Hired to find a boy gene missing in Doraville, North Carolina, Harper Connelly and her brother Tolliver head there, only to discover that the boy was the only one left of several who had disappeared over the previous five years. All of them teenagers. All unlikely runaways.
All calling for Harper.
Harper soon finds them eight victims, buried in the half-frozen ground, all come to an unspeakable end. Afterward, what she most wants to do is collect her fee and get out of town ahead of the media storm that's soon to descend. But when she's attacked and prevented from leaving, she reluctantly becomes a part of the investigation as she learns more than she cares to about the dark mysteries and long-hidden secrets of Doraville knowledge that makes her the next person likely to rest in an ice-cold grave."
If Grave Surprise was my least favorite, An Ice Cold Grave had to be my next favorite installment. Not only did it take place in my home state of North Carolina, but it scared me silly. An Ice Cold Grave had the most intense mystery and setting of the entire series: An ice storm in the mountains with a serial killer targeting children. {shiver}
I don’t know if I wouldn’t necessarily call this horror, but it was definitely spooky.
To offset some of the intensity, Harris granted a larger role for the Bernardo’s. Manfred Bernardo was already familiar to me as the main character in the Midnight, Texas series, which is set after this series ends. I unknowingly read that series before this one, but it did not impact my understanding of either. Actually, I was delighted by the crossover. I guess you could technically consider the Midnight, Texas series to be a spin off of this one. It was great fun meeting Zilda. She is referenced in the Midnight, Texas series, but does not appear in it. I learned a lot more about her background and zany personality in An Ice Cold Grave and also met her daughter, Manfred’s mother. The Bernardo family is so fun, I’m glad Manfred got his own series.
Reading updates
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Started reading
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18 July, 2018:
Finished reading
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18 July, 2018:
Reviewed