Grave Secret by Charlaine Harris
Book 8 in Cannonball Read 2
Grave Secret is the fourth book in the Harper Connelly series, written by Charlaine Harris (most famous as the author of the Sookie Stackhouse novels that have been turned into the tv show ‘True Blood’). The Harper Connelly mysteries have quite a few things in common with the Sookie Stackhouse series, not the least of which is diminishing returns for the reader as the series goes on.
Harper Connelly has a supernatural gift (just like Sookie Stackhouse!). She can communicate with dead bodies, receiving information on their last few moments of life and their cause of death by being nearby. Her gift is in some ways a curse (just like Sookie Stackhouse). She has suffered childhood trauma and grew up parentless for part of her life (just like Sookie Stackhouse!) due to her neglectful, drug-addicted parents. Some people despise her gift, and others don’t believe in it despite pretty strong evidence (just like Sookie). (I think you get the point. Harper’s a lot like Sookie).
However, instead of having a hot, slutty brother who she can’t really depend on, Harper has a step-brother who is her only real friend, and they have the hots for each other. By the time Grave Secret rolls around, they’ve been together for awhile and are planning on getting married. I don’t know about you, but I’ve always found the ‘but they’re not really related’ thing pretty creepy, even in The Royal Tenanbaums, so having a book and a half about Harper and her step-brother - who may not be related by blood, but grew up together as brother and sister - having sex and talking about marriage is just weird.
Harris subscribes to the Harry Potter school of ‘mysteries’, where the mystery happens to the main character. A series of weird things happens to Harper, she can’t figure out what’s going on, and then she figures it out in the last 50 pages - usually when someone does some sort of violence to her, and then explains what has been going on. It can be somewhat suspenseful, but by the fourth book just seems silly, and embarassing to read in public.
I recommend The Hunger Games, John Le Carre, or The Turnaround if you’re looking for a page-turner. If you’ve already started the Harper Connelly series, you’ll probably continue, just like me; if you haven’t started yet, the choices above are far more worthwhile, and more entertaining.