Summoned to Thirteenth Grave

Summoned to Thirteenth Grave by Darynda Jones
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

After a hundred years, give or take, in featureless dimension with only wraiths for company, Charley is back on planet Earth! In the Sahara Desert, to be exact. But not for long, because the hell dimension she and Reyes accidentally opened in their apartment is spreading. Rapidly. And demons are infecting dozens of innocent humans, sometimes with fatal consequences. Time to gather her pals, both human and supernatural, and figure out a way to close the Shade dimension back up again before it swallows the planet and all of the coffee in the universe. Which would be a catastrophe of decaffeinated proportions.

The last book in the series! Thankfully, Ms. Jones leaves the door wide open for a spin-off series...most likely featuring Beep. Whew!

For readers' advisors: story and character doorways are strong. It's also got a language doorway (humor) for those who enjoy Charley's wise-cracking dialogue and have a high tolerance for profanity, including the "c" word that I personally loathe and wish had been omitted. There are descriptions of violence as demons (and a lion) rip people and ghosts to bits, and there are some steamy sex scenes.

Many many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with a free eGalley copy in exchange for my honest review.

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Fifth Grave Past the Light

Fifth Grave Past the Light by Darynda Jones
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Book #5 picks up a few days after book #4 leaves off. This time Charley is juggling a case involving a cheating husband; her suspicions that her boyfriend, Reyes, might be a serial arsonist; concerns over her sister's nervous new client; and a couple dozen terrified dead blonde women who have taken over her apartment but don't seem to want to communicate with her or cross over. Her friend Garrett is being frustratingly closed-mouthed regarding his time in Hell and his subsequent investigation of all things Reyes. And now Uncle Bob's boss, the chief, has become suspicious about how she solves so many cases so quickly and is snooping around, turning up where he is least expected and most unwanted. What's a grim reaper to do?!

I love these books so much! It's nearly impossible to put them down, and this one is no exception. I craved reading it like Charley craves coffee, and that is saying something. It's very fast-paced, which is great, except then I finished it too quickly and now have to wait (impatiently) for the next one.

I finally figured out who Charley reminds me of: a combination of Janet Evanovich's heroine, Stephanie Plum, and the character of U.S. Marshall Mary Shannon, played by the actress Mary McCormack on the TV show "In Plain Sight." Charley is brash and often crass, independent and yet endearingly vulnerable and empathetic. She gets herself into all sorts of messes because she barges full speed ahead in pursuit of justice and in defense of the defenseless. It's a really good thing that she has supernatural healing abilities and can sometimes stop time or leave her body to act in times of life-and-death emergency--qualities both Ms. Plum and Agent Shannon lack.

For readers' advisors: story doorway is primary, and I definitely would not suggest this series to anyone looking for "clean reads," as the language and sex scenes are not tame.

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Second Grave on the Left

Second Grave on the Left by Darynda Jones

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Wise-cracking grim reaper Charley Davidson is back, and this time she's racing to save both her supernatural boyfriend's corporeal body and her best friend's (regular human) friend. She's not that great of a private investigator, but being able to see and talk to the dead does give her a distinct advantage. Also, she heals freakishly fast, which is a useful skill to have, given that people and demons are hunting her down, trying to kill her.

I devoured this second book just as fast as the first...only now I have to wait until January for the next one! Augh!! Third Grave Dead Ahead is scheduled to come out in January 2012. I will be placing it on hold as soon as the catalog record is available.

For readers' advisors: story and character doorways. There is some sexual content, although less than in the first book.



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First Grave on the Right

First Grave on the Right by Darynda Jones

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


OK, where is the next one?! And why did I wait to read this one? I put it on hold a while ago and then kept suspending my hold because I couldn't remember why I'd put it on hold or where I'd heard about it. (Apparently I'd read an excerpt on Bookbrowse.com.) Eventually I forgot to re-suspend the hold, and the book showed up at my library, so I checked it out with some others and read those first. But by yesterday I needed something to read at lunch and grabbed First Grave on the Right, which grabbed me right back. Could not put it down. Even took it with me when we went to run errands this afternoon.

It's got a sort of Stephanie-Plum-sees-dead-people feel to it. Similar zany, fast-paced style and sense of humor but with more ghosts and steamy supernatural sex scenes. See, Charley Davidson is the grim reaper, but in a nice way--she helps the departed pass through her into the light. Only sometimes they need her to do things for them before they go, like solve their murders, for example. So she helps her Uncle Bob, an Albuquerque police detective, with his case files.

Meanwhile, she's also dealing with an irritating but super-good-looking skiptracer named Garrett Swopes who has the hots for her but who is also having a hard time believing she can see dead people. And then there is Big Bad, the mysterious blurry black shadow who's saved her life several times over the years and keeps appearing at the edges of her vision. Not to mention the fantasy lover who has been visiting her dreams every night for the last month or so and is now starting to appear other places, such as her shower, living room, office, and who may turn out be less a fantasy and more...out of this world.

I'm glad this is the first in a series because I can't wait to find out what happens next.

For readers' advisors: story and character doorways



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