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atully's review against another edition
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
4.0
I forget how much I like Charlaine Harris' books. Grave Surprise was an easy to read book with a good ending, although it was a little rushed (just the ending part - the rest wasn't rushed) but, you get all your questions answered.
There was a lot of foreshadowing when it came to the killer in this one so I had already figured it out before the reveal.
All in all, a good book!
There was a lot of foreshadowing when it came to the killer in this one so I had already figured it out before the reveal.
All in all, a good book!
heroineinabook's review against another edition
2.0
Per my review for the first book, I expected the second book to be more polished than the first.
It wasn't.
I simply cannot sympathize with Harper Connolly's plight nor can I even say I really like her. The characters are so wooden, the plot convoluted and the writing so stilted that I cannot even begin to fathom why people like this series even as a guilty pleasure.
My reluctance to read the Southern Mysteries is now even more intensified because if I cannot even invest time into Harris' secondary series, why should I invest in her first?
It's a shame, as I said before, as I like the premise of the series but it's just so badly done! I now wonder if Harris is hurting for cash and is using the fan base of her primary series to fund her other series' as a means to gain popularity?
It wasn't.
I simply cannot sympathize with Harper Connolly's plight nor can I even say I really like her. The characters are so wooden, the plot convoluted and the writing so stilted that I cannot even begin to fathom why people like this series even as a guilty pleasure.
My reluctance to read the Southern Mysteries is now even more intensified because if I cannot even invest time into Harris' secondary series, why should I invest in her first?
It's a shame, as I said before, as I like the premise of the series but it's just so badly done! I now wonder if Harris is hurting for cash and is using the fan base of her primary series to fund her other series' as a means to gain popularity?
patchworkbunny's review against another edition
3.0
Another easy read but not one of my favourites from Harris. I don't think there were enough 'clues' for the reader to guess 'who did it' which I prefer in a crime mystery. The revelation seemed a bit sudden.
kmnewton89's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.25
elegyeldritch's review against another edition
1.0
Too predictable. I guessed the ending a little over halfway through. Had to force myself to finish.
amotisse's review against another edition
5.0
Harper’s interesting gift gets her into plenty of sticky situations. An unusual concept that makes for entertaining reading.
goblinqueen13's review against another edition
4.0
I must say that I do love this book. Not as much as the first book Grave Sight but only a tiny bit less. It was still very interesting and a page turner but unlike Grave Sight I did figure out who killed the little girl and it was a little more than half way through the book that I figured this out. But even still I loved this book. It could have ended a bit more fantastically and I would have like to have heard more about the very intriguing Manfred. Kudos to Mrs. Harris for another lovely book.
crimyami's review against another edition
4.0
I received this book from Net Galley for an honest review.
I've enjoyed reading the books involving Harper Connelly so when I got a chance to read the comic I was ecstatic! Having read the book it was based on didn't really influence my dislike or like for the story. I like that it is all in one book instead of broken up into parts, that way you can continue to read the story. This explains harper's gift of being able to sense the dead. It's pretty spot on to the original book which I loved.
With that being said you don't have to read the first book (comic book set) in the Harper Connelly series to know about Harper. It's explained in the story and gives enough background like your reading the first book of the series. The drawing's are crisp and lined well, it's not messy or blurry on the pages. The art work feels like it suits the character's instead of feeling out of place with it. Sometimes the art doesn't feel like it fits the characters but in this case it does. I love the visual aspect of Harper and Tolliver and how everything else is drawn.
The story still draws me in like I was reading it the first time. Harper Connelly can see how people were murdered, not who killed them but how they were killed and tries to bring some console to those who are willing to pay her for it. She's hired by this professor as he tries to prove she's a fraud and not the real thing. She proves him wrong but in doing that she ends up finding a body of one of her past cases that she never could find.
The mystery of how did the young girl end up from the two cities, and who really did kill her? Why did it happen?
Harper digs deeper to find out the reasoning behind the madness. There's some bumps along the way, an FBI agent who never got over the case, a phsycic who needs to talk to Harper because it's important, the angry one time lover of Tolliver; Harper's own feelings, and more people dead.
Once she figures it all out everything becomes clear, and she has to get to her brother before he ends up on the not living list too.
With the mystery solved and the Police taking the murder into custody it seems to have helped everybody heal. Harper and Toliver are seen leaving the city heading to their next job.
I've enjoyed reading the books involving Harper Connelly so when I got a chance to read the comic I was ecstatic! Having read the book it was based on didn't really influence my dislike or like for the story. I like that it is all in one book instead of broken up into parts, that way you can continue to read the story. This explains harper's gift of being able to sense the dead. It's pretty spot on to the original book which I loved.
With that being said you don't have to read the first book (comic book set) in the Harper Connelly series to know about Harper. It's explained in the story and gives enough background like your reading the first book of the series. The drawing's are crisp and lined well, it's not messy or blurry on the pages. The art work feels like it suits the character's instead of feeling out of place with it. Sometimes the art doesn't feel like it fits the characters but in this case it does. I love the visual aspect of Harper and Tolliver and how everything else is drawn.
The story still draws me in like I was reading it the first time. Harper Connelly can see how people were murdered, not who killed them but how they were killed and tries to bring some console to those who are willing to pay her for it. She's hired by this professor as he tries to prove she's a fraud and not the real thing. She proves him wrong but in doing that she ends up finding a body of one of her past cases that she never could find.
The mystery of how did the young girl end up from the two cities, and who really did kill her? Why did it happen?
Harper digs deeper to find out the reasoning behind the madness. There's some bumps along the way, an FBI agent who never got over the case, a phsycic who needs to talk to Harper because it's important, the angry one time lover of Tolliver; Harper's own feelings, and more people dead.
Once she figures it all out everything becomes clear, and she has to get to her brother before he ends up on the not living list too.
With the mystery solved and the Police taking the murder into custody it seems to have helped everybody heal. Harper and Toliver are seen leaving the city heading to their next job.
lisawreading's review against another edition
3.0
"Grave Surprise", the second book in Charlaine Harris's Harper Connelly series, is a creative and entertaining mystery that definitely kept my interest. Harper is an intriguing heroine -- she was struck by lightning at age 15, and was left with a variety of physical ailments as well as the unusual gift of being able to find dead bodies and learn how they died. Now in her mid-twenties, Harper and her loyal stepbrother Tolliver hire themselves out to locate bodies, typically generating lots of mistrust and loathing along the way. The mysteries themselves are interesting and well-paced, but I find the Harper/Tolliver relationship the most interesting piece of the stories, especially as they seem to be moving in a non-sibling direction. While not as immediately compelling as the Sookie Stackhouse series (which I gobble up like candy), this newer series by Harris is worth reading, and I plan to continue on with it.
emvaughters's review against another edition
3.0
Fun read - I liked it better than the first book in the series.