6.27.2010

Book Review: Grave Sight.

This post isn't just about Grave Sight, it's about all four of the Harper Connelly books. Just like I do with all the series I read, I wait until I have finished the last one in publication before I post. I really like all four of these books, like I said before, they ain't no Sookie Stackhouse, but Harper Connelly did a wonderful job of separating herself and getting her own spotlight.

One thing I especially loved that was different from many other series, was the fact that each book ended. Like it began with a story and at the end that specific story concluded, it didn't leave you hanging and anticipating the next book so bad it was like a drug. Given there were some things that weren't ' solved' until the very last book, that were brought into play in the first, they weren't the main focus. I enjoyed this because I was able to get a new story in each book, not one looong drawn out story, I like that.

Harper Connelly spent the early part of her childhood in an upscale neighborhood with her mom, dad, and older sister, Cameron. Her parents were lawyers, made a good living, they had a maid and loved their lives. Then their dad got busted for embezzling and a few other white collar crimes, and her mother remarried, to another lawyer. With the new step dad came new siblings, Tolliver and Mark were her step brothers, their mother had died of cancer. Once they got married their parents decided that defending the bad guys wasn't nearly as fun as partying with them, and that began the downward spiral. The ended up in a trailer with the four of them, plus their parents, and to make it even more complicated, their parents decided to go and have two more kids, Gracie and Mariella.

When Harper was 15 she was struck by lightening, and if Tolliver hadn't been there to save her life by immediately giving her CPR, she would have died. They had to fight her step dad and then sneak to even call an ambulance. When Cameron was 18 she was abducted off the side of the road on her way home from school. Their life completely fell apart. The seams that had been worn ragged from what little life they had finally busted. The two babies were taken by her aunt and uncle to raise, Harper was sent to foster care, Tolliver moved in with Mark who was old enough to live on his own and both their parents went to jail.

After being struck by lightening, Harper realizes she now has a special ability, she can sense the dead. When she is near the dead, she starts to get a humming in her head, if it's a recent death it's like a loud buzz, if it's an older death it's like a faint mosquito. When she encounters the bones, or body of a bead person, she can tell you who it is, tell their identity, and tell you how they died, she can kind of 'see' their last minutes of life, but never see who or what killed them if it wasn't a natural death.

The lightening strike left her slightly weak in her leg and with headaches at times, so working  normal job was not that good an option, so her and her 'brother' Tolliver set out across the country, taking jobs to 'read' the dead. Sometimes it was from families who just wanted to confirm that a family member died of what the official report said they did, and sometimes she worked with the police, finding a body of a missing person or persons they were looking for. She was always right.

I really liked these books, I enjoyed reading them, I wouldn't recommend them for anyone under the age 16 due to the fact that there is a few sex scenes in them. Especially since Harper and her 'brother' Tolliver, aren't really brother and sister at all, and they realize exactly how much they love each other. ;) I would definitely recommend them to my friends.

Rating: Number 3 and 4 stars : This has sexual content.

Grave Sight
Grave Surprise
Ice Cold Grave
Grave Secret
Charlaine Harris

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