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Grave Sight (Harper Connelly #1)

3.82 of 5 stars 3.82 · rating details · 35,193 ratings · 1,654 reviews

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-bro...more

ebook, 320 pages

Published October 4th 2005 by Berkley

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Aug 03, 2007 Kati rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2007, in-english, het, urban-fantasy, look-for-more

At first, I thought that this books was great. But then... it didn't quite lose its momentum, I just stopped liking the characters. If I've actually ever liked them that is.

In this book, everything feels a bit off. You don't feel with or for the characters. Their past, their troubles, everything is just "described". They are really two-dimensional and you just... don't like them. Especially Harper.

Even though this whole book was written from her POV, I didn't feel like knowing her at all. I co...more

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Mar 08, 2009 Jim rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy, paranormal-urban

I really liked Harris' Sookie Stackhouse, so I thought I'd give this series a try. It's pretty good. The world is ours - no vampires or other fantasy creatures in this book. Harper, like Sookie, has a limited paranormal ability - she can find dead people & see them, along with the few seconds of their death. The limitations of her 'gift' make the story more interesting.

As a heroine, I didn't like Harper as well as Sookie. She's not a happy girl, more depressed & dwelling on her past too...more

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Feb 24, 2009 Lisa rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Thank goodness Charlaine Harris has more than one series going, so I can continue to get my fix! This woman is an extremely talented writer and has come up with another character worth reading about. Harper Connelly is a woman who was struck by lightning as a teen, and this has left her with the ability to find dead bodies and say what they died of. She makes her living doing this, which is the core of this book series. In Grave Sight, Harper is called to a town to find the body of a young girl...more

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Dec 23, 2008 Lesley rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: mystery

This book has been a fun vacation ready, and I'm glad to be introduced to this series by Charlaine Harris. (I've already read a couple of titles from her Lily Bard series, and enjoyed them as well.)

I was intrigued by the main character, Harper Connelly, and her ability of find dead people--which she does for a living. I read a review that compared this book series to the television show, "Medium," and I can see that now. The author has the Harper Connelly character handle this ability with mostl...more

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Jun 14, 2012 Kristen rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: mystery, supernatural, fiction

The prologue was perhaps the most intriguing, dark, intoeresting bit of fiction I have read in a long time and had me pulled completely into the story from the get-go. I went back to the library before finishing this book to get two through four in the series, since I knew very well I'd be in it for the long haul.

The idea has been done before, for sure, but Harris has the ability to write compelling main characters and she pulls out all the stops with Harper and her brother/manager/bodyguard/com...more The prologue was perhaps the most intriguing, dark, intoeresting bit of fiction I have read in a long time and had me pulled completely into the story from the get-go. I went back to the library before finishing this book to get two through four in the series, since I knew very well I'd be in it for the long haul.

The idea has been done before, for sure, but Harris has the ability to write compelling main characters and she pulls out all the stops with Harper and her brother/manager/bodyguard/comfort blanket, Tolliver. Flawed, cynical, and utterly devoted to each other, they give these books the extra star all on their own.

Mystery-wise, it was a little predictable (view spoiler), but I still thoroughly enjoyed it. It's ok when the reader can guess the mystery, I think, as long as the clues are introduced in an interesting way and the characters' mental capacities aren't downgraded into that of a chimp in order to prolong the ~~agony~~ mystery (still looking at you, October Daye). I didn't see some of the twists coming, and there was enough action and drama to keep my interested even though I guessed some of them before the grand reveal.

Negatives: One, the secondary characters. (view spoiler)

I suppose that leads nicely into my plot complaints since I think a few scenes were so contrived that they felt like they should have more significance to the mystery than they actually did. (view spoiler) These events have significance, but they just felt a little off in how they were introduced.

Last complaint was that it took a long time to understand Harper. (view spoiler) However, I thoroughly liked her and loved that she was given very real flaws, both physically and psychologically. She's at no point melodramatic, either, which I liked very much. She reads like a real person facing an actual world and her personal challenges, and that was what really drew me to the book.

I'm a little obsessed at this point and will probably finish all four books within a few days because they are utterly engaging and the over-arching mystery that has been introduced is going to keep me turning pages until a conclusion is reached there. (less)

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Dec 27, 2011 Holly rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: favorites

May have slight spoilers.

In this first novel of Charlaine Harris’s Harper Connelly series we meet Harper and her stepbrother and manager Tolliver; Harper has a talent for finding dead people after being struck by lightening and now helps people out to find their loved ones and sometimes just tells them the cause of death.

Right now they are in Sarne, looking for the body of Monteen "Teenie" Hopkins, who disappeared after her client Sybil Teague son’s Dell death. The only problem is that nobody re...more

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Jun 11, 2011 Amy or "Ames" rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: death-reapers-zombies, 1st-in-series, audiobooks, read-in-2011, library-books

I started off reading the book and listening to the audio at the same time but the narrator, Ms. Monotone put me off so I gave up on her and relied on my own inner voice as I read the rest of the book by myself.

The first half was pretty interesting but at 51% I'd guessed the main murderer and the motive. After that, the book was no longer as interesting as I waited to be proved right or wrong. The violent attempts on Harper's life kept me reading but if it hadn't been for those the rest might've...more I started off reading the book and listening to the audio at the same time but the narrator, Ms. Monotone put me off so I gave up on her and relied on my own inner voice as I read the rest of the book by myself.

The first half was pretty interesting but at 51% I'd guessed the main murderer and the motive. After that, the book was no longer as interesting as I waited to be proved right or wrong. The violent attempts on Harper's life kept me reading but if it hadn't been for those the rest might've dragged. In the end, I was disappointed to be proved right in my guess.

However, Harper's background with her difficult childhood and family situation together with her intelligent observations and reactions to how others treat her as well as her determination to not be damaged by them, are the reason why I'm awarding this 3 stars instead of 2.

Her relationship with her brother is an odd one and is explained by Tolliver's observation:

"You need to stop reading mysteries for a while. Or get a new sidekick."
"Sidekick?"
"Yeah, if you're the brilliant sleuth, I must be the slightly denser but brilliant-in-my-own-way sidekick, right?"
"Yes, Watson."
"More like Sharona."
"That'd make me Monk?"
"If the shoe fits."

Monk is a TV show in which Sharona is Monk's nurse, handler and personal assistant all rolled into one. Harper was hurt by Tolliver's evaluation of his role in her life because it was a little too close to the truth but just because she was extremely vulnerable without him she managed to survive when she was physically attacked. She fought back with gusto and refused to back down to a pack of teenage bullies surrounding her. I admired Harper for this. She could easily play the role of a typical victim, persecuted for her natural talent for detecting the dead, their names and cause of death after being struck by lightning.

Tolliver, on the other hand, I couldn't get a complete grasp on him. I wasn't enamoured with him at all despite his obvious caring and protectiveness towards his step-sister. They live difficult lives on the road and I sympathised with their way of life, their erratic and depressing sex lives and just a general lack of genuine friends and family whom they can turn to in a crisis.

Overall, the mystery wasn't quite as mysterious as it first appeared but the characterisation and observations of the leading lady made up for this.

In comparison to Harris' other paranormal series, Sookie Stackhouse, this has a much more serious tone and a darker outlook on the realities of life.

I have the next two in the series so I will continue reading.(less)

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Nov 01, 2009 Tatiana rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2009, mysteries-thrillers-horror, series-dropped-lost-steam

"Grave Sight" is the first book in Harris' newest mystery series. After reading her Sookie Stackhouse books, I checked out all her other series. I am weirdly addicted to Charlaine's writing and her books will probably forever remain my guilty pleasure. I liked all Aurora Teagarden books (this librarian who lives in a tiny southern town sure finds herself in a middle of murder investigations quite often) and disliked Lily Bard series (too much pointless violence). I think I will like Harper Conne...more

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Sep 20, 2008 Spuddie rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

First in the Harper Connelly paranormal mystery series, featuring this young lady who has the ability to speak to the dead after being struck by lightning at the age of fifteen. She and her step-brother, Tolliver, travel around taking assignments to locate bodies. They work mostly on word of mouth, and for the most part are treated as something akin to the freaks in a circus side-show. While Harper can’t tell who killed the person if they were murdered, she can tell how they died, and actually r...more First in the Harper Connelly paranormal mystery series, featuring this young lady who has the ability to speak to the dead after being struck by lightning at the age of fifteen. She and her step-brother, Tolliver, travel around taking assignments to locate bodies. They work mostly on word of mouth, and for the most part are treated as something akin to the freaks in a circus side-show. While Harper can’t tell who killed the person if they were murdered, she can tell how they died, and actually relives the last moments of the person’s life.

In our introduction to this interesting duo, Harper and Tolliver are summoned to Sarn, Arkansas by a wealthy widow who wants to locate the body of her dead son’s girlfriend, Tini Hopkins. Sybil Teague is upset because Del’s (her son) good name has been under a cloud for these many months since his death, as it’s rumored that he killed Tini and then himself, but Tini’s body was never found. Since she was a bit of a ‘wild girl,’ some folks think she just went away. Sybil wants to put the rumors to rest. Harper DOES find Tini’s body, discovers that she was shot twice in the back and also visits Del’s grave and discovers that he most certainly didn’t commit suicide. Harper and Tolliver are not made to feel welcome in Sarn at all, and while they want nothing more than to head on out to their next assignment, they are cautioned by the sheriff to stick around when Helen Hopkins, Tini’s mother, is found bludgeoned to death shortly after they visited her at her request.

I liked this book a lot. The reader was excellent and I felt that she brought out the voice of Harper very well and helped me to understand her a little. I did think that the relationship between Tolliver and Harper was a bit weird, almost to the point of making me uncomfortable, and there were times when Harper’s vulnerability was a little tiresome—but then, she has had a very difficult life, even with the whole “I’ve been struck by lightning” thing aside, and her character was written in such a way that she wasn’t really trying to get sympathy or make excuses for her weakness, she just had very much of an “I am what I am” aura about her, and I liked that. I also thought Harper was pretty mature, given that she’s only twenty-four years old—it seemed that life has made her wise beyond her years. I have already got the downloadable version of the next book in this series on my list at the library and I don’t think it will be too long before I actually go and get it! A(less)

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Nov 11, 2012 Jennifer Wardrip rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I'm probably only one of two people in the world who isn't a fan of the Sookie Stackhouse series, but I was definitely looking forward to reading Charlaine Harris's GRAVE SIGHT. I wasn't disappointed--I think this book is an excellent start to a new series.

Harper and her brother, Tolliver, are both interesting and well-developed characters with the requisite flaws to keep them entertaining. When Harper was a teen-ager, she was struck by lightning--and given an extraordinary gift in the form of...more

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Feb 12, 2010 Sara rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Really love this series. Fell in love with the characters.

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Mar 15, 2009 Andrew rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I read through this book quickly, in two settings, and was surprised at how much I enjoyed it. I read it for a book club that I am sort of a member of (only "sort of" because I only ever started reading the books they were reading because they meet at the store where I work, while I'm working), and wasn't sure if I'd get much of anything out of it. It is a book that walks the tightrope between two currently-popular genres, "cozy romance-themed mystery" and "chick-lit paranormal mystery." Not bei...more I read through this book quickly, in two settings, and was surprised at how much I enjoyed it. I read it for a book club that I am sort of a member of (only "sort of" because I only ever started reading the books they were reading because they meet at the store where I work, while I'm working), and wasn't sure if I'd get much of anything out of it. It is a book that walks the tightrope between two currently-popular genres, "cozy romance-themed mystery" and "chick-lit paranormal mystery." Not being the target demographic for either of these categories, I wasn't sure what this book would have to offer me. While it was hardly deathless classic literature, though, I did find myself enjoying it.

For one thing, I wasn't expecting it to have as dark of a tone as it had. The main character, Harper Connelly, was struck by lightning as a teenager. In addition to the recurring health problems that she's had ever since, she also gained the ability to detect corpses, and to see how they died. Working with her (step)brother, Tolliver, she parlayed this ability into a career, doing freelance work finding bodies and naming causes of death for curious relatives and others with an interest in such things. This is a rather dodgy and unreliable line of work, as the plot of "Grave Sight" shows us.

Harper and Tolliver arrive in a small Arkansas town to attempt to find a local teenaged girl who disappeared months before. She had been dating a local boy who'd been found shot and killed in some woods outside of town months before. A lot of the townsfolk think that the boy, Dell, must have shot the girl, Teenie, and then killed himself. Dell's mother hires Harper to locate Teenie's body and determine how she died, with the hopes of proving that Dell didn't kill her. Harper locates the body quickly, and determines that Dell indeed did not kill Teenie, but instead of calming the situation, this only sets the town into a more pronounced uproar, which drags both Harper and Tolliver right into the middle of it and ends up involving everyone from high school football players to the town drunk to high-powered lawyers and the local sheriff. All of these people are related, you see, in one way or another, and the nature of the town, which has everyone in everyone else's business, makes the whole thing an emotional powderkeg waiting for a spark just like the one Harper has unwittingly struck to send the whole thing sky-high.

Some of the plot points of this book seemed a bit obvious, while others seemed a little tossed-off and not explained all that well in terms of character motivation, but on the whole, I did find the story to be well-told. The characters mostly worked most of the time, and while most of the secondary ones were one-dimensional and not fleshed-out much at all, Harper and Tolliver were at least multi-dimensional, compelling, and sympathetic. In terms of quick, engaging mystery that requires little deep thought, this book did a good job of filling its role. I typically look for more profound reading material than this, and probably won't return to the series anytime soon, but all in all, it really wasn't too bad.(less)

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Apr 07, 2013 Jemma Gutierrez rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: anyone who likes dark mysteries, death, skulls and bone, and that sort of stuffs

Shelves: eye-rolls, heart-wrenching-sad-poignant

So before i begin i'd like to admit i did not overly finished this book but i was 65% done, i got the gits, and i think, more or less that i am qualified to write a review, i guess.

It's not that it was bad. Maybe for some people this could be good. I did find it interesting and read-worthy. So why did i not finish it?

It's the tone that turned me off. OUr heroines voice is like this dark room with barely a spark of candle to light it oon. She isn't whiny or melodramatic but you feel her darkness...more

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Jan 02, 2013 Lori rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I've enjoyed Charlaine Harris' "Southern Vampire," "Aurora Teagarden," and "Lily Bard" series, as well as the supernatural anthologies she's co-edited (e.g., Many Bloody Returns). She always seems to blend just enough humor into the murder and mayhem - and her characters are complex and quirky. The same goes for this - the first in her "Harper Connelly" series.

Harper is a young woman with an unusual ability, which she discovered after surviving being struck by lightning. She can find dead peopl...more

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Oct 13, 2012 Jillian rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: paranormal

Review from busymomsbookreviews.com

Grave Sight is the first book in the Harper Connelly series; Harper can find dead people and can see their last moments. Her and her brother Tolliver get paid to help people find their dead loved ones or tell them what their last moments where like. Harper is weird and not the good kind of weird. Nothing about her makes sense and I found myself not really caring what happens to her. I couldn't connect with her at all, she was dull and at times I thought that sh...more

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Oct 07, 2012 Marie rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: mystery

I know that Charlaine Harris is a big-time popular author, but I'd never tried any of her books. This one seemed like the start of a fun series--a touch of paranormal plus a classic murder-mystery setup--and the audio version was available. I tried it, and I'm not sorry.

Harper Connelly doesn't see dead people, but given physical proximity, she can locate their bodies, and she knows what killed them. This ability can grant the loved ones left behind some closure, but it doesn't make her popular....more

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Sep 20, 2012 Shelly rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I have to start out by mentioning that this is the second series in the month that I started that the main character's name is Harper. That out of the way, I also have to mention that I dislike the Sooki books with a burning passion.

I picked up the first three of the Grave series while I was wandering around in Half Price Books. At $2 each I figured that it wouldn't be too bad if I disliked them--I could always turn around and sell them right back.

Boy was I mistaken. I picked this up this morn...more

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Sep 16, 2012 Charley rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fiction, paranormal, favorites

Firstly, I picked this book up for 25p at a charity shop. I wasn't really sure I'd like it as after watching the True Blood TV show I'd abandoned the first book halfway through just because I felt like I'd been there and done that with the series (never usually happens!).

So I started reading, and by page 45 I was rather into it. However, I did have a few criticisms:

:( Harper and Tolliver could have used a little more explaining, parts of their past were mentioned countless times but I still felt...more

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Aug 23, 2012 pinknantucket rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Another one I read a while ago and never got around to posting. As the blurb will tell you, when our heroine Harper Connelly was 15 she was STRUCK BY LIGHTNING and since then suffers some muscle weakness, headaches and oh yes she can also see DEAD PEOPLE. Well, she can't talk with them or anything, she just can find their bodies and gets an impression of how they died, which as I'm sure you can imagine embroils her in a variety of thrilling murder cases. She travels around the country with her s...more

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Aug 07, 2012 Whitney rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I listened to this book on audio- which may have affected my overall enjoyment of it (since the protagonist is supposed to be 24 but the reader sounds 50). I picked it up because I'm such a fan of Charlaine Harris' Sookie Stackhouse series, but by reading Grave Sight, I realized one of the main reasons I liked the Sookie Stackhouse books, was because the protagonist is such a fun, loveable character. The protagonist of Grave Sight on the other hand, is not fun. Nor lovable. She's actually quite...more

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Jul 30, 2012 Rebecca Angel rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

The sexual tension between brother and sister is creepy, just like the main character's ability in this series by Charlaine Harris (of the Sookie Stackhouse books.) However, we eventually learn they are step-siblings, and then learn that they didn't even meet until both were teenagers. Not so creepy, but it's still a barrier that will keep this series going for awhile.

Harper is a woman who can sense dead people and how they died. She and her brother Tolliver travel around on jobs for missing pe...more

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Jun 24, 2012 Caragh rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This review can also be found at - http://loadedshelves.blogspot.co.uk/2...

As a fan of Charlaine Harris' Sookie Stackhouse books, I decided to give the Harper Connelly books a try. To cut to the chase - i'm not sure about it.

I had a lot of ups and downs whilst reading the first book in the series Grave Sight. It took me a while to get into the plot due to the lack of character development and no background history to either the characters personally or their lives in great detail. The relationsh...more

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May 20, 2012 Nalla rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Meine Meinung:
Mit "Grabesstimmen" schickt Charlaine Harris nach Sookie Stackhouse eine neue weibliche Powerfrau auf gefährliches Terrain. 287 Seiten erzählen eine kurze, aber dennoch tiefe Geschichte mit einer außergewöhnlichen Hauptfigur. Wie gewohnt spannend und einen kleinen Tick gruselig.

Harper Connelly und ihr Bruder Tolliver - der gleichzeitig ihr Finanzberater und Bodyguard ist - haben einen neuen Fall in dem kleinen Städtchen Sarne, Arkansas. Aufgrund ihrer Gabe Leichen aufzuspüren, verd...more Meine Meinung:
Mit "Grabesstimmen" schickt Charlaine Harris nach Sookie Stackhouse eine neue weibliche Powerfrau auf gefährliches Terrain. 287 Seiten erzählen eine kurze, aber dennoch tiefe Geschichte mit einer außergewöhnlichen Hauptfigur. Wie gewohnt spannend und einen kleinen Tick gruselig.

Harper Connelly und ihr Bruder Tolliver - der gleichzeitig ihr Finanzberater und Bodyguard ist - haben einen neuen Fall in dem kleinen Städtchen Sarne, Arkansas. Aufgrund ihrer Gabe Leichen aufzuspüren, verdient sie ihr Geld damit Angehörigen Gewissheit zu vermitteln und Todesursachen aufzuklären, auch wenn ihr - wie nicht anders zu erwarten - selten geglaubt wird. Was die einen für unwürdig befinden, ist Harper's Existenz, denn was soll so falsch daran sein Geld mit dieser Dienstleistung zu verdienen? Ihre Gabe "verdankt" sie einem Unglück, wo sie als Kind von einem Blitz getroffen wurde.
Dass sie gefährlich lebt, ist ihr bewusst, aber wozu hat sie sonst ihren Bruder dabei?
Als sie von einer Frau gerufen wird, die aufklären will, dass ihr toter Sohn kein Mörder ist, geraten Harper und Tolliver immer weiter zwischen die Fronten. Harper wird beinahe erschossen und Tolliver landet im Gefängnis. Von einem wohlverdienten Feierabend nach getaner Arbeit kann also absolut keine Rede sein.

"Grabesstimmen" ist das erste Buch der Harper Connelly Reihe und ich musste es einfach lesen, weil ich ein großer Fan von Charlaine Harris Schreibstil bin. Mit ihrer Sookie Stackhouse Reihe konnte sie mich überzeugen und auch wenn mich zunächst die wenigen Seiten etwas skeptisch gemacht haben, konnte mich die Geschichte überzeugen. Es wurde alles geboten: Eine außergewöhnliche Hauptprotagonistin, kriminelle Übermacht, die Frage nach einer Vergangenheit und keine Zukunft.
Harper ist eine Frau, die zunächst sehr undurchsichtig war. Anfangs kam sie mir sehr zickig und kaltschnäuzig vor, dabei heißt es ja in der Kurzbeschreibung sie sei "gewissenhaft". Ich musste wirklich überlegen ob ich weiterlese, habe mich dann aber doch dazu entschlossen, gerade auch weil Harris wieder flüssig und fesselnd schreibt. Sie weiß, was ich lesen möchte - scheint es mir. ^^
Anfangs wurde auch nicht wirklich viel erklärt und nur nach und nach kam ich dann hinter Harper's wirkliches Wesen und aus welchen zerrütelten Familienverhältnissen sie kommt. Der Verlauf der Geschichte war mir jedoch ein wenig zu langsam und die Spannung baute sich auf, wie eine Schnecke schleicht. Gegen Mitte des Buches ging es dann immer weiter hoch auf dem Spannungsbarometer und ich muss sagen, dass mich die Gänsehaut immer wieder gejagt und eingeholt hat. Die Beziehung der beiden Geschwister war intenisv und fürsorglich und stellenweise ein wenig übertrieben, aber dennoch konnte Harris mir die Gefühle der Protagonisten glaubhaft vermitteln.

Harris konnte mich mit der Geschichte begeistern und auch wenn ich stellenweise Probleme mit der Hauptprotagonistin hatte, konnte ich mich in die Geschichte einfinden und hatte ein tolles Leseerlebnis. Es war kein Hammermäßiges Monsterbuch, aber dennoch seinen Preis wert!

Fazit:
Cool, kaltschnäuzig und undurchschaubar ist Harper Connelly, vom Blitz getroffen mit einer Gabe Leichen aufzuspüren - absolut keine neue Idee, aber dennoch gut gelungen. Harris besticht wieder mit einer lässigen Geschichte und einer fesselnden Story.
Kurz, emotional und geballt.
Lesenswert, aber kein Must Have. (less)

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Apr 18, 2012 Yukarie rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Cela fait un moment que ce livre est dans ma PAL, alors quand Mia a proposé une lecture commune, je n'ai pas hésiter. Je me suis dit que c'est le genre de livre ou les 300 pages défilent assez rapidement et j'avais raison vu que je l'ai lu en à peine deux jours.

Nous suivons ici les histoires de Harper Connelly et de son demi-frère Tolliver. A l'âge de 15 ans, notre héroïne a été frappé par la foudre et a depuis le pouvoir de ressentir les morts et de connaître leurs dernier instants de vie. Ce d...more Cela fait un moment que ce livre est dans ma PAL, alors quand Mia a proposé une lecture commune, je n'ai pas hésiter. Je me suis dit que c'est le genre de livre ou les 300 pages défilent assez rapidement et j'avais raison vu que je l'ai lu en à peine deux jours.

Nous suivons ici les histoires de Harper Connelly et de son demi-frère Tolliver. A l'âge de 15 ans, notre héroïne a été frappé par la foudre et a depuis le pouvoir de ressentir les morts et de connaître leurs dernier instants de vie. Ce don, Harper en a fait son métier et est maintenant appelé par des particuliers pour retrouver les personnes disparues ou savoir dans quel circonstance ces personnes sont mortes. Suicide? Assassinat? Mort naturelle?... Rien ne lui échappe. Lors d'une nouvelle mission dans la ville de Sarne, Harper doit retrouver le corps d'une jeune fille Teenie âgée de 17 ans. Apparemment celle-ci a été assassiné par son petit ami avant que celui-ci ne se suicide. Seulement lorsque Harper découvre que Dell, le petit ami a lui aussi été tué... la ville comprend que le tueur est toujours dans le coin. Mais qui?

Des leur arrivé a Sarne, Harper et Tolliver ne sont pas très bien vu dans la ville.Les habitants leurs font vite comprendre qu'ils ne croient pas en ces pouvoirs et que notre duo n'est la que pour amasser de l'argent. Harper et Tolliver aimerait vite déguerpir de cette ville ou personne ne les apprécie, mais le shérif leur interdisant de bouger, il ne leur reste qu'une solution pour partir de Sarne au plus vite.... Mener l'enquête!

J'ai beaucoup aimé cette histoire, cependant je m'attendais en lisant la quatrième de couverture a un peu plus de fantastique et un peu moins d'énigme policière. Cette déception mis a part, l'histoire est vraiment intéressante, le mystère bien ficelé et l'écriture très fluide et facile a lire. Jusqu'au dernier moment, j'ai essayé de trouver le coupable et j'en conclus que je ne ferais pas une enquêtrice des plus mauvaises^^

Le nombre de personnage dans cette histoire est assez conséquent d'autant plus que beaucoup d'entre eux ont des liens de parentés plus ou moins éloigné. J'avoue avoir était un peu largué pendant un court instant cependant les personnages principaux comme secondaires sont attachants et le lien si fort entre Harper et son frère est très beau. J'aurais cependant aimé en savoir plus sur leur histoire personnelle et le passé de leur famille. L'un des personnages secondaires qui m'a touché est Hollis qui peut a la fois être doux et attentionné comme fort et respecté. La relation un peu ambiguë qu'il entretien avec harper est très intéressante... mais je n'en dirai pas plus de peur de spoiler...

En résumé, une bonne surprise pour mon premier livre de cette auteur. Ne lisant pas de bit-lit, je suis enchanter de pourvoir la découvrir a travers une série fantastique, même si policière serait plus approprié. Je pense essayer de trouver la suite des histoires d'Harper Connelly assez rapidement car je suis intrigué de savoir si celle-ci retrouvera sa sœur disparue: Cameron. (less)

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Apr 10, 2012 Michelle Randall rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: ghosts-spirits, mystery, southern, women-of-mystery

I really enjoyed Charlaine Harris as an author, so i thought I would check out this series, the Harper Connelly Mystery series.

Harper and her step-brother Tolliver, travel around using Harpers unique gift to solve mystery's. At the age of fifteen, Harper was struck by lightening in her bathroom, and when she survived, she was left being able to find dead people. Not only can she find them, but she "sees" the last moments, telling her their cause of death, but she is not able to see who did it.

Th...more

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Feb 28, 2012 Linda Lipko rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

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

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Feb 17, 2012 Marleen rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I actually listens to the audio version of this book for which the details are as follows:
Publisher: Clipper Audio
ISBN: 978 1407457024
7 Disks / 8 Hours / Narrated by Alyssa Bresnahan

Ever since Harper Connelly was hit by lightning she has a special gift. She is able to locate dead people and tell how they died. She can tell the cause of death and whether or not it was natural, although she can’t see who caused a death in case of murders.
Using her gift to make a living, Harper travels with her ste...more I actually listens to the audio version of this book for which the details are as follows:
Publisher: Clipper Audio
ISBN: 978 1407457024
7 Disks / 8 Hours / Narrated by Alyssa Bresnahan

Ever since Harper Connelly was hit by lightning she has a special gift. She is able to locate dead people and tell how they died. She can tell the cause of death and whether or not it was natural, although she can’t see who caused a death in case of murders.
Using her gift to make a living, Harper travels with her step-brother Tolliver, from place to place. She gets in, finds the body, cashes the check and then gets out again. Because although people do want their dead found, they are not comfortable with what she can do and often don’t like what she discovers.

When Harper and Tolliver arrive in a small town they have been hired to find the body of a missing teenage girl, which Harper does without much difficulty. But when she determines that the girl has been murdered, and subsequently uncovers that other people didn’t exactly die in the way people had thought, things get tense. And it isn’t long before Tolliver and Harper find themselves under threat from all sides. And although it is not in their job description and all they really want to do is drive on to the next job, they have to discover what has been going on in town before they can safely move on.

I enjoyed this story. I liked the idea of someone being able to find dead people and revealing the cause of their death. I also enjoyed the mystery which was written in such a way that the reader had as good a chance of discovering the truth as Harper had.
I wasn’t too impressed with Harper and Tolliver though. Harper especially didn’t ring quite true for me. She is complete mess once separated from Tolliver yet very capable of defending herself while under attack. She feels scared and helpless without her brother, yet that doesn’t stop her from putting herself in dangerous situations. As a character she didn’t make a lot of sense and her frequent whining didn’t make her a very sympathetic character either.
Tolliver didn’t quite get off the page for me. I couldn’t get a real feel for him but what I did get didn’t make me like him very much.
Harper and Tolliver come with a heavy and depressing back story, and although I can see how that may provide the basics for future stories, it did feel a bit like overload to me.

Overall I enjoyed listening to this book but I can’t see myself rushing out to get my hands on any sequels. When it comes to Charlaine Harris, I think I prefer the Sookie Stackhouse stories.
(less)

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Jan 23, 2012 Vix (TToria) rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: series-first-book, adult-thriller, fave-authors-adult, mystery, supernatural-ghosts-etc

Having read and enjoyed The Sookie Stackhouse series (True Blood) by best-selling author Charlaine Harris, i was intrigued to read another series she had under her belt: The Harper Connelly Mysteries.
This time Harris focuses on a different kind of paranormal. In place of vampires and shape shifters there is only one supernatural character and she is able to connect to the dead.

Ok, not my usual cup of tea- being scared by my own shadow an all, but i gave the first book (published in 2005) in th...more

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Jan 21, 2012 Babs rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: mystery, mystery-paranormal

What an intense book. It really doesn’t seem to be an intense read, when you first start the story. However, it continually builds and builds; the evolving tension is almost imperceptive. As you read on; the friction builds and intensifies; but you don’t to realize it right away – or, at least, I didn’t.

I’ve read one book in this series before and enjoyed it. However, I did not remember how intense and gripping the story was. This second book was in the same vein. It starts out tame enough; int...more

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Nov 06, 2011 Alvi Harahap rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Having read and loved all the Sookie Stackhouse books, I was really looking forward to my first foray into the Harper ‘Grave’ books. Harper, a troubled and intense young woman (all for very good reasons) and who is managed by her tall, acne-scarred older half-brother, Tolliver, senses dead people. In fact, she has a tidy little business travelling the United States finding them for various people mainly for the purposes of personal and legal ‘closure’. Struck by lightening as a child, Harper fee...more

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About Charlaine Harris

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 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 writing poetry and plays. After holding down some low-level jobs, she had the opportunity to stay home and write, and the resulting two stand-alones were published by Houghton Mifflin. After a child-producing sabbatical, Charlaine latched on to the trend of writing mystery series, and soon had her own traditional books about a Georgia librarian, Aurora Teagarden. Her first Teagarden, Real Murders, garnered an Agatha nomination.

Soon Charlaine was looking for another challenge, and the result was the much darker Lily Bard series. The books, set in Shakespeare, Arkansas, feature a heroine who has survived a terrible attack and is learning to live with its consequences.

When Charlaine began to realize that neither of those series was ever going to set the literary world on fire, she regrouped and decided to write the book she’d always wanted to write. Not a traditional mystery, nor yet pure science fiction or romance, Dead Until Dark broke genre boundaries to appeal to a wide audience of people who just enjoy a good adventure. Each subsequent book about Sookie Stackhouse, telepathic Louisiana barmaid and friend to vampires, werewolves, and various other odd creatures, has drawn more readers. The Southern Vampire books are published in Japan, Great Britain, Greece, Germany, Thailand, Spain, France, and Russia.

In addition to Sookie, Charlaine has another heroine with a strange ability. Harper Connelly, lightning-struck and strange, can find corpses… and that’s how she makes her living.

In addition to her work as a writer, Charlaine is the past senior warden of St. James Episcopal Church, a board member of Mystery Writers of America, a past board member of Sisters in Crime, a member of the American Crime Writers League, and past president of the Arkansas Mystery Writers Alliance. She spends her "spare" time reading, watching her daughter play sports, traveling, and going to the movies. (less)

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Books by Charlaine Harris

Living Dead in Dallas (Sookie Stackhouse, #2)

Dead to the World (Sookie Stackhouse, #4)

Dead as a Doornail (Sookie Stackhouse, #5)

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