{"id":30128,"date":"2026-10-15T10:38:11","date_gmt":"2026-10-15T15:38:11","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/sadieforsythe.com\/wp\/?p=30128"},"modified":"2026-11-01T10:43:02","modified_gmt":"2026-11-01T16:43:02","slug":"harper-connelly-series","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/sadieforsythe.com\/wp\/harper-connelly-series\/","title":{"rendered":"Book Review: Harper Connelly series, by Charlaine Harris"},"content":{"rendered":"

I purchased the first three books in Charlaine Harris<\/a>‘ Harper Connelly series<\/a>\u00a0 (Grave Sight<\/em>, Grave Surprise<\/em>, and An Ice Cold Grave<\/em>) at Savers. Then I borrowed the last one (Grave Secret<\/em>) from the local library.<\/p>\n

\"Harper<\/p>\n

Harper Connelly has what you might call a strange job: she finds dead people. She can sense the final location of a person who’s passed, and share their very last moment. The way Harper sees it, she’s providing a service to the dead while bringing some closure to the living – but she’s used to most people treating her like a blood-sucking leech. Traveling with her step-brother Tolliver as manager and sometime-bodyguard, she’s become an expert at getting in, getting paid, and getting out fast. Because for the living it’s always urgent – even if the dead can wait forever.<\/em><\/p>\n

\"my<\/p>\n

Since I read the four books in this series back-to-back, I am going to write a single review of the series as a whole rather than of each individual book. I liked Harper a lot. I thought that she had moxie while also acknowledging that she had a disability that prevented her from doing some of the things she wanted to do. I also really liked Tolliver, though you get to know him less, since the POV is only Harper’s. Together, I found them an interesting pairing. Neither was perfect. Tolliver showed some jealousy at times and was a bit of a womanizer. Harper was frequently less forthcoming than she could have been. Plus, their shifting partnership required negotiation and nuance that I suspect some readers won’t gel with.<\/p>\n

Having said that I liked the characters, which, over the four books I did, I also admit that Harris’ writing style kept a distance between the reader and the characters that I frequently felt. It left Harper, especially, feeling cold at times, and at other times left the story dragging a little. The mysteries themselves kept me intrigued, though. But each wrapped up quickly, giving Harper the solution rather than letting her discover it herself. All in all, I liked the series but didn’t love it.<\/p>\n

\"harper<\/p>\n

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Other Reviews:<\/strong><\/p>\n

Series Review: Harper Connelly by Charlaine Harris<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n