Like Sookie Stackhouse?, Try the Harper Connelly Series

Tue, 10/20/2009 - 8:27pm by ErinDurrett

As a fan of Charlaine Harris, I was upset by the abrupt end to my 9 book reading spree of the Sookie Stackhouse Series. (Book 10 in the series is not released until the spring of next year.) After dealing with the bereavement of finishing what has been published of the engrossing Southern Vampires Mysteries, I needed a Charlaine Harris fix in a bad way. I started reading Grave Sight (Book 1 in the Harper Connelly Mysteries) Harper Connelly is a woman who uncannily survived a lightning strike as a child and now makes her living by finding dead people and correctly determining their cause of death with her acquired “sixth” sense. In this first novel, Harper and her stepbrother (this distinction is important) Tolliver Lang travel to the small town of Sarne, Arkansas to help locate the body of a missing girl. Finding the body proves easy for Harper, but leaving Sarne becomes the problem when the sheriff and other town members become suspicious of Harper's abilities. Along the way, Harper gets attacked and Tolliver ends up in jail, but eventually the mystery is resolved and the dynamic duo move on to another assignment.

In the second novel in the Harper Connelly series, Grave Surprise. Harper and Tolliver head down to Tennessee to do a "graveyard" job identifying and determining the COD (Cause of Death) of ancient remains at Bingham College. In a surprise twist Harper discovers that one of the graves has two bodies inside, one of which is a missing girl, Tabitha Morgenstern, Harper had been hired to find previously. The FBI become involved and Harper and Tolliver are suspected of being somehow involved with Tabitha's disappearance. Then, Dr. Nunley, the professor that requested Harper's services is also found dead in the cemetery. Along the way, we also meet some quirky psychic friends of Harper's: Manfred and Xylda Bernardo.

In the third novel in the Harper Connelly series, An Ice Cold Grave, Harper and Tolliver get an assignment in North Carolina trying to find the bodies of a half dozen young men considered to be "runaway" age. After searching the final disappearance site, Harper gets a reading and discovers a mass grave sight behind an old dilapidated house. The cause of death for the victims was so traumatizing that at first, Harper finds it difficult relaying the cause of death of the boys. Then on their first attempt out of town, Harper gets hit over the head and sentenced to a few days recuperation in the local hospital. Even though looking for more bodies is the last think Harper wants to do, the local authorities and State Bureau of Investigation agents demand that she stay in town to help with their investigation. Harper's friends Manfred and Xylda Bernardo reprise their roles and add unwanted media attention on the town and the murder investigations. Also, Harper and Tollivers relationship escalate to a new level.

Grave Secret is the fourth book in the ">Harper Connelly Series and will be released October 27th. Place your hold on the latest book in this series today!

The books are a treat, especially if you’re a Charlaine Harris fan and they contain developed and intricate plots, interesting characters, and a unique style of writing!