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Review: First Grave on the Right (Book #1: Charley Davidson Series) by Darynda Jones
Series: Book #1: Charley Davidson Series
Author: Darynda Jones
Format: Hardcover and eBook, 310 pages
Published: February 1, 2011 by St. Martin’s Press
ISBN: 0312662750
Synopsis:
This whole grim reaper thing should have come with a manual. Or a diagram of some kind. A flow chart would have been nice.
Charley Davidson is a part-time private investigator and full-time grim reaper. Meaning, she sees dead people. Really. And it’s her job to convince them to “go into the light.” But when these very dead people have died under less than ideal circumstances (like murder), sometimes they want Charley to bring the bad guys to justice. Complicating matters are the intensely hot dreams she’s been having about an entity who has been following her all her life…and it turns out he might not be dead after all. In fact, he might be something else entirely. But what does he want with Charley? And why can’t she seem to resist him? And what does she have to lose by giving in?
With scorching-hot tension and high-octane humor, First Grave on the Right is your signpost to paranormal suspense of the highest order.
Source: Purchase
My Rating: 5/5 stars
My Review:
By most standards, Charley Davidson lives a totally weird life. She can see and talk with dead people, they can pass through her to the other side and, should the dead’s death be less than ideal, she can help them right any wrongs or tie up loose ends. Since being the Grim Reaper doesn’t pay the bills, Charley also works as a private investigator and consultant for the police and when the dead can literally tell you who did it, solving crimes is a cinch.
For Charley, seeing the dead is normal (the guy in her apartment is hilarious!) so when three dead lawyers show up, it’s business as usual. With the help of her uncle Bob, a very successful Albuquerque detective, her best friend/receptionist/neighbor Cookie and, the constant pain-in-the-ass though sometimes helpful skiptracer Garrett Swopes, Charley begins to unravel the mystery of the dead lawyers. What the group discovers is a big, huge, ginormous can of scary worms that extend further than anyone could have ever imagined. Intrigued yet??
Now let’s add to the drama of three unsolved and completely crazy murders, shall we? Charley has been having some seriously naughty and very realistic dreams of late and they involve a kid (now a smokin’ hot man!) Charley met once as a kid. Reyes aka “God of Fantasies and All Things Sensual” is making his presence known and Charley can’t figure out how. Believe me when I say, if it’s weird to the Grim Reaper, it’s weird. Continuing on, Charley has a nasty habit of being in the wrong place at the wrong time, some of her undead contacts are behaving in a far weirder manner than normal and, somehow everything, including the murders is all appearing to be tied together.
The Bottom Line: From the moment this book opens, it just doesn’t slow down!! From the ass kicking to the crime solving to the naughty dreams, First Grave on the Right is one fine read. Charley is fantastic and I simply couldn’t wait to see what she would do or SAY next. Her wit and humor are brilliant, her people skills are hit or miss and, her abilities are just cool. The plot is tight and concise with just enough twists and turns to be really good and not convoluted, the characters – both good and bad – are well developed and, the naughty bits are just enough for this genre. In all, I am absolutely ready to dive into the second book in the series, Second Grave on the Left.
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