Cathy C. (cathyskye) - , reviewed on 2/12/2009 + 2307 more book reviews

Helpful Score: 4

First Line: The eastern seaboard is crammed with dead people.

Struck by lightning as a teenager, Harper Connelly has the ability to find the dead and experience the last few seconds of their lives. This ability has become her livelihood, as she and her stepbrother/manager, Tolliver Lang, travel from place to place. Harper relies upon word-of-mouth to bring her business, usually from police departments she has dealt with in the past.

In this third book in the series, Harper and Tolliver find themselves in Doraville, North Carolina, at the behest of a citizen and the local police. Too many young boys with no reason for running away have disappeared, and some townspeople are beginning to think that a serial killer may be at work. After finding eight bodies, Harper is attacked, and the police insist that she and Tolliver stay in town to help with the investigation. Will they be able to find the serial killer before he strikes again?

This is my favorite of Harris' mystery series. The plots are intriguing, and Harper is a fascinating character. There is a sexual tension between Harper and Tolliver that has made some folks uncomfortable, but Harris clearly explains that the two are not related by blood. They just happened to grow up in the same lousy home together.

The murders in An Ice Cold Grave are upsetting, and the way the killer is unmasked is heartbreaking. It sounds ghoulish to say that I enjoyed this book a great deal, but I did. Harper Connelly is an edgy, unique character of whom I've yet to get my fill.

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