Title: Grave Surprise
Author: Charlaine Harris
Date Published: November 2006
Series: Harper Connelly Mystery #2
Genre: Mystery: Contemporary/Ghost/First Person
Rating: B
ISBN: 978-0-425-21470-1

From back cover blurb:
When I was fifteen, I was struck by lightning. I recovered, mostly. I have a strange spiderweb pattern of red on my torso and right leg. I have headaches. I have many fears. And I can find dead people. That was the part that interested the professor…

At the request of anthropology professor Clyde Nunley, Harper Connelly and her stepbrother Tolliver come to Memphis to demonstrate Harper's unique talent-in an old cemetery. Nunley is skeptical, even after Harper senses-and finds-two bodies in the grave beneath her feet. One of a man centuries dead. The other, a young girl, recently deceased, whom Harper had once tried, and failed, to locate. But Harper's new investigation into the crime yields yet another surprise: the next morning, a third body is found-in the very same grave…

I'm really glad I've picked up this series, I'm liking Harper almost better than Sookie. I like the way Charlaine Harris writes in general. The whodunit is not overly obvious to me, I think there might have been one Sookie book I knew with relative certainty ahead of time, but overall she's pretty good at casting suspicion in enough different directions that you may have a hunch but nothing is a dead giveaway.

The premise of Harper having received her "gift" via a lightning strike incident is very creative. It's clear the author has researched what long-term effects such an incident might have on someone. The reactions to those Harper comes across, even those who hire her but aren't sold on whether she's for real are comical.

The relationship Tolliver and Harper has is very interesting. The past created for them is tragic and sad, which makes me glad they at least have one another to count in.

While I won't keep these books to re-read, I am highly enjoying them and look forward to the next installment. But first, I'm going to move onto another Harris creation: Shakespeare's Landlord, featuring Lily Bard.

©Susan Falk and phantomroses.com