Harper Connolly is not your average girl, she has a 'gift'. She can find the dead. She can't talk to them or see them, only find their bodies after their life has expired. Harper makes her living using the gift god, and a lighting bolt, gave her; and not everyone likes that.

Harper and her stepbrother Tolliver have entered the town of Sarne, or as Harper likes to think of it Hell, for nothing seems to go right from the moment they enter the town. It was supposed to be a simple job, a quick in and a quick out. Unfortunately someone has murder on the mind, and Harper and Tolliver have just been dragged along for the ride.

Even in small towns there are secrets, some more deadly then others and someone will stop at nothing to keep the truth, and a few bodies, buried. Harper's gift has unwittingly brought a whole lot trouble down on the residents of Sarne, and in turn trouble has hit Harper and Tolliver, hard. Harper has sworn that she will never again set foot in Sarne, if only she can live long enough to leave.

Charlaine Harris has created yet another strong, intriguing and unique heroin in Harper Connolly. Grave Surprise is a murder mystery with a twist; where the paranormal meets the everyday. Every character in this story has their own history and quirks making them substantial and instantly familiar. A murder mystery that is exciting, fast paced and full of surprises. ( )

Book 1 of the Harper Connelly mysteries. When Harper Connelly was struck by lightening she acquired the gift of locating dead bodies. She can find them and figure out how they died, but if foul play was involved she can't sense who did it. Harper capitalises on her gift by consulting for private individuals, and she's led to Sarne, Arkansas to find the body of two locals. What she discovers is that the bodies are just the tip of a mystery involving quite a few of the townfolk. Unfortunately, Harper is not nearly as intriguing a character as Sookie Stackhouse, there's no humour in this book as compared to the Sookie Stackhouse mysteries and Harper's relationship with her step-brother is slightly too intense and ended up making me a little uncomfortable. Just not my cup of tea. ( )

I'm probably only one of two people in the world who isn't a fan of the Sookie Stackhouse series, but I was definitely looking forward to reading Charlaine Harris's GRAVE SIGHT. I wasn't disappointed--I think this book is an excellent start to a new series.

Harper and her brother, Tolliver, are both interesting and well-developed characters with the requisite flaws to keep them entertaining. When Harper was a teen-ager, she was struck by lightning--and given an extraordinary gift in the form of the ability to find dead bodies, and relive their last moments of life (i.e. tell how they died). She travels around the country with her brother as her assistant/bodyguard/accountant, traveling to aid whoever has hired her to find the body of a loved one or determine if they met with foul play.

As they travel to the town of Sarne, the bodies start piling up, Harper and Tolliver are suddenly suspects in a murder, and the suspect list just keeps growing and growing. The outcome was definitely, at least to me, unexpected, and I thoroughly enjoyed this beginning of Ms. Harris's new series.

The only small problem I had with the book was it's verrrrry slow-moving pace. I felt like the whole book could have been told in about 100 less pages, but it might just be that I was feeling in a hurry.

Overall, GRAVE SIGHT was a dark, brooding, suspenseful read--just the kind I like! ( )

I really liked Harris' Sookie Stackhouse, so I thought I'd give this series a try. It's pretty good. The world is ours - no vampires or other fantasy creatures in this book. Harper, like Sookie, has a limited paranormal ability - she can find dead people & see them, along with the few seconds of their death. The limitations of her 'gift' make the story more interesting.As a heroine, I didn't like Harper as well as Sookie. She's not a happy girl, more depressed & dwelling on her past too often (which she admits). She's a lot more vulnerable, but shows the same stubborn streak along with a moral sense that demands she 'makes things right'. She has a tougher time of it, too. She travels a lot & isn't well received.The writing is the same as the Sookie series. Well done, quick & easy to read. The plot was well done & exactly what I'd expect from Harris. The character of Harper permeates the book (as it should, since she's telling the story) & she's just not as upbeat as Sookie, so I didn't end the book with the same optimism, but I'm looking forward to reading the next! ( )

Interesting premise, lovely character driven whodunit with an appealing heroine. BUT, although I feel I understand Harper’s character, I don’t have a good sense of her physically – I like a little more visual detail to hang my reading hat on. Immediately starting book two. ( )