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annathepiperSpecial note: As of the beginning of the 2009 Book Log I am shifting from a four star scale to a five star scale, just because it's weird to try to shift star ratings between here and Goodreads!
The big thing you need to know about An Ice Cold Grave, the third book in Charlaine Harris' Harper Connelly series, is that it's surprisingly free of drama. Not plot drama, mind you; there's plenty of that. No, the drama it's surprisingly free of is the personal sort surrounding Harper. Even though things related to the current case she and her long-time companion Tolliver are investigating explode significantly around them both, there's very little drama focused on Harper herself.
We've had two books now of people reacting strangely to her abilities--and there's none of that here. In fact, an entire town pretty much takes her as a messenger from God (albeit a strange one). But that's almost dwarfed by the even more surprising lack of drama surrounding the advancement of her relationship with Tolliver, of which I will say no more except to underscore that if you've been following this series since Book 1, what happens won't be a surprise.
It's almost a relief, really, not only for Harper but also for the reader. A different book might have tried to cram more personal conflict into these side plots. This one, however, kept them pretty stable and angst-free. It works, given that the A plot in this book is a massive mountain of angst all by itself and really doesn't need side issues to compete with it.
Boys have been disappearing in the town of Doraville, and the grandmother of one of the lost youths has called Harper and Tolliver in to try to find him. Harper does, but to the dismay of the entire town, soon learns that all of the boys they've previously thought to be runaways are the victims of a serial killer. And Harper and Tolliver are embroiled far longer than they'd like in the process of unraveling these crimes when Harper herself is put in danger.
All in all a pretty solid read. Four stars.
The big thing you need to know about An Ice Cold Grave, the third book in Charlaine Harris' Harper Connelly series, is that it's surprisingly free of drama. Not plot drama, mind you; there's plenty of that. No, the drama it's surprisingly free of is the personal sort surrounding Harper. Even though things related to the current case she and her long-time companion Tolliver are investigating explode significantly around them both, there's very little drama focused on Harper herself.
We've had two books now of people reacting strangely to her abilities--and there's none of that here. In fact, an entire town pretty much takes her as a messenger from God (albeit a strange one). But that's almost dwarfed by the even more surprising lack of drama surrounding the advancement of her relationship with Tolliver, of which I will say no more except to underscore that if you've been following this series since Book 1, what happens won't be a surprise.
It's almost a relief, really, not only for Harper but also for the reader. A different book might have tried to cram more personal conflict into these side plots. This one, however, kept them pretty stable and angst-free. It works, given that the A plot in this book is a massive mountain of angst all by itself and really doesn't need side issues to compete with it.
Boys have been disappearing in the town of Doraville, and the grandmother of one of the lost youths has called Harper and Tolliver in to try to find him. Harper does, but to the dismay of the entire town, soon learns that all of the boys they've previously thought to be runaways are the victims of a serial killer. And Harper and Tolliver are embroiled far longer than they'd like in the process of unraveling these crimes when Harper herself is put in danger.
All in all a pretty solid read. Four stars.
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Date: 2009-01-06 02:03 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-01-07 03:36 am (UTC)