A review by mollymortensen
Grave Surprise by Charlaine Harris

3.0

The beginning definitely grips you. I liked seeing Harper show off her powers and prove the smug professor wrong. Harper finds the body of a girl, Tabatha, who she was hired to find 18 months ago, but failed. Harper and Tolliver aren't really falsely accused, but since it's a hell of a coincidence, they're suspected accomplices. So naturally, once again, they can't leave town.

The characters were better done this time and I liked both Harper and Tolliver more. Particularly their relationship with each other.

Spoiler

I hated when Harper suddenly decided she had feelings for the man she'd previously thought of as her brother. I was afraid that was going to happen since it was revealed to be step siblings.

The side characters were better too. The police, an FBI agent, a PI, and the professor were all mean to them, but Tabatha's family was nice. I particularly liked the little girl's older brother Victor. We also meet one of Harper's friends, Xylda, a real psychic who is very eccentric. I particularly liked Xylda's grandson Manfred who could sort of read minds.

The mystery was as complex but more obvious. I knew who it was way ahead of time. Harper and Tolliver also weren't nearly as smart about things. They were your average bumbling protags in this one.

The ending was, well I wouldn't say good, because the little girl was still dead, but satisfying. I liked that there was a real ghost.