Review of GRAVE SIGHT by Charlaine Harris (see her website)

Berkley Prime Crime, October 2005

Since she was struck by lightning years before, dead bodies have spoken to Harper. They don't say much--mostly just a description of where they are and how they died--but it's enough for Harper to make a career out of it. Accompanied and protected by her stepbrother, Tolliver, Harper finds bodies--for money. In small-town Sarne, Arkansas, there are plenty of bodies to be found. The civic leaders hire Harper to find a missing girl. Sure she might have run away, but she disappeared at the same time as a local boy ended up dead. Harper finds the body--and discovers that the dead girl was murdered.

Although Harper has done her job, the locals are anything but grateful--and Tolliver is quick to make sure their check is cashed before they can do anything about it. But when the dead girls mother is murdered, Harper and Tolliver are asked not to leave town--and the hostility grows ever greater. It isn't Harper's job to solver murders--that's for the police to do--but increasingly she is drawn into the mystery, turning up clues that no one had bothered looking for.

Author Charlaine Harris (see more BooksForABuck.com reviews of novels by Harris) really gets into the head of protagonist, Harper. As a reader, you can almost feel the tingle that Harper feels when she nears a body, almost hear the whispers in her head as she walks through a graveyard, each rotting corpse whispering the secrets of their death. Harper's (many) vulnerabilities make her more sympathetic, balancing her talent with a host of weaknesses. The story suffers a bit from a lack of a real story goal. Harper resists being drawn into the mystery (it isn't her job), and doesn't actively pursue its solution. As a result, Harris relies on tactical dangers to maintain a high level of suspense.

GRAVE SIGHT isn't perfect as a story, but Harper's vivid character leaves an impression.

Three Stars

Reviewed 12/30/05

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