Charlie Price

Murray has had a tough life. He has no father, and a mother who's been arrested for prostitution, which results in him being bullied at school. His friends are all dead, which is why he spends hours in the cemetery talking to the graves.
Mr. Janochek is the cemetery caretaker. A lot of people would chase Murray away, recognizing that there was something strange about the boy, but Mr. Janochek sees a teen who is lonely.
Pearl is Mr. Janochek's daughter and close to Murray's age, but she's incredibly manipulative.
Gates is a cop who is obsessed with finding the high school girl who went missing a few weeks ago. He's pinning his hopes for information on Robert, a schizophrenic in drug recovery.
A YA paranormal murder mystery, this 2006 book is a little gem and it's a shame it isn't better known.… (more)

I did not expect this book to bring tears to my eyes, but I've seen far too much death come far too soon. More than anything, I wish that I could communicate with the dead as Murray does in Dead Connection.
I thoroughly enjoyed the story. Murray makes for a great character, I really feel for him. His pain and loneliness seeps through the pages as he finds solace in the cemetery, escaping his home life through comforting those who died far too young.
Pearl and Robert, excuse me, Mister Robert Barry Compton also shine with wonderful character development. I found myself rooting for Robert and filled with pride as he started to remember things. Billup and Deputy Gates showed both sides of law-enforcement, the just and the ugly, which was refreshing.
Dead Connection was a novel with a little bit of everything in it; a good mystery, the drama of broken homes, and the coveted fantasy of clairvoyance.… (more)