she hit college (Rhodes, in Memphis) Charlaine was wr...more
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