A wonderful series. Harper Connelly is not your usual kick ass heroine. She is quieter and more vulnerable. Has had lots of knocks in life as a child and has now come to rely heavily on her older stepbrother Tolliver, who saved her life after she was hit by lightning by giving her CPR. The lightning strike triggered her paranormal abilities. She is able to find dead bodies and identify the cause of death accurately. Tolliver and she are both products of parental neglect and the family were broken up by social workers when Cameron, one of her sisters disappeared when Harper was 17. For several years now the two have been on the road travelling, operating a business to find and identify dead bodies for relatives. This often puts them in danger if the cause of death is murder. The relationship between Harper and Tolliver is evolving, both feeling the need now to settle down, buy a house and lay down roots. Their emotional dependence on each other has blossomed into love and attraction, at least on Harper's side. ( We don't know yet how Tolliver feels but he is very protective of her. Hopefully this will be revealed in An Ice Cold Grave, the third book in the series coming soon.) I love the way Harper and Tolliver are so much in tune mentally, and their loyalty to each other is absolute. Harper is a very realistic, perceptive person and she carries the book. The feel of this series is very different from the Sookie series in a more subdued, reflective way which is equally if not more so, enthralling. People who have not discovered this series, you don't know what you're missing. It's one of my all time favourites.