Scan barcode
jane_kelsey's review against another edition
1.0
No no no. It wasn't that bad and the idea was interesting, but the plot was too thin, I figured really fast who the killers were, the characters were actually annoying, especially Harper and the fact that she has sex with her brother that's not her brother is so gross!!!
Too much useless descriptions of the people and the area... it made everything feel like it was written just to fill in pages so I jumped through paragraphs a lot.
Too much useless descriptions of the people and the area... it made everything feel like it was written just to fill in pages so I jumped through paragraphs a lot.
louise_jayne's review against another edition
3.0
I quite enjoy all of Harris' books - the stories are generally gripping and this was no exception. But the sex scene was terrible. Her no nonsense descriptions might work for the rest of the book, but not there - completely threw me out of the story for a good ten minutes.
alanaleigh's review against another edition
4.0
For those who were creeped out by anything in Grave Sight or (more likely) Grave Secret, An Ice Cold Grave is not for you. The cover might tip you off, as you realize that there's not just the regular creepy skull, but red flags that suggest multiple points of interest (aka multiple bodies or pieces of bodies). Pretend Charlaine Harris only made it to two books in the series and the third one doesn't exist (and this probably goes for the fourth one, too). For those with a stronger constitution, An Ice Cold Grave will still creep you out, but probably only for the twisted abduction/murder story at the heart of everything as opposed to the Tolliver-Harper stuff.
Harper has been booked in a small North Carolina town to assist the local law enforcement -- over the past few years, several young men have gone missing. The previous sheriff wrote them off as runaways but the current sheriff believes that they might have a serial killer on their hands and with nowhere else to turn, she has reluctantly turned to Harper Connelly and her strange ability to find bodies. And Harper finds them alright... she locates the burial site where more boys than just the ones missing from this town were buried after being raped, tortured, and killed. The sickening facts surrounding the fates of those boys puts the whole town in mourning, but now the sheriff has to find the person responsible... and realize that this might not be the work of one man.
The crime itself is just horrifying. I'm not a squeamish person, but even I read a little quickly through any discussion of the case. This isn't a true crime novel but it's really terrifying to realize this is a possibility in the world. Truly sick individuals are capable of such violence and depravity. I'm also getting a bit sick of the fact that all three books have dealt with dead teens/kids... and sure, adults get tossed in there, too, but they're often not the main focus of the crime and end up dead as a result of learning something dangerous. These are cases where kids are murdered and it's pretty rough, particularly here.
The mystery surrounding the culprit is actually more interesting than the past two books, though not necessarily any more mysterious. For those who are Harris fans from the Sookie Stackhouse books, the romantic storyline will be more what you're used to... in the sense that there are some pretty descriptive sex scenes (the first ones of the series, really). At the end of Grave Secret, Harper realized that she was in love with her step-brother, Tolliver. Note the emphasis on "step" and therefore not related by blood, as this is fairly crucial to understanding that it's not incesty... though the fact that they were partially raised together and have treated each other like siblings for years makes Harper's love all a bit complicated/weird. Lots of people reading these books (along with lots of characters in the stories) would find the very idea of this too weird, but oddly I'm okay with it. I mean, come on, it makes sense... they've been through a lot together (and continue to go through a lot together), so it seems a natural progression that given the option, they would band together in all ways. Harper doesn't want to be co-dependent upon Tolliver (and while Harris goes to lengths to prove that this isn't a weird co-dependent relationship, the reader never quite buys it), but he's always there for her and accepts her for what she is. Of course, Harper is too frightened of losing Tolliver and so resolves to never mention anything... but that never really works, does it? So An Ice Cold Grave deals a lot with Harper's feelings with regard to her brother and quite frankly, it's a welcome distraction from the case.
Despite my discomfort with the case, I thought Harris was more spot-on with her characters in this book than she was with the last, and so I enjoyed this more than Grave Surprise. I'm not sure if it's the subject matter surrounding the characters or what, but this book definitely indicates that this will be a very limited series and even if I didn't know that only four books are out, I would say that all signs here point to a series conclusion happening very soon.
Harper has been booked in a small North Carolina town to assist the local law enforcement -- over the past few years, several young men have gone missing. The previous sheriff wrote them off as runaways but the current sheriff believes that they might have a serial killer on their hands and with nowhere else to turn, she has reluctantly turned to Harper Connelly and her strange ability to find bodies. And Harper finds them alright... she locates the burial site where more boys than just the ones missing from this town were buried after being raped, tortured, and killed. The sickening facts surrounding the fates of those boys puts the whole town in mourning, but now the sheriff has to find the person responsible... and realize that this might not be the work of one man.
The crime itself is just horrifying. I'm not a squeamish person, but even I read a little quickly through any discussion of the case. This isn't a true crime novel but it's really terrifying to realize this is a possibility in the world. Truly sick individuals are capable of such violence and depravity. I'm also getting a bit sick of the fact that all three books have dealt with dead teens/kids... and sure, adults get tossed in there, too, but they're often not the main focus of the crime and end up dead as a result of learning something dangerous. These are cases where kids are murdered and it's pretty rough, particularly here.
The mystery surrounding the culprit is actually more interesting than the past two books, though not necessarily any more mysterious. For those who are Harris fans from the Sookie Stackhouse books, the romantic storyline will be more what you're used to... in the sense that there are some pretty descriptive sex scenes (the first ones of the series, really). At the end of Grave Secret, Harper realized that she was in love with her step-brother, Tolliver. Note the emphasis on "step" and therefore not related by blood, as this is fairly crucial to understanding that it's not incesty... though the fact that they were partially raised together and have treated each other like siblings for years makes Harper's love all a bit complicated/weird. Lots of people reading these books (along with lots of characters in the stories) would find the very idea of this too weird, but oddly I'm okay with it. I mean, come on, it makes sense... they've been through a lot together (and continue to go through a lot together), so it seems a natural progression that given the option, they would band together in all ways. Harper doesn't want to be co-dependent upon Tolliver (and while Harris goes to lengths to prove that this isn't a weird co-dependent relationship, the reader never quite buys it), but he's always there for her and accepts her for what she is. Of course, Harper is too frightened of losing Tolliver and so resolves to never mention anything... but that never really works, does it? So An Ice Cold Grave deals a lot with Harper's feelings with regard to her brother and quite frankly, it's a welcome distraction from the case.
Despite my discomfort with the case, I thought Harris was more spot-on with her characters in this book than she was with the last, and so I enjoyed this more than Grave Surprise. I'm not sure if it's the subject matter surrounding the characters or what, but this book definitely indicates that this will be a very limited series and even if I didn't know that only four books are out, I would say that all signs here point to a series conclusion happening very soon.
patchworkbunny's review against another edition
4.0
The series is definitely getting better. The serial killer in a small town angle, whilst not original, meant a good chance to work it out at the same time as Harper (unlike the previous book). There's relationship progress too, finally.
tilbard's review against another edition
4.0
Good story that kept me reading, but I'm not a fan of sex scenes. They're generally boring to slog through and I don't really care about the specifics. Been there, done that. Don't want to read about someone else doing it.
niinalukeekirjoi's review against another edition
3.0
3.5 tähteä. Kaksi aikaisempaa osaa on ollut oikeasti vähän meh, mutta tää oli huomattavasti mielenkiintoisempi.
megb1's review against another edition
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
boosmummy's review against another edition
4.0
darker than the others in this series but couldn't put it down.