Beyond Strange New Words

It has been a long time since I finished the series, and I forgot many details, so I decided to simply review the final three books together. Besides, I would be only repeating the same things if I reviewed each book on its own.

What I enjoyed the most about this series were definitely Harper’s cases. From the strangely reappeared body of Tabitha Morgenstern in Grave Surprise, the serial killer in An Ice Cold Grave(which was both the creepiest and the one that made me empathise with Harper’s predicaments the most), and finally to the mystery surrounding the disappearance of Harper’s sister Cameron in Grave Secret, they were full of suspense and their outcomes were unpredictable to the very end.

I liked Harper well enough throughout the series. However, I didn’t much care about Tolliver, who always seemed just as her extension. Even the language used suggests that, since Harper, the first person POV narrator, uses a lot of plural, not only with regard to actions (which makes sense, as they do most things together) but also when describing their emotions and even thoughts, thus “they” like this or that, “they” feel, etc.

Their relationship taking a not really unexpected turn does not do any favours to Tolliver’s character, as he remains uninteresting and personality lacking. If anything, he becomes annoying as he pouts because people only see him as Harper’s sidekick, which hurts his manly feelings.

Nevertheless, I liked the entire series. The books were fast and entertaining reads, and the stories were captivating so much so that I often couldn’t put the book down because I had to know what happened next.

RECOMMENDATION: If you like crime and mystery with a bit of a supernatural element, this series might be great for you.

This review was originally published on my book blog.