Grave Sight by Charlaine Harris
01/01/2008 . Source: Sue Davies 
pub: Gollancz Romancz. 263 page hardback. Price: £ 9.99 (UK). ISBN: 978-0-575-07883-3. Buy Grave Sight in the USA - or Buy Grave Sight in the UK  check out website: www.orionbooks.co.uk
Struck by lightning as a teenager, Harper Connolly was left with a weak right leg and an unexplained ability to find corpses. Not only that, she can determine the cause of death without resorting to Quincy M.E.. She could put pathologists out of a job. It doesn't make for a settled existence, though, because once this talent is revealed, she is never welcome for long. Like the Pied Piper, she is often hounded out of town. Even her clients barely want to acknowledge their desperation.
In Sarne, Harper comes to look for the teenager thought to have committed suicide. She runs up against a local community who are not only disbelieving but also have an awful lot of skeletons rattling in the closet. Once Harper has done her job and more than produced the goods, she hopes to leave. Nevertheless, the local Mayor and Sheriff are not so sure and then there is a local cop who is even keener she should stay around. Once she gets involved, it is hard to let go. It is even harder when her brother Tolliver is thrown into jail on a jumped-up charge. Harper also gets the feeling someone would prefer her to retract her interest.
Charlaine Harris is well known for her 'Sookie Stackhouse' series and in this new series, she presents us with another strong female lead. The novels are set in similar background but there is no hidden 'other' that is a strong feature of the Stackhouse series. Here it is only the ability to find bodies that makes Harper stand out from normality. Harris has created another likeable and moral heroine on which to hang a police procedural with a difference. The corpse-finding kicks off a raft of events and it works well. The relationship between Harper and her brother is gradually revealed and I won't spoil the book for you but it works well and allows for development and progression within the planned series of novels.
Sue Davies |
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