A Beautiful Corpse by Christi Daugherty

A Beautiful Corpse by Christi Daugherty
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Time take to read - in & out over 1 week (busy week)

Pages - 384

Publisher - Harper Collins

Source - Review Copy

Blurb from Goodreads

It’s a thin line between love and murder…

A murder that shocks a city…
Shots ring out on one of Savannah's most famous streets. A beautiful law student lies dead.

A case full of secrets and lies…
Three men close to the victim are questioned. All of them claim to love her. All of them say they are innocent of her murder.

An investigation that could prove deadly…
As crime reporter Harper McClain unravels a tangled story of obsession and jealousy, the killer focuses on her. He's already killed one woman. Will he kill another?


My Review

So this is book two in a series, you can get away with starting with this one but I would recommend the first. It is a good read but also it does give you a bit more understand why there is so much animosity and grief between McClain and the police. It is covered in the book but obviously not in depth like book one. Anyways back to this one, a young law student/bar maid is murdered and the police have their obvious suspect. With a little digging it isn't as clear cut as it initially seemed, following the story McClain is doing her best but is getting the cold and aggressive shoulder from most of the police. Her previous relationship is still hanging over her and she appears to be the target of unwanted attention. Danger is lurking everywhere for McClain but nothing will get in the way of a good story!

This is one of the few times I found book two actually better than the first, that said I did like book one I just found this one gave me much more. Maybe because I got to know the character(s) in book one and this one has a more personal side as well as murder/investigation. McClain has so much happening and is facing a lot of backlash and snash from what happened in book one. A lot of it unjustly so in my opinion, she is facing obstacle after obstacle and we see a more emotive side to her this time. In book one I thought she was quite harsh in how she went about her job, covering a story but this time I actually felt a bit for her.

I also love her name is McClain, always conjures up images from Die Hard and who doesn't love Die Hard! There are some shady characters in this one and it is a busy wee book, investigation into the murder, interviewing those close to the deceased, McClain's personal/work life woes and everything in between. I am so looking forward to book three, I hope there is a book three, quite invested in some of the characters and want to know what is coming next. Sometimes with books when you are left with an unfinished story line or two (I don't mean a cliffhanger, no spoilers) I usually get annoyed or frustrated, the way things have been done I am just looking forward to what may or may not come next, 4/5 for me this time!

View all my reviews

The Echo Killing by Christi Daugherty

The Echo Killing by Christi Daugherty
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Time taken to read - as and when able over 4 days

Pages - 439

Publisher - Harper Collins

Source - Review copy

Blurb from Goodreads

When a murder echoing a fifteen-year-old cold case rocks the Southern town of Savannah, crime reporter Harper McClain risks everything to find the identity of this calculated killer.

A city of antebellum architecture, picturesque parks, and cobblestone streets, Savannah moves at a graceful pace. But for Harper McClain, the timeless beauty and culture that distinguishes her home’s Southern heritage vanishes during the dark and dangerous nights. She wouldn’t have it any other way. Not even finding her mother brutally murdered in their home when she was twelve has made her love Savannah any less.

Her mother’s killer was never found, and that unsolved murder left Harper with an obsession that drove her to become one of the best crime reporters in the state of Georgia. She spends her nights with the police, searching for criminals. Her latest investigation takes her to the scene of a homicide where the details are hauntingly familiar: a young girl being led from the scene by a detective, a female victim naked and stabbed multiple times in the kitchen, and no traces of any evidence pointing towards a suspect.

Harper has seen all of this before in her own life. The similarities between the murder of Marie Whitney and her own mother’s death lead her to believe they’re both victims of the same killer. At last, she has the chance to find the murderer who’s eluded justice for fifteen years and make sure another little girl isn’t forever haunted by a senseless act of violence―even if it puts Harper in the killer’s cross-hairs…


My Review

Meet Harper McClain, one of the best crime reporters in the business, good relationships with the police (unheard of eh!) and nothing gets in the way of a story. We meet her when there is a shooting and quickly get the scope of her character, hard as nails and putting herself in the middle of danger for a story. When a murder of a house wife in an affluent area goes down, gold for reporters, Harper wants to low down. When she realises how much it mirrors a crime from the past, one with personal links for Harper she risks literally everything to get to the bottom of it.

So, we get an insight into reporters and some of the things they say in regards to the people's stories they cover, ooft! We watch a highly professional individual go through emotional turmoil and recklessness as she stops at nothing to get answers. It is a good paced story and we have a female character who is pretty head strong, forceful but dealing with her own past, personal feelings vs the job, pushing boundaries and really crossing more than a few lines along the way.

I think for book one it sets up some good foundations, we get to know her and her background. Things that matter to her, how far she is willing to go. It was interesting to read a book from the reporters perspective, the books I read are often the police or criminals, not too often I get it fro this angle. It will be interesting to see where the author takes the next book, 3/5 for me this time, this was my first dance with this author and I will be checking out the next book in the series.

View all my reviews