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An Ice Cold Grave
(Harper Connelly #3)
by
Harper Connelly was struck by lightning as a teenager, and now she can find the dead. In her third case, Harper and Tolliver, her stepbrother, are hired to find a missing grandson. But the truth is far worse than a single dead child, for numerous teenage boys, all unlikely runaways, have disappeared from Doraville, North Carolina.
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Paperback, 280 pages
Published
October 9th 2008
by Gollancz
(first published September 22nd 2007)
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Start your review of An Ice Cold Grave (Harper Connelly, #3)
4 stars!
This was the best book in the series so far! Harper Connelly was struck by lightning when she was fifteen. Since then she has been able to locate dead bodies and determine their cause of death. Harper and her step-brother Tolliver travel the US using her ability to make a living. Harper and Tolliver are brought to North Carolina on their most recent job in an effort to locate missing teenage boys. Not only does Harper locate their bodies, but it turns out there is a serial killer i ...more
This was the best book in the series so far! Harper Connelly was struck by lightning when she was fifteen. Since then she has been able to locate dead bodies and determine their cause of death. Harper and her step-brother Tolliver travel the US using her ability to make a living. Harper and Tolliver are brought to North Carolina on their most recent job in an effort to locate missing teenage boys. Not only does Harper locate their bodies, but it turns out there is a serial killer i ...more
This one is pretty dark because the murders are of young boys who were tortured. So, be aware that it's disturbing and I definitely reminded myself that these murders were fiction.
Okay, now on to the fun stuff!
So, we all knew that brother and sister were going to start getting it on at some point, but that they were both in deep denial about their feelings. I think one of the biggest hurdles in this whole thing is how publicly they have called themselves brother and sister when they aren't reall ...more
Okay, now on to the fun stuff!
So, we all knew that brother and sister were going to start getting it on at some point, but that they were both in deep denial about their feelings. I think one of the biggest hurdles in this whole thing is how publicly they have called themselves brother and sister when they aren't reall ...more
I like Charlaine Harris's writing, and she captures small-town southern life very well, but I find this series depressing. Harper's narrative is a perpetually gloomy monotone, reflecting her dismal life, the details of which are repeated ad nauseam in every book. To make matters worse this one is about a serial killer who targets children, and I hate reading about serial killers.
... spoilers ...
The relationship between Harper and Tolliver is creepy. Even though they're not blood relatives, they ...more
... spoilers ...
The relationship between Harper and Tolliver is creepy. Even though they're not blood relatives, they ...more
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
The third book in the Harper Connelly series, it was a fun, quick read. Harper was struck by lightening & now can find dead people. She can tell how they died, but that's it. This time she runs into a serial killing & a lot of trouble. Kind of predictable overall, the details were fun to read. There are some added twists & turns to the plot that were fun.
I'd give this book 4 stars, just because it was such a fun, quick & relaxing read, but Harris just annoys me by constantly bringing up Harper's ...more
I'd give this book 4 stars, just because it was such a fun, quick & relaxing read, but Harris just annoys me by constantly bringing up Harper's ...more
An Ice Cold Grave is the third book in the Harper Connelly series by American author, Charlaine Harris. The audio version is read by Alyssa Bresnahan. Harper’s latest assignment is a law enforcement invitation by Sandra Rockwell, sheriff of Doraville, in Knott County, South Carolina in the middle of winter. The Sheriff is grasping at straws trying to find six boys gone missing over the last five years. Harper finds them all, and two more: a serial killer’s icy graveyard. But before she and Toll
...more
Ice Cold Grave
4 Stars
Harper and Tolliver travel to Doraville, North Caroline when they are hired to find a missing teenager. Harper soon realizes that she has bitten off more than she can chew when she discovers the horrific burial ground of a deranged killer who has been committing unspeakable crimes for quite a while and has no intention of allowing Harper to get in his way …
This installment in the Harper Connolly series takes a darker turn toward the serial killer thriller genre rather than ...more
4 Stars
Harper and Tolliver travel to Doraville, North Caroline when they are hired to find a missing teenager. Harper soon realizes that she has bitten off more than she can chew when she discovers the horrific burial ground of a deranged killer who has been committing unspeakable crimes for quite a while and has no intention of allowing Harper to get in his way …
This installment in the Harper Connolly series takes a darker turn toward the serial killer thriller genre rather than ...more
I love all 3 books in this series by Charlaine Harris. Harper, the protag, was hit by lightning as a child and suddenly was able to sense the presence of dead bodies and how they died.
She and her "not" brother (her mother married his father) travel the country, helping families find closure when their missing dead are found.
Two things I love: the relationship of Harper and Tolliver (her "not" brother )is genuine and sweet. They are mutually supportive and fiercely protective. The other thing (as ...more
She and her "not" brother (her mother married his father) travel the country, helping families find closure when their missing dead are found.
Two things I love: the relationship of Harper and Tolliver (her "not" brother )is genuine and sweet. They are mutually supportive and fiercely protective. The other thing (as ...more
4.5 rounded down.
Review to come. Dang-nabbited brain-fog!
Review to come. Dang-nabbited brain-fog!
My one-sentence/one-star review of this book (is me quoting Anchorman because, accurate): "Well, that escalated quickly."
While I'm 100% sex-positive in books (and life, because to hell with fundamentalist Christian values that delight in making sex shameful), I really really really really really (REALLY) didn't need to know what Tolliver's "phallus" looks like. Harris' disturbingly detailed descriptions of Harper + Tolliver sexing each other up was not crucial (or in any way necessary) to my rea ...more
While I'm 100% sex-positive in books (and life, because to hell with fundamentalist Christian values that delight in making sex shameful), I really really really really really (REALLY) didn't need to know what Tolliver's "phallus" looks like. Harris' disturbingly detailed descriptions of Harper + Tolliver sexing each other up was not crucial (or in any way necessary) to my rea ...more
I have never read any books in this series or by Charlaine Harris and did not realize that she was the author of the very popular Sookie Stackhouse series until after I started it. I thoroughly enjoyed the premise and fast moving story line. Quite an interesting twist to put on a paranormal book. After a young woman is struck by lightening she has the ability to find the dead and tell you how they died. She and her once step brother make a living at it while searching for her sister who was kill
...more
Apr 19, 2013
Terri ♥ (aka Mrs. Christian Grey)
rated it
really liked it
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
audio
Quick review:
Cover: Interesting
Rating: NC-17
Steaminess: SO HOT
Thumbs Up: 4
Overall: I enjoyed it
Characters: Well Done
Plot: First, finally. Then, there is a serial killer on the loose
Page Turner: Yes
Series Cont.? Yes
Recommend: Yes
Book Boyfriend: Manfred
SUMMARY (50 words or less)
I feel like I could breathe. This story finally got somewhere in the romance department. The mystery in this one sucks with a serial killer on the loose. It’s just really sad to read about whether fact or fiction. ...more
Cover: Interesting
Rating: NC-17
Steaminess: SO HOT
Thumbs Up: 4
Overall: I enjoyed it
Characters: Well Done
Plot: First, finally. Then, there is a serial killer on the loose
Page Turner: Yes
Series Cont.? Yes
Recommend: Yes
Book Boyfriend: Manfred
SUMMARY (50 words or less)
I feel like I could breathe. This story finally got somewhere in the romance department. The mystery in this one sucks with a serial killer on the loose. It’s just really sad to read about whether fact or fiction. ...more
An excellent series; I've enjoyed every book in the Harper Connelly series thus far. I like the main characters, Harper and Tolliver very much, especially Harper, with her unique talent of being able to sense how people have died. This story has many twists in it, both crime-wise and relationship-wise and it kept the story interesting and moving along at an excellent pace. I'm very happy for some of the developments (will let you find out for yourself) and the mystery led me down paths I didn't
...more
4.5 stars - great!
This third story featuring Harper Connelly and Tolliver Lang is the best one, yet, in my opinion. And not just because I ended it with tears in my eyes. The story was very suspenseful, full of mystery and and danger. And those responsible for the atrocities Harper uncovered managed to stay hidden for a long, long time. (I figured it out a bit sooner than Harper did, but not all that much sooner. I just realized the significance of what a certain person said right away, whil ...more
This third story featuring Harper Connelly and Tolliver Lang is the best one, yet, in my opinion. And not just because I ended it with tears in my eyes. The story was very suspenseful, full of mystery and and danger. And those responsible for the atrocities Harper uncovered managed to stay hidden for a long, long time. (I figured it out a bit sooner than Harper did, but not all that much sooner. I just realized the significance of what a certain person said right away, whil ...more
I loved this book! But to tell you why, exactly, would spoil it... so I'll tell a little about why else I like this series.
What I have loved about this series is that despite being oriented around dead bodies and a mystery, they don't read like the hundreds of crime thrillers and forensic mysteries out there. Harper Connelly is not a forensic expert and she knows it; she doesn't attempt to do the police and other experts jobs for them, in fact she bluntly refuses! This character with her unique ...more
What I have loved about this series is that despite being oriented around dead bodies and a mystery, they don't read like the hundreds of crime thrillers and forensic mysteries out there. Harper Connelly is not a forensic expert and she knows it; she doesn't attempt to do the police and other experts jobs for them, in fact she bluntly refuses! This character with her unique ...more
Jan 19, 2009
Kristen
rated it
really liked it
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
mysteries,
urban-fantasy
The third in this series about Harper Connolly, who can detect corpses, continues with her first serial killer case. The limitations of her ability, as always, make it hard for her to help figure out "who done it," especially when all she wants to do is leave Doraville. An ice storm helps ensure that she and Tolliver get stuck there, however. The denoument is excellently scary and dangerous (though I figured out the threat a bit faster than Harper did). I could've done without the long detailed
...more
This book was quite a bit darker than the first two, with a serial killer/sexual predator and Harper's horrific discovery of the man's eight victims. The fact that he's still out there, a member of a small town who could be anyone Harper and Tolliver meet, adds to the tension. This is also the book in which Harper and Tolliver's relationship goes to a more intimate level (though seriously, did anyone besides those two fail to understand what "in the time of ice" meant? Duh.) without really overc
...more
Am I the only one who finds Charlaine Harris's sex writing to be CRINGE-WORTHY? It was fine when Sookie was bonking vampires -- sexy, even -- but I found the way Harper reacted to Tolliver to be a little inauthentic and a pathetic attempt at making a perfectly acceptable mystery novel with likable characters into something titillating. (It wasn't. At all.)
What's upsetting is that I wasn't against the relationship -- I actually like that they're in love, and I find them even more appealing as a c ...more
What's upsetting is that I wasn't against the relationship -- I actually like that they're in love, and I find them even more appealing as a c ...more
Okay, this book was kinda gross, and I don't mean because of the incestuous vibes. The murders were much nastier, there was more risk to Harper and Tolliver, and yet Harper's focus on the case felt so much less because of the developments in her relationship. I can understand why people didn't like that aspect of this book: I've seen it coming, and was actually quite hopeful about it, but I don't see why after two books suddenly there has to be a bunch of explicit (if somewhat mechanical) sex. I
...more
Apr 24, 2009
Tatiana
rated it
it was ok
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
2009,
mysteries-thrillers-horror
Harris is losing me again. This series is taking a weird turn, just like her Lily Bard series, which I abandoned after book 2. I like Harris for her stories set in small towns, with colorful characters, with families full of dark secrets and back stories. "An Ice Cold Grave" is just too dark for my taste - mass graves, serial killers, teenage sociopath torturing animals... That's not what I care for. Plus the relationship between Tolliver and Harper - not comfortable with it. Too quick of a tran
...more
My second read/listen - picked up in audible sale. Made a long car ride go quickly. I was surprised that I liked all in the series - 4 stars
Love this book. Can't wait to start the next one. I listened to the audiobook of this and the narrator does a superb job with this series.
...more
Arriving in a small town in North Carolina to find a missing boy, Harper instead finds eight, and the hunt for a serial killer is on. When Harper is attacked, she and her stepbrother Tolliver are stuck in town, and are drawn into the mystery of who could be killing these boys.
This one was slightly more interesting, but with a darker twist. Things are a little hard to follow, like usual. The romance between Harper and Tolliver feels slightly skeevy.
This one was slightly more interesting, but with a darker twist. Things are a little hard to follow, like usual. The romance between Harper and Tolliver feels slightly skeevy.
I'm really really trying not to buy more books until I tackle my existing TBR (the reader's mantra), but I couldn't pass on this one! I don't want it to be another year or two before I continue the series.
...more
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
4.25 stars
First up - I love Manfred. I see that there is a book for him Midnight Crossroad Midnight Texas 1 which if I liked the reviews more I would buy right off, but will probably pause to see how book two is received. (It's the multiple POV's that give me pause - Manfred is awesome and deserves star status).
This is very much a penultimate book - a lot is going on, it's exciting and terrifying and quite dark. Harper is called in to locate a missing boy(s) but it's actually a whole disturbing ...more
First up - I love Manfred. I see that there is a book for him Midnight Crossroad Midnight Texas 1 which if I liked the reviews more I would buy right off, but will probably pause to see how book two is received. (It's the multiple POV's that give me pause - Manfred is awesome and deserves star status).
This is very much a penultimate book - a lot is going on, it's exciting and terrifying and quite dark. Harper is called in to locate a missing boy(s) but it's actually a whole disturbing ...more
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
Jul 20, 2009
Amanda
rated it
really liked it
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
mystery,
special-abilities
This book was the most interesting out of the first three books in the series. There were many characters that were positioned in the story to be considered the suspect for the murders taking place in this small town. I found it interesting trying to determine which character was responsible for the horrible acts of crime. However, the responsible party was not revealed to the last possible moment.
This mystery was much darker then the mysteries from the previous books. The thought of the violent ...more
This mystery was much darker then the mysteries from the previous books. The thought of the violent ...more
LOVE. THIS. SERIES. I immediately picked this up after #2 and finished it in a matter of hours. Harper and Tolliver's undefinable relationship really makes it as intriguing and different as anything else I've read, and I just loved not quite knowing where it was taking them. Add to that an interesting case (if more graphic than the previous books, with 10 teenage boys abducted and murdered in a small town near Asheville) and some interesting characters, all in the deep of winter, and you've got
...more
If Grave Surprise was my least favorite, An Ice Cold Grave had to be my next favorite installment. Not only did it take place in my home state of North Carolina, but it scared me silly. An Ice Cold Grave had the most intense mystery and setting of the entire series: An ice storm in the mountains with a serial killer targeting children. {shiver}
I don’t know if I wouldn’t necessarily call this horror, but it was definitely spooky.
To offset some of the intensity, Harris granted a larger role for th ...more
I don’t know if I wouldn’t necessarily call this horror, but it was definitely spooky.
To offset some of the intensity, Harris granted a larger role for th ...more
| topics | posts | views | last activity | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Challenge Fac...: Christina T. and Alana - An Ice Cold Grave | 7 | 10 | Apr 24, 2015 10:52PM | |
| Nothing But Readi...: Harris, Charlaine; An Ice Cold Grave (Harper Connelly #3) "Informal Buddy Read" (Start Date: 26th November 2013) | 36 | 51 | Dec 07, 2013 05:34PM | |
| murder mystery | 3 | 56 | Nov 08, 2012 01:58PM |
Readers also enjoyed
Charlaine Harris has been a published novelist for over thirty-five years. A native of the Mississippi Delta, she grew up in the middle of a cotton field. Charlaine lives in Texas now, and all of her children and grandchildren are within easy driving distance.
Though her early output consisted largely of ghost stories, by the time she hit college (Rhodes, in Memphis) Charlaine was writing poetry an ...more
Though her early output consisted largely of ghost stories, by the time she hit college (Rhodes, in Memphis) Charlaine was writing poetry an ...more
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Harper Connelly
(4 books)
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“But men are less used to the idea of being raped than women are, and it strikes them with a fresh horror. With women, that horror comes right along with the female genitals.”
—
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“That would do the trick," he said hoarsely. "Jesus, Harper, I don't understand why we don't have guys following us from town to town just to watch you do that."
"Because I've never done it for anyone but you," I said. "You don't think I'd say something like that to anyone else, do you?"
"Please," he said. "Please do that for me. And no one else.”
—
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More quotes…
"Because I've never done it for anyone but you," I said. "You don't think I'd say something like that to anyone else, do you?"
"Please," he said. "Please do that for me. And no one else.”
