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celiapowell's review against another edition
3.0
Harper Connolly heads to a small town to find a dead girl (which she can do, because she was once struck by lightning), along with her brother (with whom she has a very, very mildly creepily close relationship). The small town has people in it almost as creepy as her desperate reliance on her brother, and Harper begins to regret ever finding their dead girl, particularly when she's shot at.
I enjoyed this - a light supernaturally-flavoured (mmm!) mystery, along the lines of Harris' more well popular Sookie Stackhouse series.
I enjoyed this - a light supernaturally-flavoured (mmm!) mystery, along the lines of Harris' more well popular Sookie Stackhouse series.
whatmckennareads's review against another edition
2.0
I liked the Southern Vampire Mysteries and was hoping this would be a similarly fun escape. Unfortunately, I found it poorly written and poorly paced. I found Harper's inner monologues especially annoying.
sherwoodreads's review against another edition
I called this mystery cozy, but it really wasn't cozy. In fact, it was nearly at the edge of my tolerance for mysteries. Things I really liked: Harper and her brother. The descriptions, especially Harper's worldview, given what had happened to her. Glimpses of the numinous, though those were rare and wispy, more rare than the humor, which was also sparse.
Things that pushed me toward the edge: claustrophobic atmosphere, and far too many murders, especially of helpless people. The thing is, I don't read mysteries because I don't want to read about murders. One, especially of a dislikable person, is my favorite. I like mysteries that don't have anything to do with murder. This one had a depressing set of characters, histories, and murders . . . I did some skimming through the middle, as we descended to one note, everyone hating on Harper as she grimly pushed forward to assemble clues.
But I will try another, as I did like those things up top.
Things that pushed me toward the edge: claustrophobic atmosphere, and far too many murders, especially of helpless people. The thing is, I don't read mysteries because I don't want to read about murders. One, especially of a dislikable person, is my favorite. I like mysteries that don't have anything to do with murder. This one had a depressing set of characters, histories, and murders . . . I did some skimming through the middle, as we descended to one note, everyone hating on Harper as she grimly pushed forward to assemble clues.
But I will try another, as I did like those things up top.
sarahmrob's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
lynnfrance's review against another edition
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
efm511's review against another edition
3.0
I listened to the audiobook. The end twist was nice, but most was predictable, light, fun.
justjeepin's review against another edition
4.0
Another great book by Charlaine Harris, I couldn't put it down!
topdragon's review against another edition
3.0
Charlaine Harris is a prolific writer and seems to be coming out with a new novel every 3-4 months. She is most famous for her "Southern Vampire" series featuring Sookie Stackhouse. Unlike most readers of Grave Sight, I had never read a Sookie book so didn't have any preconceived notions of the author's style. Apparently many readers compare Harper Connelly, the heroine of the "Grave" books to Sookie. From my understanding, they are quite different characters and such comparisons should be avoided.
This is the first book of the series and as such serves primarily to introduce the reader to Harper as well as her step brother, Tolliver. Harper has a special ability that she acquired as a girl when she was struck by lightning: she can find dead people, sort of by honing in on them as if using a geiger counter. Not only can she find them but she can "see" how they died. Sounds like a cool way for a writer to develop a series of books, just as Ms Harris has done. In the main story, Harper and Tolliver travel to a small town in Arkansas to find a missing teenage girl. She does so but that only leads to further complications from the local townsfolk. The plot becomes a more traditional murder mystery as Harper and Tolliver delve into just what happened in that town.
The author seems to have a real knack for writing characters with troublesome backgrounds. In Harper's case, the lightning incident caused emotional trauma; she has an understandable phobia of thunderstorms and when added to her parents' irresponsibility (alcohol and drug abuse and sexual deviancy) she must now cope with a number of emotional challenges as she lives her day-to-day life. She disguises her emotional instability with a tough/self-confidant outer shell but when that breaks down she relies heavily on her step brother for support. When taken as a whole, this is an interesting pair of characters and I suspect the popularity of these books will continue to grow. Having said that, I found the overall novel to be enjoyable but not really awesome. The actual mystery seemed uninspired and the ultimate solution predictable. I do have the second book in this series as well so I will read that one before I determine if I will continue the series.
This is the first book of the series and as such serves primarily to introduce the reader to Harper as well as her step brother, Tolliver. Harper has a special ability that she acquired as a girl when she was struck by lightning: she can find dead people, sort of by honing in on them as if using a geiger counter. Not only can she find them but she can "see" how they died. Sounds like a cool way for a writer to develop a series of books, just as Ms Harris has done. In the main story, Harper and Tolliver travel to a small town in Arkansas to find a missing teenage girl. She does so but that only leads to further complications from the local townsfolk. The plot becomes a more traditional murder mystery as Harper and Tolliver delve into just what happened in that town.
The author seems to have a real knack for writing characters with troublesome backgrounds. In Harper's case, the lightning incident caused emotional trauma; she has an understandable phobia of thunderstorms and when added to her parents' irresponsibility (alcohol and drug abuse and sexual deviancy) she must now cope with a number of emotional challenges as she lives her day-to-day life. She disguises her emotional instability with a tough/self-confidant outer shell but when that breaks down she relies heavily on her step brother for support. When taken as a whole, this is an interesting pair of characters and I suspect the popularity of these books will continue to grow. Having said that, I found the overall novel to be enjoyable but not really awesome. The actual mystery seemed uninspired and the ultimate solution predictable. I do have the second book in this series as well so I will read that one before I determine if I will continue the series.