This was a really enjoyable mystery located in one of my favorite cities in the country! Interesting and believable characters and a story that keeps you guessing until the end with lots of twists and turns and surprises. The main character is likable and believable and I am looking forward to reading more in this series. Which brings me to my only quibble. This is the second in the series and I personally feel that reading the first book is important to understanding a few things brought up in this book. Also, the end isn’t really an “end” so you will need to wait a year or two for a satisfactory finish. Clearly this author has a game plan.
Thank you NetGalley for providing me with an advanced copy for review!

Harper McClain is a feisty reporter in Savannah, Georgia, who works for a newspaper. She covers the crime beat, constantly worried about her future with the paper as layoffs are looming.

She hangs out in a bar called The Library (a great sounding place to all book nerds) where her best friend Bonnie is the bartender. A local law student, Naomi, also works at the bar and she leaves one night and gets murdered down at the River Walk. (The tourist area in town) Harper begins to investigate the murder and gets entangled into a political nightmare as she follows the trail of the killer.

This is the second book of the series, and I recommend reading The Echo Killing first as the storylines overlap. I really have enjoyed this series, as I tend to love all things Savannah (being a Georgia girl myself) and I love the feisty, independent young woman that is the main character.

Harper is one of my favorite new female main characters. I am so upset that it is going to be a while be for the next book in the series comes out. There are so many unanswered questions that make me what to throw something at my laptop. I need to know who is the mystery man and what secrets are being hidden from Harper. What is going to happen to the fierce newspaper reporter next time, and will she ever be truly happy and freed from her past? Thank you NetGalley for allowing me to read and write about this amazing book.

This was very good. Great writing, characters, dialogue and plot. It was the second in a series but I didn’t feel lost as I didn’t read the first. That being said there is a cliff hanger that will be covered in the next installment it appears. Normally things like that make me insane but I liked this one and will continue on so I can wait. There is closure on the plot mystery so don’t let that scare you off this one.

One small bone to pick before I sign off highly recommending this one... the cell phone records? Really?!? I’m no detective but after seeing an occasional CSI or reading a thriller even I know that cell phone records would be subpoenaed, especially after the victims phone went missing. I understand that a phone was necessary to pull this off but access to any phone especially under the circumstances seems more plausible. I wish that had been handled differently. That’s just one small nitpick of a really great story.

Thanks to NetGalley, the author and St. Martin’s Press for a copy in exchange for a review.

Taunt, riveting and sometimes daunting the plot of this one is gritty and deep. I'm looking forward to Harper's next journey (hopefully with Pete)

I started the second Harper McClain novel early this week and promptly stayed up all night to finish it. I then realized my fatal mistake- I'd have to wait until March for any news whatsoever on book #3. This is unacceptable. Harper has drawn me in with her emotional and completely understandable obsession with crimes that go unsolved. Stories that go unfinished.

Savannah is once again beautifully portrayed. The heady, thick air of a late Georgian summer blows through descriptions of Spanish moss and architecture of the Old South. And yet the problems Harper encounters are those of just about any American city. The belief that the boyfriend always did it. A subtle hint of racism. And the omnipresent knowledge that the rich and powerful can usually get away with just about anything.

I honestly don't know what to think about the Carter/ Luke relationship at this point, but I know they have a lot to come in future books. They had a rocky time this go-around, and part of me wonders if it's partially because there might be something Luke knows and Harper doesn't. I'll keep this review theory free, I promise. I haven't even started on the developments in Harper's investigation into her own mother's murder! So very well written, compelling characters and beautiful prose. Loved it!

Very exciting book. Although its fiction, it could be right out of recent headlines. A beautiful girl is shot and her stalker boyfriend is a suspect and for good reason, but he has an airtight alibi. I enjoyed the setting of the book in Savannah, and I liked Harper and her profession as a reporter. Newsprint is a dying business, and she is trying to keep it going. It is a fun read as she solves who shot Naomi. Good characters and a little bit of romance throw in too.

#NetGalley Available March 12, 2019

This is the second book in the Harper McClain series, the first being The Echo Killing. While I haven't read the first book, this one was very easy to pick up on the characters.

Naomi Scott, a law student who worked part-time as a bartender to help make ends meet, is found dead in the heart of an affluent district. Harper McClain, a crime reporter takes this case a little more personal since she knows Naomi.

Though Naomi is found dead in a busy section of town, there are no witnesses. Immediately, the police look to Naomi's boyfriend, even though Naomi's father totally vouches for his innocence, since he can't be located and has a criminal past. The police also consider Naomi's boss and the district attorney's son.

As the investigation progresses both by the police and Harper McClain, bits and parts of the first book, The Echo Killing are included in this book. We have a previous relationship that Harper is dealing with and the feeling that someone is watching her. Someone familiar, but dangerous.

My Thoughts

What Concerned Me: While it was not necessary at all for me to read the earlier book, I think it would have added a bit more to this story.

On the same note, while this is a stand-alone story, it does leave you with all ends not tied up neatly. If that will bother you, just realize you may have to keep reading this series to the end! (Which really wouldn't be a bad thing, since the writing is very good.)

What I Liked Most: For me, this book had some slower places and more exciting places. I would not classify it as a thriller or suspenseful. I would classify it as a good mystery with good characters.

Publisher: St. Martin's Press (March 12, 2019)

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.

The Echo Killing by Christi Daugherty is the first book in the Harper McClain series, A Beautiful Corpse is the second book. I haven't read the first one, but I didn't feel like I was lost while reading A Beautiful Corpse. I really liked the character Harper, she's a great heroin. I'm going to have to pick up the first book to get the backstory of Harper. I love crime thrillers and if you're like me then and a fan of crime dramas, then I highly recommend this book.

#NetGalley
Pub Date 12 Mar 2019

A Beautiful Corpse is a great thriller that will keep you turning the pages. Just when you think you know who the killer is, there is a twist. I will read more books from the author.

This is the first book I have read by this author and I really enjoyed it. It did leave you with a cliff hanger ending so I will have to watch for the next book in this series so I can see who the stalker is

Crime reporter Harper McClain is on the scene when a young law student is murdered in downtown Savannah. There are several suspects, the victim’s boss, her boyfriend and the son of a local D.A. who was her ex. Harper, still recovering from her last story, one that nearly killed her, is looking for answers. These are tough times for news organizations and Harper will have to do something extreme to keep her story and her job viable. No matter what the cost