Charlaine Harris Mysteries

by Charlaine Harris

Before Charlaine Harris created Sookie Stackhouse and Harper Connelly, she wowed mystery readers with her first published Sweet and Deadly, “set in a small town on the Mississippi Delta that Harris makes excitingly real” (Publishers Weekly) and A Secret Rage, a “powerful” (Boston Globe) and “extraordinary” (Library Journal) story of a vicious crime and its aftermath. Now both novels are available in this set from the # 1 New York Times bestselling author.
 
Sweet and Deadly
A Secret Rage

Genres: Mystery

414 pages, Kindle Edition

First published September 4, 2012

About the author

Charlaine Harris has been a published writer for over forty years. Her first two books were standalones, followed by a long sabbatical when she was having children. Then she began the Aurora Teagarden book, mysteries featuring a short librarian (eventually adapted for Hallmark movies). The darker Lily Bard books came next, about a house cleaner with a dark past and considerable fighting skills.

Tired of abiding by the mystery rules, Harris wrote a novel about a telepathic barmaid that took at least two years to sell. When the book was published, it turned into a best seller, and DEAD UNTIL DARK and the subsequent Sookie books were adapted in Alan Ball's "True Blood" series. At the same time, Harris began the Harper Connelly books. Harper can find the bones of the dead and see their last minute.

When those two series wound to a close, the next three books were about a mysterious town in Texas, called Midnight.

A change in publisher and editor led to Harris's novels about a female gunslinger in an alternate America, Lizbeth Rose. The Gunnie Rose books concluded with the sixth novel.

She's thinking about what to write next.

Reviews

[Yolanda Sfetsos · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm a HUGE Charlaine Harris fan, so when I found out two of her earliest books were being released as an omnibus I wanted to check them out...

SWEET AND DEADLY

Catherine Linton goes out one morning for a little target practice when she stumbles upon the dead body of a woman hidden inside a rundown shack. She reports the murder and an investigation begins. But Lowfield is a very small town and she knows the dead woman. She also soon realises that whoever is responsible for this murder is probably someone she's known most of her life. Someone with a secret dark enough to continue killing...

I have to admit that while I enjoyed this book overall, it took me a while to get into it. The writing style wasn't as smooth as her other books, and Catherine wasn't as likeable as her other heroines. Maybe it was because Charlaine Harris writes such awesome first-person POVs that this one felt a little, I don't know...dull. It's missing the excitement and intrigue of her other heroines--Sookie Stackhouse, Roe Teagarden, Lily Bard, Harper Connelly--plus the big reveal wasn't as shocking as I hoped.

Even though it's not as memorable as her other characters and doesn't have the charm of the other small towns she's written about, I'm still glad I read it. Besides, I think this was her first published novel. You gotta start somewhere, right? ;)

A SECRET RAGE

Nickie Callahan is a former model living in New York, but when her career seems to be over she decides to move to the college town of Knolls, Tennessee with her best friend, Mimi Houghton. She enrols into college and is determined to eventually pursue her career as a writer. But the quiet town isn't as peaceful as it seems. A college student was raped before Nickie got there, and then the same thing happens to her faculty adviser, Barbara Tucker. Things go from bad to worse when Nickie becomes the next victim and is attacked in her own home. The shocking violation leaves her physically and mentally scarred, frightened, damaged, and full of rage.

This isn't a book for anyone who might be squeamish about confronting the aftermath of rape and what it can do to a person. How it slowly turns Nickie and Barbara from victims, into women bonded by this tragedy and determined to figure out who dared to scar their lives in the most awful way possible.

The story was suspenseful, shrouded in mystery as every man in Knolls becomes a suspect. Nickie and Barbara start crossing names off their lists, and start to realise their attacker is probably someone they see every day.

I really, really enjoyed this book! Nickie was a very likeable character from the very beginning, so when she's attacked and I'd gotten a chance to get to know her, it really hit hard. I felt for her and went through the motions of her recovery. She's a strong character who, in spite of the harsh encounter that will impact her life forever, is determined not to let it stop her life. She continues to study, to go on at her own pace... There's even a spark of romance, which is encouraging to see during a time when her belief in men is at its lowest.

This was an excellent book that'll keep you guessing until the end!

Sweet and Deadly & A Secret Rage turned out to be a great omnibus. The first story wasn't as intriguing as I'd hoped, but the second one certainly made up for it. Being a Charlaine Harris fan, I'm really glad I got the chance to read where her writing journey began. Thanks, Hachette! :)

[Dianne · Rating 1 out of 5]

There are two words that I can use that will describe these two books perfectly:
bleak and depressing.

I can't believe that I paid 10 dollars for what amounts to reprints of very early works (one was Charlaine's very first book and it shows).

I understand via rumor that Charlaine was raped and in "A Secret Rage" it shows -it must have been a very cathartic thing to do for her. But for the reader? Not so much.

When I read I am doing it to disappear from my life for a few hours, to be amused for a time -not to be dragged into someone's attempt at self-healing.

[Dianne · Rating 2 out of 5]

I could not finish this - this is a pair of Ms. Harris's very early works and it really shows. Painful to slog through.

[Marie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I give this book 5 stars, just because it is so well-written and fun to read. I'm normally a non-fiction fan, but how relaxing to read these short novels (2 in one book) that are mini-mysteries keeping you in suspense to the very end.

[Gerald Sessions · Rating 5 out of 5]

2 books both about small towns in the south. One about rape and murder and of course secrets the other about murder suspicion and secrets both fantastic

[Sue Ainslie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent 2 book set. Kept me on the edge of my seat. Loved it

[Kathleen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love all Charlaine Harris' books. She is remarkable writer and able to entger every genre with excellent results.

[Jamie · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you like Charlaine Harris' kind of warped sense of horror, you will like these two stories! One about victims of rape and the other one is a murder mystery.

[Amy Prater]

Loved this author! Met her a couple of years ago and got her authograph. My favorite series, the Aurora Teagarden series is now on Hallmark Channel. I wish I had Hallmark channel!
recommend her books.
Aurora Teagarden is not the timid Librarian that we start out thinking she is...

[Vicki · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love this one. Good story. Good characters.

[Helen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Two stories, one in Charlaines very readable style and themes and the other slightly different. I'd not have picked the second story as her 'voice' and enjoyed this one more.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

You could tell the first story was Charlaine's first published work, but the second was a triumph. A few dated references, but still an enjoyable read.