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Charlaine Harris
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Book
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Publisher | Gollancz | ||
ISBN | 9780575079236 | ||
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Reviewer
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Ann
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Synopsis
Harper Connelly had a lucky escape when she was hit by lightning: she didn't die. But sometimes she wishes she had died, because the lightning strike left her with an unusual talent: she can find dead people - and that's not always comfortable. Everyone wants to know how she does it: it's a little like hearing a bee droning inside her head, or maybe the pop of a Geiger counter, a persistent, irregular noise that increases in strength as she gets closer. It's almost electric: a buzzing all through her body, and the fresher the corpse, the more intense the buzz. Harper and her brother Tolliver make their living from finding the dead, for desperate parents, worried friends ...and police departments who have nowhere else to look. They may not believe in her abilities, but sometimes the proof is just too much for even the most sceptical of police chiefs to deny. But it's not always easy for someone like Harper, for the dead *want* to be found - and too often, finding the body doesn't bring closure; it opens a whole new can of worms.
Review
Having been struck by lightning at 15, Harper Connelly can sense the dead, even those long buried.
Obviously this aptitude has its uses, and, now in her early twenties and in need of earning a living, she and her elder brother Tolliver hire themselves out to those who would use it.
However, there are disadvantages - she has physical scars, is afraid of storms and the use of her talent can leave her emotionally and physically exhausted. When our fragile heroine finds the body luckily she also experiences the last few seconds of life, but unluckily cannot see the perpetrator of the crime, if any. This sets up some interesting situations.
During their traumatic childhood, including early loss of neglectful parents, a missing sister and other sisters in the care of a spiteful aunt, she and her brother have become very close. He is her essential support, negotiating the contract, cashing the cheques, dealing with the prejudices and reactions of small town America and providing comfort and care in the aftermath of her exercising her talent. But, as her father married his mother after their births, they are not blood related, and while they both have romantic encounters, there is a tension between them. As this is the first novel in the series, hopefully the relationship will evolve in later books.
If you like your crime fiction light and non-graphic but with a sure touch of the weird - this is it! An entertaining read, and I look forward to finding out more about Harper Connelly in Grave Surprise and Ice Cold Grave.
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