I loved this book! But to tell you why, exactly, would spoil it... so I'll tell a little about why else I like this series.What I have loved about this series is that despite being oriented around dead bodies and a mystery, they don't read like the hundreds of crime thrillers and forensic mysteries out there. Harper Connelly is not a forensic expert and she knows it; she doesn't attempt to do the police and other experts jobs for them, in fact she bluntly refuses! This character with her unique gifts uses them the best way she knows how to help people find answers. Of course, they aren't always the answers they wanted to hear.This particular book concentrates on a serial killing which is extremely brutal. This book seemed much more gritty and violent than the first two, which were based on family and small town discord. To tell the truth, it was a bit sickening at times and I am not easily sickened, but I think my discomfort was partly because I just hadn't expected the violence given the past books. And it matched the discomfort that Harper feels through most of the book. And the spoiler? (view spoiler)[ Well, that just made me squee in fan-girlish delight when they finally got it together!! But then, I am a sucker for slow-burn relationships (see: Sookie and Eric waiting til book 4! I'm definitely Team Eric) I see that a lot of people found the relationship squicky, but I just didn't have that problem. For one thing, Harper's realisation that she loved him in the second book (it was obvious from the start given how she thought about his other women) primed me and made it obvious that something was going to have to happen. Secondly, Tolliver's behaviour made it obvious to me that he didn't really think of her as a sister and that all the emphasis he gave that relationship was out of his own fears, for her benefit and the benefit of the public... the silly pair were in love from the start but too scared of breaking the support network they needed to risk making it obvious. Gotta admit though, the graphic sex scenes were a surprise, but not entirely unwelcome. (hide spoiler)]
Charlaine Harris has something for everyone. If you like "cozy" murder mysteries, there is her series featuring real estate agent Aurora Teagarden. If you're looking for a more complicated heroine, there is loner Lily Bard with her troubled past in the "Shakespeare" series (that's the name of the town, not the writer). And if you're into vampires, there is Sookie Stackhouse, with her ability to read human (not vampire) minds, on which the popular TV series "True Blood" is based. (Lily Bard and another character from the Shakespeare series make a cameo appearance in one of these books -- a delight to those who have read that older series; maybe we'll see Aurora Teagarden sometime too...Nah. Not likely). If vampires are a bridge too far, but you wouldn't mind a little paranormal something or another, try the series from which this volume comes. It features Harper Connolly and her step-brother, who travel around looking for dead bodies. Harper was struck by lightning before the series begins. This experience left her with various minor disabilities and one major "gift" -- the ability to locate the dead and determine how they died. Needless to say, she can't tell who killed them (this would make for very short and not particularly interesting books, after all), but her gift, along with her feeling of responsibility toward the dead she discovers, often lead her to pursue the story behind the deaths. "An Ice Cold Grave" tells of a particularly gruesome series of torture murders of several young boys. All I can say is that the book is riveting and up to Ms. Harris' usual standard of excellent writing and character development. As usual, the series are best enjoyed by reading the books in order. All the main characters undergo life changes throughout the series, and sometimes reading later ones first can partially spoil the earlier ones. "An Ice Cold Grave is, as I remember, the third in its series.
What do You think about An Ice Cold Grave (2007)?
4 stars! This was the best book in the series so far! Harper Connelly was struck by lightning when she was fifteen. Since then she has been able to locate dead bodies and determine their cause of death. Harper and her step-brother Tolliver travel the US using her ability to make a living. Harper and Tolliver are brought to North Carolina on their most recent job in an effort to locate missing teenage boys. Not only does Harper locate their bodies, but it turns out there is a serial killer in this small town and he's not happy that Harper has ruined his fun. An Ice Cold Grave was the best book in the series by far. I felt the mystery was way more interesting in this book and the way it unraveled had a nice flow, compared to the first two novels where it was very all of the sudden. The murders were much more gruesome than previous novels, which was a bit surprising. But my favorite part was watching Harper and Tolliver FINALLY reveal their attraction to each other. It's not gross to me because they're not related, and they know each other better than anyone else. It made sense. Plus it was a bonus knowing Tolliver had been way more aware of it than Harper had. He was just waiting for her to realize it, too.So if you like paranormal mystery with some romance thrown in, this is the series for you. I'm going to hold off on reading the next book as I don't want this series to end!!!
—Rachel ♥Reads Ravenously♥
This book was quite a bit darker than the first two, with a serial killer/sexual predator and Harper's horrific discovery of the man's eight victims. The fact that he's still out there, a member of a small town who could be anyone Harper and Tolliver meet, adds to the tension. This is also the book in which Harper and Tolliver's relationship goes to a more intimate level (though seriously, did anyone besides those two fail to understand what "in the time of ice" meant? Duh.) without really overcoming, entirely, the ick factor of Harper still calling him her brother when she forgets herself. Except for that one little thing, though, I didn't see their relationship as incestuous in any way, and overall it was an enjoyable and exciting suspense novel.
—Melissa McShane
The third book in the Harper Connelly series, it was a fun, quick read. Harper was struck by lightening & now can find dead people. She can tell how they died, but that's it. This time she runs into a serial killing & a lot of trouble. Kind of predictable overall, the details were fun to read. There are some added twists & turns to the plot that were fun.I'd give this book 4 stars, just because it was such a fun, quick & relaxing read, but Harris just annoys me by constantly bringing up Harper's past. Yes, I know it defines her, but quit beating me over the head with it! There are entire paragraphs of self-pity that I continually have to skip over. She could reference it in a few words, a sentence at the most, but no! She has to recap it again & again. Not only have we read it in previous books, but also in this one! Enough already!!!Still, I want to read the next one. Her works are like chips. They're not all that filling & I can't seem to put them down. I have to read just one more....
—Jim
