Gail C.'s Reviews > A Beautiful Corpse

A BEAUTIFUL CORPSE by Christi Daugherty is the second book in a series featuring Harper McClain, crime reporter for the local Savannah newspaper. Naomi, a young woman Harper knows through her best friend Bonnie is shot and killed on River Street. That mystery is the central storyline of this book and is solved within this nove. There is some carry over from the first book where Harper solved a murder and revealed a police officer as being the murderer. This has created great animosity between Harper and the police department and this stress carries through much of the novel. This fractured relationship makes it harder for her to do her job and when she has ideas which may help police solve the murder, their resentment of her makes them less than receptive to her information.

A secondary storyline is Harper still dealing with a break-in at her apartment in the historic district which also apparently took place in the first novel. In this book, she relives much of that stress as it becomes apparent she is now being stalked and the stalker has somehow gained access to her apartment. As this storyline moves forward, the question arises as to the true intentions of the stalker, does he want to harm Harper or does he have concern for her well-being. This storyline progresses, but is not resolved with this book. It is unclear if the issue will be resolved in the next book in the series, however, there is enough connection that if a reader might be best served to begin the series with the first novel and move forward as the story progresses.

There is also a love interest as a minor storyline. In the previous novel, apparently Harper and Luke were an item until Luke dumped Harper. They are now thrown together as he has been promoted to detective and they are both investigating Naomi’s murder. Whether or not they resolve their problems and renew their affair is a question that continues past this novel.

As the book progresses, the reader can experience the heat and humidity of Coastal Georgia as Harper moves around Savannah.. This physical aspects of heat and humidity, along with some occasional references to Spanish moss are the primary pieces of information that reveal the book is placed in Savannah. Not much information regarding the area exists in the book.

Throughout the book, the tension is high. The reader is constantly reminded of the problems between Harper and the police department in addition to feeling her fear at being stalked and trying to figure out what he wants. Once Harper determines who the murderer is, the tension ratchets up as her safety becomes threatened.

Most readers will find it easy to determine the identify of the murderer as more of the book is a “how did the murderer accomplish it” than “who was the murderer”. With strong secondary storylines, many readers will want to continue the series to learn what happens to Harper. It is well written and the characters are well drawn in terms of distinct personalities, etc. If you like books that have a high degree of tension, this may be the series for you.