From Christi Daugherty, author of The Echo Killing, comes another pulse-pounding suspenseful thriller featuring crime reporter Harper McClain. For a woman, being killed by someone who claims to love her is the most ordinary murder of all. With its antebellum houses and ancient oak trees draped in a veil of Spanish moss, Savannah’s graceful downtown is famous around the world. When a woman is … around the world. When a woman is killed in the heart of that affluent district, the shock is felt throughout the city. But for crime reporter Harper McClain, this story is personal. The corpse has a familiar face.
Only twenty-four years old, Naomi Scott was just getting started. A law student, tending bar to make ends meet, she wanted to change the world. Instead, her life ended in the dead of night at the hands of an unseen gunman. There are no witnesses to the crime. The police have three suspects: Scott’s boyfriend, who has a criminal past he claims he’s put behind him, her boss, who stalked another young bartender two years ago, and the district attorney’s son, who Naomi dated until their relationship ended in acrimony. All three men claim to love her. Could one of them be her killer?
With the whole city demanding answers, Harper unravels a tangled story of obsession and jealousy. But the pressures on her go beyond the murder. The newspaper is facing more layoffs. Her boss fears both their jobs are on the line. And Harper begins to realize that someone is watching her every move. Someone familiar and very dangerous.
Someone who told her to run before it’s too late…
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This is all I want in a modern thriller… a smart, compelling read that I wish I’d written myself.
A BEAUTIFUL CORPSE by Christi Daugherty hooked me from the first page. I loved the characters, especially the heroine, Harper McClain, a crime reporter. She’s young, smart, and savvy, and her best friend, Bonnie, is adorable, sweet, and always there for Harper.
When a waitress who works at the bar with Bonnie is killed, Harper is assigned to cover the story. Everyone, including Harper, believes the boyfriend did it, but when the police let him go for lack of evidence, Harper starts digging for a new suspect and discovers the real killer comes from one of the wealthiest families in Savanna.
Getting information is an uphill battle for Harper because the Savanna police department has shut her out after she brought to light that one of their own has committed murder. And it was Harper’s testimony that sent him to prison for life. But Harper never gives up no matter how much grief the police give her. She always fights for justice for the victims and their families.
Even though it’s obvious who the killer was early on, it’s still a page turner because the killer had an airtight alibi. I had to keep reading to find out if Harper would be able to unravel the mystery and bring the killer to justice.
The only thing I’d like to have seen more of was her on again/off again love interest, Luke. The attraction between them was intense but brief. A terrific read.
Another great Harper McClain mystery by Christi Daugherty. A Beautiful Corpse is the second book in the series. Although this could be read as a standalone there are many references to book one as well as an underlying mystery of who killed Harper’s mother when she was just twelve years old so I would recommend also reading the first book The Echo Killing.
Harper McClain is a crime reporter for a newspaper in Savannah, Georgia. She is covering the murder of a young law student named Naomi Scott. There are three suspects that stand out but what the police believe and what Harper finds while investigating isn’t matching up. Could it be because one of the suspects is the son of a prominent district attorney?
The pace of the mystery in this book seemed a little slower than the first book but overall this is another great read. I read so many police procedurals that reading one from the perspective of an investigative reporter is a welcomed change. I love Harper McClain…she is tough and gritty and a believable character. With this book there are also two mysteries in one. Each of the first two books continue to have the underlying mystery of who killed Harper’s mom.
The Beautiful Corpse is another well-written book by this highly talented author. I would recommend this series to those who love crime fiction mysteries. I can’t wait for the next book to come out. Thanks so much to the author and Minotaur Books for sending me a copy to review. I’m giving this one 4 stars.
A Beautiful Corpse can be read alone if you have not picked up The Echo Killing. The incidents that occurred in the first installment are summarized in A Beautiful Corpse. Harper McClain is a dedicated crime reporter who was mentored by Chief Detective Robert Smith. It was a blow when she learned he killed someone. The police now consider her a traitor and Harper is cut off from sources inside the Savannah PD. Naomi Scott is murdered on River Street with no eyewitnesses. The police focus on the boyfriend despite Jerrod Scott’s objections. Harper pursues another lead which could have deadly consequences for her career if she is wrong. In addition, someone has broken into her apartment again despite the alarm system. Then Harper feels like someone is following her. Harper’s boyfriend, Luke Walker broke up with after the Scott case, but they are still attracted to each other (trust issues). It was interesting following a mystery from a reporter’s perspective. Harper is dedicated (dogged determination) to uncovering the truth. The writing is descriptive and extremely detailed (a little too much for my tastes). Her narratives allowed me to visualize Savannah. I did find the pace to be on the slow side. For this type of story, the pacing needed to be livelier. The mystery was appealing in the beginning. The guilty party was soon glaringly obvious which took away from the mysteries appeal (I wanted more intrigue, twists). I felt the ending was too long and drawn out. There is suspense in wondering who is following Harper and what is the person’s motive. However, we do not get any answers in A Beautiful Corpse. Harper has not made any progress into identifying her mother’s killer. This storyline plays out in the background and remains unresolved. A Beautiful Corpse does contain violence, intimate relations and foul language. A Beautiful Corpse has some interesting components, but it was missing something that would take it to the next level.
A Beautiful Corpse was a fantastic follow up to The Echo Killing that has Harper investigating a murder while dealing with the fallout of the first book.
Very little shocks crime reporter Harper McClain these days. But when she heads to the scene of a young woman’s murder, Harper is shocked to discover she knows the victim. Law student Naomi Scott was just getting started in life, tending bar to makes ends meet. Gunned down with no witnesses to the crime and three potential suspects, the police have their work cut out for them if they hope to find her killer. As Harper digs into Naomi’s life, it quickly becomes clear someone wants Harper to stop looking and they’re willing to do anything to get what they want.
Harper continues to be an amazing character who is fantastic at her job. The author’s background as a crime reporter definitely helped Harper and her work feel realistic. Harper’s research capabilities and quick thinking once again assist her during her investigation. She continues to be tenacious when she finds a lead she considers promising, even when others tell her to drop it. After the events of The Echo Killing, Harper is on the outs with the Savannah cops with most refusing to assist her and others being outright hostile towards her. However, Harper refuses to let it hinder her work and when things escalate she has no problem demanding better treatment.
Naomi’s murder proved to be much more complex than initially presented. There are inconsistencies in the narrative the cops are pushing which makes Harper even more determined to find out what really happened. She once again teams up with fellow reporter David to investigate and together the pair are able to find a suspect with powerful connections, the district attorney’s son, that the cops refuse to look at further. The politics of dealing with a powerful family intrude on Harper’s articles at the paper with her requiring more people to sign off on her work than she’s used to. The plot took several turns I didn’t expect and overall I was happy with the direction things went. The ending is well done and there are some interesting developments for Harper on a personal level that I’m curious to see how they’ll affect things going forward.
Overall I really enjoyed A Beautiful Corpse and I’m looking forward to reading the next book in the series, Revolver Road, soon. I highly recommend this book if you’re looking for a great mystery thriller series.
**I received an advance copy of this book from Netgalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.**
Wow, what a great book. I was engrossed in this book from the beginning. I had to find out how it ends. Luckily there is another book in the series and it is available at the library.
A solid 4 stars.
This is book 2 in the series, but There was enough information about the events in book 1 that it worked fine for me. Harper McClain is the crime reporter for the Savannah Daily News. She goes the scene of a murder with her friend Bonnie, a bartender at the Library Bar. The murdered woman is the other afternoon shift bartender, Naomi Scott. Harper wants to solve the case, because she feels the police are pursuing the wrong man. She identifies another suspect Peyton Anderson, son of the local District Attorney. The police tell her that Peyton has a rock solid alibi, but won’t reveal the details. How she solves the murder of Naomi makes for an exciting mystery/thriller
One quote:
Heat–“When she stepped out of the newspaper office, the sun was fierce. Humidity hung so thick it left a white haze in the air, giving the gold;d dome of the City an oddly electric shimmer in the distance.
August was always brutal, but this year it seemed even worse than usual. It had been over 100 degrees for two weeks .”
Thanks to Harper Collins UK for sending me this eARC through NetGalley
Harper McClain, Christi Daugherty’s main character in her mystery series, stumbles upon a murder while working the cops beat at a Savannah newspaper in her first novel, “The Echo Killing.” The second book in the series, “A Beautiful Corpse,” came out in March, following McClain during the fallout from that murder and entering a new mystery, that of a bartender found killed in the heart of Savannah’s historic district. McClain knows the woman killed, which makes the crime more than a front-page story, and the bartender works at a lounge with her best friend, Bonnie. There are no witnesses, so piecing together the story — from the suspect’s boyfriend with a criminal past, the bar’s owner known for stalking women and the district attorney’s son — will require the diligence and intelligence of a top-notch reporter, especially since she has burned some bridges with the police.
Daugherty knows how newspapers and police work because she’s been there, covering murders since she was 22. She has worked as a journalist in Savannah, Baton Rouge and New Orleans. But now, she turns to mysteries and thrillers, including the young adult “Night School” novels under the pen name of C.J. Daughtery. Plan a long night for this novel. The carefully paced “A Beautiful Corpse” will keep you guessing and pulling for McClain all the way until the end.
A Beautiful Corpse by Christi Daugherty this was a very well written 2nd book in the series but does stand on its own. Set in beautiful Savannah, Georgia, where the heat in the summer does tend to bring out the worst in some people! Harper is busy trying to chase down the leads from the biggest story of her life, avoid being fired, work through feelings for Luke her ex boyfriend and if all that isn’t enough she also finds out someone has been breaking into her house and she feels like she has eyes on her all the time and now to top it all off the man who she believes is the killer now has his eyes turned on her! Thank you Netgalley and St. Martin’s Press for allowing me to read this ARC book and give my opinion. Great read, fast paced and best of all….there’s a 3rd book coming cannot wait!!
A Beautiful Corpse is amazing. The thriller story with the police aspect and the reporter aspect mixed together pulled me from the first page making it so I never wanted to stop reading. I love that Harper knew Naomi, that she was on outs with the police, and that she was so persistent in her need to know what happen that she didn’t let any of that slow her down. She took the fact that she knew Naomi to push her to solve the crime. The fact that the cops were blackballing all her inquiries made her stand up for herself and demand fair treatment. Harper went beyond what a reporter should do, pushed where no one else was pushing, and didn’t let the fact that the killer was still out there deter her from following the facts as she learned them.
I have not read the first book in this series and while this book is a standalone, I feel like I should go back and read it. There are characters that I’d love to know the history of, relationships that I want to know how they started, and storylines that I feel I would have enjoyed more knowing their backstories.
I will be looking for more from Christi Daugherty and her Harper McClain series. The storyline flows perfectly, the characters are strong and realistic, and the mysteries are fun to try to solve.
This second Harper McClain novel starts with a bang and doesn’t let up. There’s a lot going on in this one with some of it being new and some trickling over from the first book. Harper’s determination shines through in spite of her less than stellar relationship with the police department, and her suspect this time doesn’t do anything to repair that relationship. While we do get a satisfactory conclusion, there are still some unanswered questions to watch for in the next addition to the series. I would recommend reading the books in order to get Harper’s backstory along with everything that led to her problems with the police department. All in all, this one is a solid addition to the series and the genre.
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.
Shots ring out on one of Savannah’s most famous streets. A beautiful law student lies dead.
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. As crime reporter Harper McClain unravels a tangled story of obsession and jealousy, the killer focuses on her.
This is the second book in the series, it could be read on its own but it does give spoilers for the first book so I’d recommend reading in order. Once again a well written book with very good characters & a well paced plot. It drew me in from the start & held my attention all the way through & I look forward to more in the series
Sometimes reporting the truth tends to make you a pariah rather than a hero, even when the truth and its wickedness is very important for everyone to know. Now add to that being a news reporter, the hero so to speak. The crime buster. Except nobody else wants to talk to you anymore; not even a cop; not even your so-called boyfriend. You’re the hero bad guy all at once. Would you stay in the same line of work? Harper has, and she is one tough cookie. This is a fast-paced, thriller in which Harper McClain is a news reporter. She doesn’t just report but sometimes becomes the news herself without any intention.
Each character sort of has his or her own little scene with Harper in this book. It is never confusing. It’s just that there are some very interesting and well-developed characters in this story and each one seems to have his or her own interaction with Harper. Sort of as if in an office where everyone has their own cubicle and interacts with each other and yet never really interferes with one another. I’m making this sound bad and I don’t mean to. Each interaction between a character and Harper seems to be up close and personal; never shared. I think this feeling comes from the one-person narration or single POV from Harper. None of it bothered me. None of it was difficult to keep straight.
This is Book 2 in the “Harper McClain Mystery” series. No question this is a stand-alone book, but I sure wish I’d read Book 1. I couldn’t put this one down. I read page after page as fast as I could, and I hope there will be more.