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.
Release Date: February 1, 2011
St. Martin's Press
Charley Davidson #1
Paranormal Romance/Urban Fantasy
Liza's Review:
I bought First Grave on the Right for my kindle after seeing lots of talk on twitter, many blogs, and one very long conversation with a bookseller in the Elizabethtown, KY B&N store (who says actual bookstores aren’t still a good thing?). I’m glad I went with my gut instinct and downloaded it to my kindle as soon as I walked out of B&N that day (parking lot Wi-Fi doesn’t restrict kindle like some B&N store Wi-Fi does).
Charley Davidson is one of the best characters I’ve ever read about. She is the grim reaper and dead people see her as sparkly. She works as a PI to help dead people who have been murdered find their killers so they can move on. She also has been having some really hot dreams involving Reyes, who she remembers seeing from the very first moment she was born. Charley remembers every single thing that has happened since the day she was born. She can be pretty snarky at times, but she is also super smart and I love smart women in books.
While Charley is helping the police solve the murder of 3 attorneys, she is also trying to figure out who and what Reyes really is. She also has to deal with skip tracer Garrett Swopes, who knows her secret thanks to her Uncle Bob, who gave up her secret after having a few too many beers one night. Uncle Bob is on the police force and Charley uses her talents to help him solve crimes, much as she did for her dad before he retired. Garrett doesn’t know what to do about Charley. I could see he was attracted to her, but didn’t believe she could really see and talk to dead people. Charley’s focus throughout the entire book was really saving Reyes. She knew he had been in her life since she was born and wanted to know who he really was, especially since he didn’t seem to age.
I liked First Grave on the Right when I read it originally. I found myself really loving it on my most recent reading. The humor in this series really is something that started with this very first book and it has kept me coming back for more. I also highly recommend the audiobooks in this series. Lorelei King absolutely brings the characters and the story to life with her narration.
Original Review Rating: 4 Stars (B+)
Updated Review Rating: 4.5 Stars (A)
Q&A with Darynda Jones
How did you come up with Charley?
So, I’m lying in bed one morning, waiting for my turn in the shower, when Charley popped into my head in all her glory. I loved her from the get-go. I will add that I was looking for her. I had just typed The End on my second complete manuscript, a YA titled Death and the Girl Next Door which later sold to my amazing editor along with the Charley books. So, I was craving another project. I knew I wanted it to be adult and paranormal. That was all I had. And then Charley walked in.
What has it been like to planning and writing this series, and how does it feel to be wrapping it up?
I had no clue! I dreamed, of course. We all do that. But for that dream to become a reality…it’s quite surreal. I have the best job in the world. Planning and writing the last two books have been bittersweet. I love writing these books so much, so the fact that it’s coming to an end is a little heartbreaking, but I want to go out with a bang. Like a HUGE one. I hope everyone loves reading them as much as I’ve loved writing them.
Are there any side characters or plots you wish you would have developed more?
Actually, yes. In Fifth Grave Past the Light, I brought in a character named Nicolette Lemay, gave her an insanely cool gift, then never brought her back in again. We see her briefly in Twelfth Grave, but I wish I’d done more with her.
Can you give us a sneak peek into how it all ends? What do you hope readers feel as they reach the last page?
I am very hopeful that readers will feel a sense of happiness, closure and (dare I dream?) euphoria. All I can say is that this book is truly darkest before the dawn. Charley and Reyes have accidentally opened a hell dimension within our own, and they have to figure out how to close it before it takes over the world. But it’s expanding exponentially, and soon there will be nothing left of the world as we know it. But with a little help from Charley's departed mother, one clue leads Charley in the right direction and, hopefully, to the secret to stopping the hell dimension and save all of humanity. Sadly, she only has three days to do it.
What's the next project you're working on?
Right now I am working on a brand new series, a trilogy set in a small town in New Mexico with a sheriff named Sunshine, a missing girl named Olivia, and a murder suspect named Levi. Too bad she is in way over her head, especially since the missing girl is her daughter's best friend and Sunshine has been in love with Levi since she could breathe.
Enter for a chance to win the entire Charley Davidson series by Darynda Jones, an ARC of the epic finale, Summoned to Thirteenth Grave, plus fun swag! Open to the US ONLY. Runs through November 14th.
ABOUT THE BOOK:
Grim Reaper Charley Davidson is back in the final installment of Darynda Jones’ New York Times bestselling paranormal series!
Charley Davidson, Grim Reaper extraordinaire, is pissed. She’s been kicked off the earthly plane for eternity—which is exactly the amount of time it takes to make a person stark, raving mad. But someone’s looking out for her, and she’s allowed to return after a mere hundred years in exile. Is it too much to hope for that not much has changed? Apparently it is. Bummer.
She’s missed her daughter. She’s missed Reyes. She’s missed Cookie and Garrett and Uncle Bob. Now that she’s back on earth, it’s time to put to rest burning questions that need answers. What happened to her mother? How did she really die? Who killed her? And are cupcakes or coffee the best medicine for a broken heart? It all comes to a head in an epic showdown between good and evil in this final smart and hilarious novel.
BUY LINK:
https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781250149411
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
New York Times and USA Today bestselling author DARYNDA JONES won a Golden Heart and a RITA for her manuscript First Grave on the Right. A born storyteller, she grew up spinning tales of dashing damsels and heroes in distress for any unfortunate soul who happened by, annoying man and beast alike. Darynda lives in the Land of Enchantment, also known as New Mexico, with her husband and two beautiful sons, the Mighty, Mighty Jones Boys.
