An Ice Cold Grave (Harper Connelly Mysteries, No. 3)

An Ice Cold Grave is the third book in the Harper Connelly series by American author, Charlaine Harris. Harper’s latest assignment is a law enforcement invitation by Sandra Rockwell, sheriff of Doraville, in Knott County, South Carolina in the middle of winter. The Sheriff is grasping at straws trying to find six boys gone missing over the last five years. Harper finds them all, and two more: a serial killer’s icy graveyard. But before she and Tolliver can depart the town, someone attacks her, landing her in hospital. Psychic Xylda Bernardo and her grandson Manfred (see Grave Surprise) turn up to help, but land in their own hot water. Eventually a serial killer is arrested (but not before another boy dies) so the townspeople can rest easy. Or can they? This instalment features murder , suicide, a lake cottage, power cuts, an ice storm, an underground chamber, quick-thinking neighbours, quite a lot of hospital visits, several suspects, a red herring or two and an exciting climax. Guns, knives and shovels are used as weapons. Harris has created a series with likeable characters and an original plot. The relationship between Harper and Tolliver takes a turn and readers will look forward to the final book in the series, Grave Secret.