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    Grave Secret
    Grave Secret
    Grave Secret
    Audiobook9 hours

    Grave Secret

    Written by Charlaine Harris

    Narrated by Alyssa Bresnahan

    3.5/5

    ()

    About this audiobook

    New York Times bestselling author Charlaine Harris pens darkly inventive paranormal tales, including the immensely popular Sookie Stackhouse novels.

    With Grave Secret, Harris returns to her beloved Harper Connelly series to deliver a thrilling mystery.

    Ever since Harper was struck by lightning, she’s been able to see and hear the last memories of the dead. Going on the road with her stepbrother Tolliver, she uses this unwanted gift to solve crimes and bring clients closure. Now, besides handling a budding romance with Tolliver, Harper is on the trail of a particularly gruesome killer in rural Texas, and she must act quickly before more lives are lost.

    A tale of dark desires and even darker intentions, Harris’ fourth book in the series shows why she’s become a household name in fiction.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherRecorded Books, Inc.
    Release dateOct 27, 2009
    ISBN9781440763373
    Grave Secret
    Author

    Charlaine Harris

    Charlaine Harris is a New York Times bestselling author who has been writing for over thirty years. She was born and raised in the Mississippi River Delta area. She has written four series, and two stand-alone novels, in addition to numerous short stories, novellas, and graphic novels (cowritten with Christopher Golden). Her Sookie Stackhouse books have appeared in twenty-five different languages and on many bestseller lists. They’re also the basis of the HBO series True Blood. Harris now lives in Texas, and when she is not writing her own books, she reads omnivorously. Her house is full of rescue dogs.

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    Reviews for Grave Secret

    3.5/5

    672 ratings57 reviews

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    • 5/5
      This book was a bit slow to start but it did pick up after a while. I hope the author intends to write more in this series. I actually prefer this to her Sookie Stackhouse series which I also loved.
    • 2/5
      Well that seems kind of final. The last chapter practically tied things up in a bow -- a knot, anyway, harhar. (You'll get my silly joke if you've read it.) So we finally know more about Cameron's death, we have closure on that, we see more of the family, and even Manfred's along for the ride. It felt rushed -- particularly the last half of the book. It should have been hard-hitting emotionally, but it really wasn't.It's kinda sad that having really enjoyed the first couple of books, this series is ultimately so disappointing. I wasn't expecting a lot from it, but still. I did enjoy it as light reading, but I kinda hoped I would end up liking it as a whole more than that.
    • 3/5
      For once with Harris mysteries, I didn't guess the "ultimate" killer half way through. A good read for when you're bored, but hardly anything mind boggling.
    • 3/5
      I accidentally read this series out of order so I ended up reading this one last. It was my least favorite out of the four. The series is fun, I like the characters I have to give it an overall three stars. Bonus you get some details about Manfred and Zelda Bernardo in this book if you're a fan of the Midnight Crossing series. The only reason I can't give this four stars, especially this recording in particular is because of the narrator's mouth. I don't know what is going on in her mouth but you can hear every bit of it! You hear her swallow and I don't know what other sounds I was hearing but it's all through this recording, its very distracting and takes away from the story. I heard it some in the first book and not as much in the other two but it was really bad in this one. I can't believe the people who edit these audiobooks don't catch things like that. And I'm surprised nobody else mentioned it and their reviews as far as I can see. Was it just me?
    • 3/5
      At age 15, Harper Connelly was struck by lightning. She survived, but it left her with a bad leg--and the ability to sense the dead. Since then, she and her step-brother Tolliver have traveled the country, solving murders and finding bodies. The closely observed details of their odd life and relationship are the strongest part of the series. Harper and Tolliver are each other's best friends and (as of the third book in the series) lovers. Harris neither ignores nor glamorizes their codependence. Over the years they've worked out systems to keep them sane and healthy (crates of secondhand books in the trunk, daily runs, which chain restaurants are the cheapest and healthiest), but if separated, each is at a loss. And although they just want to make a living, Harper has a strong sense of morality to go with her supernatural power, and so she keeps getting sucked into solving the murders she discovers. The mysteries themselves are always interesting, but also sordid and grim.

      This is the fourth book in the series, and it mostly deals with Harper and Tolliver's twisted family. This book made me realize that Harris is a much more skillful writer than I realized; she'd laid hints throughout the series, and one extra clue is all it takes to make them go off like a chain reaction. Finally, Harper recieves answers--some to questions she didn't even realize she needed to ask.
    • 3/5
      The last of the Harper Connolly novels, we at last learn the truth behind the question of her sister’s death, although this feels somewhat abrupt, almost as though the first 3 books were a setup of Harper’s romantic interest, before the grand reveal. Entertaining enough, I’m glad to have read them.
    • 3/5
      Mostly quick moving with a pretty high body count, if you consider the deaths that take place 8 yrs before the main action, one of which Harper has been called to testify on. Harris characters are, as usual, more 3-D than is too common in paranormal fiction.
    • 3/5
      Grave Secret is an interesting book, yet it feels as if the reader comes into the story after it starts. There are also issues regarding the switching between present and future tense during the story. The good thing of this book is that the action scenes are really good, yet seem rushed.
    • 4/5
      I didn't realise this was part of a series when I started reading it. Reading the previous instalments probably would have helped a bit, but this novel was able to stand alone in its own right. I enjoyed it. Some good plot twists.
    • 4/5
      Grave Secret
      4 Stars

      When Harper and Tolliver travel home to Texas, the secrets of the past come back to haunt them. Tolliver’s father is out of jail and trying to worm his way back into his children’s lives; new evidence in the disappearance of Harper’s sister comes to light and a unexpected grave reading has deadly consequences.

      The plot revolves around two seemingly unrelated mysteries, the murders of a wealthy oil magnet and his young caretaker alongside the case of Cameron Connelly. Although the explanations come as somewhat of a surprise, the twists and turns are very compelling and make perfect sense given the characters and the circumstances.

      Harper and Tolliver’s romance goes from strength to strength and the obvious love, trust and affection between the two is a highlight of the story. Tolliver’s faith in and acceptance of Harper abilities as well as his loyalty to her makes him one of my favorite heroes. Likewise, Harper’s prickly nature and uncompromising love for Tolliver make her particularly endearing.

      All in all, a satisfying conclusion to the series with a great sense of closure but I’m sad to see it come to an end. Looking forward to reading more about Manfred in the Midnight, Texas series and will also listen to the Aurora Teagarden books to get my Charlaine Harris fix.
    • 3/5
      Harper Connelly and her step-brother Tolliver Lane travel around the United States, going wherever Harper's unusual talent for discovering dead bodies takes them. Often, as they discover mysteries no one wants to be revealed, they find themselves in peril, and this book, Volume Four of the series, is no exception. People from the past turn up in Harper and Tolliver's lives, bringing with them lots of bad mojo, as they try to establish themselves in the lives of their little sisters. Mysteries of birth and death are resolved, and there's even a wedding! This book was an enjoyable read, and it kept me turning the pages to find out what happens next.
    • 3/5
      This book, which I assume is the last of this series, was a bit of a disappointment. The plot itself was very slow going, and you spent a lot of time reading about Harper visiting Tolliver in the hospital. Not that much time was spent on the mystery itself. Much more time was spent on the discussion of different relationships, which got a bit boring after a while.

      I had a small problem with the resolution to Cameron’s disappearance; I thought it unrealistic. I was impressed however with how the author intertwined Cameron’s disappearance with their current case.
    • 5/5
      We finally find out what happened to Harper's sister. Her step-father is back in town and some long time issues are resolved. Tolliver and her develop their relationship while the drama unfolds. I believe this is the last book in the series ? If so I will miss Harper, I enjoy her stories.
    • 3/5
      Solid addition to this well-written series.
    • 2/5
      2.5 Stars....

      Harper & Tolliver are now "officially" a couple much to the consternation of their relatives. Harper is hired by Lizzie, the daughter of a wealthy rancher, to find out more about the cause of his death.....but Harper recognizes the men who accompany Lizzie from her past. Tolliver is shot as is the detective who is trying to protect her. Tolliver's druggie father (who was married to Harper's mother) shows up and tries to make amends with Tolliver... More of Harper & Tolliver's past is revealed and the question of Harper's missing sister Cameron is divulged.

      Although this is very well written and the plot contains twists & turns...parts of this were just gruesome (in my opinion). There was quite a bit of violence

      I really like Harper, I like Tolliver, but I find them being a couple just creepy.... I also wasn't really thrilled with all the violence and killing. It just seems to me that Charlaine Harris is writing more & more violent stories (as was seen with the last Sookie novel) and frankly it's beginning to turn me off. I don't mind some violence, after all this is a "Mystery" series, but all the added violence just kills (pun intended) the story for me.


    • 5/5
      Fourth of four novels in the Harper Connelly mystery series. As a result of being struck by lightning as a teenager, Harper has the ability to sense the location of dead people. Harper can’t actually tell who killed murder victims, but she can tell how they died. She now makes a living at this, travelling the country with her protective stepbrother, Tolliver Lang.Travelling back to their childhood home in Texas, Harper and Tolliver's memories of their terrible childhood resurface. They are drawn back into the family secrets as they learn that Tolliver's father is out of jail and Harper finally discovers what happened to her missing sister Cameron so many years before...
    • 3/5
      3.5 stars & the best of this series I've read yet. I dislike Harper. She whines about her past too much. This time, that works out well, though. Lots of twists & turns. Unfortunately, some of the motivations weren't as logical as I would have liked.
    • 4/5
      An easy read. Compared to Skokie Stack house and her acquaintances, Harper Connelly's ability to sense the dead and hear their final moments feels relatively normal. This book is the fourth in a series.
    • 4/5
      I really enjoyed this next installment in the Harper Connelly series. Although some issues wrapped up a bit too quickly and neatly at the end, it was nice to get some closure, in several ways.

      I enjoyed Manfred's character a lot in this book. It was fun to see that he play a key role in helping solve some of the issues at hand with his psychic abilities, some without even being asked. His character has an unassuming, non-nonsense way about him that I like a lot.

    • 4/5
      6/14 - Reading the first two chapters of the Grave Sight graphic novel sent me back to read books 3 & 4. Love Harper andTolliver, and love them together!
    • 4/5
      I'm sorry to see this series end, really I am. I kept marveling, as I read GRAVE SECRET, at how vivid and distinct Harper Connelly's narrative voice is - Charlaine Harris can somehow pack a world of personality into a single, clipped sentence. Harper is an interesting head to get inside of - so fiercely contained on the outside, on the inside she's a simmering pot of cynical insight, deep feeling, and determination.

      As the probably-last book in the series, there's a lot of payoff here. Harper and Tolliver are back in Texas, where they grew up, and back in touch with their family. They visit their two little sisters, who were adopted by sour but solid Iona and Hank. They spend some time with Tolliver's older brother Mark, a boring, dependable sort who's working as a manager at a local JCPenny's. Usually Harper and Tolliver are glad to see Mark, but that's changed now that he's playing host to his - and Tolliver's - father, Matthew Lang. Matthew is a bad man, a bad parent, a drug-dealer and former addict. Matthew is fresh out of prison and while he approaches his children asking for forgiveness, he doesn't much want to earn it.

      All these visits re-open old wounds, caused by Harper and Tolliver's horrible childhood and by Cameron's disappearance. At first Harper is just sifting through her memories of the day that Cameron disappeared, leading the reader through the known facts hour by hour. But eventually Harper has a breakthrough, thanks in part to a job looking at the grave of a wealthy Texas rancher and oil baron, Rich Joyce. She finds some things that upset the Joyce family, like the existence of a baby that may or may not be the issue of Rich Joyce, and may or may not be due a sizable inheritance. From the start, Harper suspected that she'd met the Joyces before - at least a couple of them - but it takes her a while to figure out when and where. It's not a pleasant recollection.

      I agree with other reviewers who have commented that GRAVE SECRET, or at least the conclusion, feels a little rushed. Charlaine Harris is a wonderful, atmospheric writer and for most of the book we get a minute by minute account of Harper's life and work, everything from minutes spent in front of the mirror applying mascara to time spent hiding in terror behind a car while a murderer paces by, hunting his quarry. It's all so vivid and gritty and real. Then, towards the end, a whole lot of things happen all at once, all the mysteries are wrapped up, and bang, it's over. We get bare-bones answers, but not enough satisfying details. We get summaries instead of scenes, wrap-ups instead of crucial moments with Harper and Tolliver. I wish there had been another chapter or two, fleshing out the conclusion.

      I'll miss Harper Connelly, but we're leaving her in a good place.
    • 3/5
      I'm left wondering if this series is going to continue. The big mystery (that of Harper's sister disappearing) is wrapped up here and combining that finality with the last chapter (telling us how everybody ends up) I'm not sure where this could go. I can see the issues the author might have with the series--the three preceding books were all in the same vein. Harper and her brother discover a body/discover a secret, they're kept in town/attacked/disbelieved, they uncover the murderer/truth, then leave town completely vindicated. I would have been fine with the mystery of her sister's death never being solved, so this wrap up seems like a goodbye to the characters and an end overall. I hope I'm wrong, but with the Sookie Stackhouse series doing so well (True Blood) I can see how other books may not get as much attention in the future so it's better to come to an end now.
    • 4/5
      Struck by lightening as a teen, Harper Connelly has parlayed the residual odd talent into a career that makes ends meet for herself and her lover Tolliver Lang. This installment takes the pair on a trip down memory lane, back to Texas to verify a wealthy rancher's cause of death. Combining work with family, the pair pay a visit to their little sisters and lands Harper and Tolliver six foot deep in trouble, as usual. In some families, secrets are as deep as the grave - and in some, keeping them buried is worth killing over.Good to find out what finally happened to Cameron, but I'm looking forward to the next installment for some new ground.
    • 2/5
      The premise of the story is that a woman, Harper, who was injured by lightening is able to obtain information on the last moments of people's lives from their bones. Although this is not realistic, the rest of the story is logical. The author makes the story interesting by telling the events in a mixed family's lives. The focus of the story is around Harper and Tolliver who are siblings by marriage (not blood) and also lovers. The eventual closing of the book makes little sense. It seems to feel like the author got tired of the book and decided to wrap it all up by some rather ridiculous circumstances (I largely speak of the kidnapping and suicide event). I would not recommend the book.
    • 3/5
      I'd say that wraps it up for this series. No, I won't tell you why I'm saying that, or it'll ruin the book for you. The Harper Connelly series hasn't ever been as strong as the Southern Vampire series, in my opinion, but it wasn't too bad in comparison to some of her earlier work, like the Aurora Teagarden and Shakespeare mysteries. She seemed to be experimenting with something darker this time around. I haven't looked at the Amazon rank or any other figures for the series, but it's my gut feeling that they never took off in comparison to the Sookie Stackhouse series, especially since True Blood has gotten so much attention with the television series. I have to wonder what that feels like for Ms. Harris, as this really was a decent concept with some promise, and it doesn't seem to have been given that much of a chance to blossom.In any case, Harper and her brother are prickly characters and not very easy to relate to, and they don't get any easier in this book. They are back in their home town, and we get to now a lot more about their origins this time around. We finally get the whole story about their missing sister, and we meet the two little sisters who live with an aunt and uncle.The portrayal of the devout blue-collar people with their working-man's faith is absolutely smack on. I came from those people, and I could taste the sweet tea and see the linoleum and the absolutely clean Formica dinette, feel the cracked chairs the characters sat on and look around at the carefully kept house. Harris did a great job with that town and those people, so much so that I'm sure she either came from a similar place or has spent plenty of time in one.There isn't as much new magic/plot stuff as there are answers this time. The sexy gypsy boy-almost-man is back, to my delight. Harper's love interest is still a bit of a squick, but I suppose it makes sense for the characters. I have to wonder how many authors would stick with that kind of decision, knowing the backlash they'd get from their readers?If you've read the other Harper Connelly books, read this one for closure. If you haven't, this isn't the place to start!
    • 5/5
      I enjoyed this book. Although it is slow in parts the thing I love about charlaine Harris is that you never know who the killer is until the last minute, even though she dangles them in front of your face the whole way though. Looking forward to the next installments!!!
    • 4/5
      This is the final book in in the Harper Connelly series, and it’s more about Harper’s family than any sort of mystery. Not that Harper’s family isn’t already swallowed by the mystery of her sister Cameron’s disappearance. Harper and Tolliver take their budding (unconventional and unpopular) relationship to Texas to visit their little sisters, but an unfortunate incident means that they are going to be stuck there a while. Is someone after Harper? Or is Tolliver the target?I thought Harris did a good job of wrapping up this series. Questions that have been unanswered for the previous 3 books are finally answered, and in ways that make sense but are also surprising. The only part that seemed a little too convenient was the seemingly unconnected hiring of Harper by some people with a tie to her past. This is one of Harris’s odder series, but I enjoyed it nonetheless. I’m glad she wrote (what I think is) the final book and closed it out.
    • 4/5
      I liked this book a bit more than the middle two in the series, but not as much as book one. I'm glad the series is over though... I had wanted to know how the characters all turned out but I didn't want to read about Harper and Tolliver's relationship anymore - when a main character refers to her lover as her brother about half the time she mentions him, there is clearly some issue in her own head about their relationship, so why would she then get all miffy when others think it's not appropriate either?I actually liked how the Cameron storyline was resolved. I'd suggest reading the books in order though 'cause while each book does stand alone, plot-wise, the characters evolve throughout the series.
    • 4/5
      Good book. I cant believe I cried at the end, but it felt so good to have a "complete" ending to the story. This was a really good series, and I would recommend it to anyone who like mysteries, thrillers, and/or paranormal schtuff. Loved the characters and Im going to miss them.
    • 3/5
      Grave Secret (Harper Connelly, #4)Grave Secret by Charlaine Harris“Grave Secret”, concludes the Harper Connelly series of four books.Harper Connelly’s struggle to come to terms with her past, make the best of her strange talent and find a place for herself in the future holds these four books together.As the books progress, the balance between focusing on the death Harper Connelly is involved with (she has a talent for being able to find the bodies of the dead and then see their final moments) and her personal history (abusive, drug addicted parents, abducted elder sister, relationship with the man she grew up thinking of as her brother but to whom she is not related) shifts in favour of resolving Harper’s own conflicts.The final book has a good who-dunnit plot that gets side-lined by what-happened-to-Harper-and-what-is-she-going-to-do-about-it. I think this was a brave and good decision by Charlaine Harris. Harper’s character is what makes these books memorable and sets them apart from other paranormal detective stories.I won’t give away the plot, but by the end of the series, I had understood that Charlaine Harris is showing us that real bravery is making the most of the hand your are dealt and real love is about being willing to give everything you have for someone else.I keep going back to the lightning bolt that struck Harper in her teens. This gave her her strange power. It created a bond between her and her not-brother. It set her apart, linking her more intimately to the dead than the living. It weakened her physically and drained her emotionally. At one level, that lightning bolt is a metaphor for all the traumatic events that push young girls into being adults before their time. Harper’s story is the story of all those damaged women who choose not to let their circumstances define them, who struggle for dignity and honesty, who crave love but not at any price and who have to come to terms with their past in order to be free to have a future.Throughout the books, Harper has a fantasy of a normal life where she has a house and a garden and doesn’t spend her time on the road. This is a life she has never led and one she does not really understood. It reminds me of the Prozorov sisters endlessly dream of going to Moscow to escape the monotony of provincial life in Chekov’s “Three Sisters”. It is an escape from reality, not an engagement with it.By the fourth book it is clear that what Harper really wants is to be whole. She wants to know what happened to her sister, to know how to be with her not-brother, to be at peace with herself and her family.I think the strength of the Harper Connelly books comes from Harris’ decision to write in the first person. We see this world only through Harper’s eyes and her vision changes and matures book by book. Harris has a gift for dialogue and she has given Harper a distinct and memorable voice.I recommend all four books. Here’s the sequence to read them in: “Grave Sight“, “Grave Surprise“, “An Ice Cold Grave“, “Grave Secret”.