Cover Image: A Beautiful Corpse

A Beautiful Corpse

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Member Reviews

I am not leaving a review due to the fact that this book did not interest me enough to finish the story.

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I read this a few yeas back and totally forgot to say anything here. I listened to the entire series and enjoyed it.

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A fantastic book by a fantastic author!

A Beautiful Corpse is part of a great series by Christi Daugherty. Her first book in the series, The Echo Killing, is equally good, and I recommend you read it first to enhance your enjoyment of this book. However, you can read any of her books as standalones.

The third book in the series, Revolver Road, is my next one to read, and I fully expect it to be amazing, too.

You can't go wrong with Christi Daugherty!

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Such a great book. Makes for a wonderful read. I can not wait to read more from this author. I love books like this.

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I have read all the books in the Harper McClain series by Christi Daugherty (currently 3) and have enjoyed them all. I just have to mention that all the books have such beautiful covers and that is what drew me to the 1st in the series.

This is the second book in the series that is set in Savannah Georgia (the second thing that drew me to this series). Harper is a crime reporter at the local newspaper. A young law student is killed and Harper starts investigating the story. A secondary storyline to this book is the unfortunate issue that is happening across North America - the demise of local newspapers and Harper is worried that she may be out of a job soon.

Another atmospheric mystery added to this well-written mystery series.

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Christi Daugherty has done it again. This is one of the books that has made me fall in love with Mysteries all over again. This is the second in the series yet in no way do you need to read the first in order to enjoy this one. The writing is impressive and the pace is fast. I was hooked right away and before I knew it, I was finished. If you want to read a book that feels like you are on a thrill ride, this is the book and author for you! What are you waiting for.... go read it NOW!

Thank you to netgalley as well as the author/publisher for allowing me to read this book in exchange for my honest review.

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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.

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**3.5-stars rounded up**

One night as Harper McClain is having a few drinks and visiting with her best friend, Bonnie, a bartender at The Library Bar, she receives a call that there has been a shooting.

As an investigative reporter on Savannah's crime beat, Harper needs to get to that scene and fast.

She's had a couple of drinks by this point, however, so Bonnie insists on driving her. It's closing time anyway and she promises not to get in Harper's way.

Once on scene, Bonnie recognizes the murdered girl as 24-year old, Naomi Scott, a waitress at The Library Bar. In fact, Naomi had been working that very night, having just left the bar for home around an hour before.

Reflecting back on it, they realize, Naomi had seemed a bit frazzled right before she left, but why?

The police believe the perpetrator to be Naomi's boyfriend, Wilson Shepherd, but both Bonnie and Harper, who know the young man, don't like him for the crime.

Harper follows other leads that send her down some dark roads against some very powerful people.

With her signature style, Harper doesn't give up. She is determined to get to the bottom of the case and see justice for Naomi and her family.

This is the second installment to the Harper McClain mystery series. While I wasn't as engaged with this story as I was with the first book, this was still really strong and enjoyable to read.

One of the things I enjoyed so much about the first book was learning about Harper's past and the trauma that really shaped the course of her life. There wasn't as much of her backstory in this one and I kind of missed that.

I love Harper as a character. I feel like her job as a crime reporter is a great way to frame a mystery story. I like her interactions with the local police and how that dynamic plays out.

Additionally, this one had a really intriguing ending that set it up perfectly for the third book.

I believe in the next book, we are going to be learning a lot more about Harper's mother and I'm so ready!

Overall, this is a great mystery series with a strong female protagonist who needs no one to save her. It's the perfect time to jump in on the series as well, with the third book releasing next Tuesday, March 10th!!!

Thank you so much to the publisher, Minotaur Books, for providing me with a copy to read and review. My apologies for taking so long, it was definitely worth the wait for me. Looking forward to continuing on Harper's journey!

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I loved this book so much more than I thought I would! It had me on the edge of my seat the whole time. I could not put this book down! A great mystery that left me completely captivated!

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This book is an example of why I love mysteries. If you haven't read this book what have you been doing with your life? Go read it now!

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One of my new favorite books! This author has such a way with words the pages flew by in no time! I can’t wait to see the next work by this author! This was such a joy to read!

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This second book in the Harper McClain series can definitely be read as a stand alone. I love that i didn't need to read the first book in order to understand this one.

I love that Christi is able to set an atmospheric scene. I felt like I was in Savannah with all the Spanish Moss.

This is a fast paced thriller with Harper McClain as your main protagonist. She is real to the reader. I really like her. In reading this book I will go back and read the first novel because I like Harper so much. Cheers to Christi for creating such a likable character and such an interesting story!

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This was ok. Decent storyline and some characters I liked, but Harper was not my cup of tea. It was really obvious who the bad guy was. I was actually much more interested in the storyline about the mystery stranger and Harper's mother.

I didn't realize this was the second in a series. I may need to go back and read the first one to see if that changes my view on this one.

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When a women Harper does everything she can as a crime reporter to help uncover the truth of who was behind it especially since its someone Harper knows. There are three suspects the boyfriend, her boss, or a well respected district Attorneys son. Each have some type of sketchy pasts or connections that can cover the truth. Harper has to work hard and fast because layoffs at her job are making things more stressful and solving this case can help her out.

It took me a while to read this book but when I did I just couldn't put it down. I loved reading romantic suspense, mystery thriller types. This book turns a bit unexpected when I found out while deep into this book is wasn't a romance and it was a book two. So I'd maybe recommend readers to check out the previous book before getting to this but I will admit it did a good job as a standalone but I think I would've appreciated the book more if I got to know more of what happened in the previous book. But with that being said this book did do a good job catching me up with brief talk about what happened in the past but it would've been nice if I had checked out the other book might even go back and check it out when I get a chance because I really enjoyed this book.

As for this book I really enjoyed it. I loved Harpers character and seeing the lengths she was going though to help out with the case. She really trusted her gut instincts and its helped her plenty of times. I thought that this book was well written and easy to fall into making the readers want to stick around and see more of what it had to offer. I loved seeing more into the case as she came across clues and how she pieced things together. It was just a pretty great mystery thriller book I really enjoyed it.

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Summary from Goodreads:

"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 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…"

My Thoughts:

Let me start off by saying that I truly think you should read the first book in this series (An Echo Killing) first to get the full reading experience. And secondly, let me just tell you how much I loved this book! Wow! I thought that the first book was a really solid beginning to this mystery series, and actually it came pretty darn close to hitting my top reads list for last year. I've been waiting to get my hands on this second book every since and it was completely worth the wait! This book is even better than that first book which should tell you exactly how much I enjoyed it. I'm going to be careful to try and not share any spoilers from that first book. This book picks up not too far long after the first book and there is a lot of stuff that carries over. Things I can't share without spoiling but one of those things is a pretty big storyline itself (and just to be clear the first book doesn't end abruptly or anything like that and has a solid ending). But these are the exact reasons why I think a reader would want to read that book first just to get a full understanding of everything that has gone on and could be now. Anyways, the suspense and mystery pick up right from the beginning with this one. It has this creepy stalker vibe going for it that really amped up the tension for me as the reader. I was constantly trying to figure out what was going on and who was behind it all. There is all of these other things in play as well because there are possible layoffs going on in the newspaper which has Harper worried about her job while she is trying to also investigate Naomi Scott's recent murder. Everything just added altogether beautifully and in a way where I couldn't put this book down. I hit a point with this book where I just knew that I had to finish it no matter how late it meant I was staying up - I needed to see how everything was going to end! And let me vaguely tell you about that ending...wow! I'm seriously, seriously pining now for the third book. I have no idea what is going to happen next for Harper but I will be there as soon as that book releases to see for myself! This is seriously one of the best new mystery series that I have found and I am so excited about it!

Overall, I've gushed this entire review so I'm guessing that you can tell I loved this book! It was everything that I look for in a mystery series without me even knowing it. I am so glad that I didn't wait to read this one. Sometimes when I really like a first book in a series, I'm hesitant to pick up the second one in case it doesn't live up to the first. This book was even better then that first book so I needn't have worried. What else is there really to say at this point? I highly, highly recommend both of these books! I'm happy to have found another favorite author to follow at this point!

Bottom Line: This series is fast becoming a favorite of mine after two really great reads!

Disclosure: I received a copy of this book thanks to the publisher, thoughts are my own.

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I have not read Christi's previous book, but this one was fantastic. I loved the location chosen for the book and the obsession and betrayal portrayed throughout. A solid read!

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Harper McClain, a crime reporter for the Savannah Daily News, is hanging out with her friend Bonnie when she gets a call about a murder. Reaching the scene she realizes that the murdered woman is Naomi Scott who works with Bonnie. The police believe that Naomi’s boyfriend is guilty but Harper feels they are pursuing the wrong man. She is pretty sure that a suspect with a powerful family connections might have a hand in Naomi’s murder and to top all of this off there might be somebody stalking Harper
A Beautiful Corpse is the second book in Harper McClain series and though can be read as a stand alone the plot of the first book is revealed in the beginning of this book.A strong female protagonist and a story with lots of twists & turns will keep you hooked till he end.The only problem was that this book kind of ends in a cliffhanger and so cannot wait to read the next in the series.
I would like to thank St. Martin’s Press & NetGalley for providing an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest and fair review.

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I have voluntarily read and reviewed a copy of this title given to me via NetGalley. This book was just amazing. I just lost myself in this story and didn’t want it to end. It was really well written and just drew in you into these characters lives. I look forward to seeing what’s next from this author.

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I wanted to love this book. I enjoy a good mystery from time to time. Just look at the cover. It's beautiful, isn't it? I tried so hard to get into this book. I probably stopped and started nearly a dozen times. I hate having to DNF ARCs.

Over the last year or so, I've learned to be pretty picky about what I read which means I only DNF if there's content I didn't expect.

So, what put me off this book? It's not a romance which means the consent issues that usually put me off a book didn't come into play here.

The writing was good, I enjoyed the authors' voice, the book was adequately proofread, spell checked and formatted.

The part of the book that bothered me was the way the police were portrayed. They're quite off-putting, power hungry, maybe even corrupt and absolutely vilified. I found myself quite confused regarding the main character was as a former police officer/ whistleblower/ crime reporter. It just didn't fit for me.

I found myself irrationally angry and slamming my kindle shut every time there was a scene with the police in it. As much potential as the story had, I just couldn't bring myself to keep reading it.

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I didn't want this book to end! A Beautiful Corpse not only takes place in my favorite city, but is also a great thriller. I didn't want to put this book down. Although this is the second book in a series, I feel it definitely can be read as a standalone book. I will be picking up the first book now as I want to read more! I was reading as fast as my eyes would allow. Although there are two story lines in one, neither detracted anything from the other. A Beautiful Corpse was well written and very unnerving.

Harper is a journalist who gets called in to cover the murder of a young woman, Naomi. Harper knows Naomi and works hard on getting her case solved, even when the suspects seem so unlikely. As Harper delves deeper into Naomi's case, someone is stalking her. Her apartment is broken into and this person keeps leaving her cryptic clues. She must help solve Naomi's murder fast as she feels her life is in danger as well.

Thank you Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for this ARC.

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