Review: First Grave on the Right – Darynda Jones

Posted 14 May, 2015 by Linda @ (un)Conventional Bookworms in Reviews / 11 Comments


Warning: This book includes mature content such as: sexual content, and/or drug and/or alcohol use, and/or violence.
Review: First Grave on the Right – Darynda JonesFirst Grave on the Right by Darynda Jones
Series: Charley Davidson #1
Published by St. Martin's Press on 1 February 2011
Genres: Adult, Paranormal, Urban Fantasy
Pages: 310
Format: eBook
Source: Gift
|
4 Stars

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?

First Grave on the Right is filled with amazing snark! I loved Charley’s sarcastic humor, and of course, her skills when it came to seeing and talking to ghosts were great, too. The overall story and plot were well done, and I think I’ve found a new heroine I’ll love.

My First Grave on the Right review:

I have been wanting to start the Charley Davidson for a long time, and I was lucky enough to receive First Grave on the Right, and the second book in the series as well from my secret Santa, Sharon @ Sharon’s Booknook. As I said in my little tag-line, I loved the snark, and I also really enjoyed the universe in this story. Of course, Charley being the grim reaper definitely made my crazy little heart happy-dance as well. Aside from her gig as the grim reaper, Charley is also a PI and a consultant for the police, and she sure got herself into a lot of different kinds of trouble!

The interactions between Charley and the other characters were mostly hilarious, even when the situation was anything but! First Grave on the Right started out with Charley waking up in the middle of the night because a dead guy was standing by her bed. He was the first of three ghostly lawyers, all of them killed the same night, who needed her help to find their killer, and to solve two different criminal cases as well. Added to these cases, our very own reaper had to deal with her sexy, nightly visits, possible from the only thing in the universe that actually scared her.

There were so many laugh out loud moments in First Grave on the Right I could have quoted most of the book, but I won’t do that, you should just go ahead and read it yourself if you haven’t already. Written in past tense, switching between first person and third person point of view, always from Charley’s perspective, it was easy to get to know both her and the other characters who were a part of the story. The side characters were really well developed as well, and I can’t wait to get more of the lovely snarkiness that is Charley Davidson.

Some of my favorite First Grave on the Right quotes:

I’d been having the same dream for the past month – the one where a dark stranger materialized out of smoke and shadows to play doctor with me.

Similar to the coherent-thought problem, this was easier said than done. While I normally weighed around 125… ish, for some unexplainable reason, between the hours of partially awake and fully awake, I weighed a solid 470.

The .7 stemmed form my illustrious career as the grim reaper. While it does take up a significant amount of my time, I never profit from that part of my life. So, I’m still undecided as to whether or not I should call it a job.

 

Reading this book contributed to these challenges:

Linda @ (un)Conventional Bookworms

About Linda @ (un)Conventional Bookworms

Linda is an English as foreign language teacher and has a Master's degree in English Language and Literature. She's an avid reader, blogger, compulsive one-clicker and a genre omnivore. Ever since she learnt how to read she has been seen with a book or two in her hands everywhere she goes.

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11 responses to “Review: First Grave on the Right – Darynda Jones

  1. Oh you’ve tried the series? that’s great, I really love it so I’m glad to see you had a good time. I hope it will continue like that.

  2. Too bad we didn’t buddy read this one, Lexxie! It’s been on my desk since we got the ARC at work! Yep, I got a paper copy and *still* haven’t read it! But I’m going to…and soon! I love snark! I’m really excited to meet Charley now. Plus, I sat in on a panel at RT where Darynda talked about Charley and Reyes. 😉

    Bookworm Brandee recently posted: Beyond the Books ~ On Lasik
  3. I actually read the 9th book in the series first! Maybe a mistake, but now I am dying to figure out how she got from First Grave to her situation in Ninth Grave–extra motivation to read the series (I just finished Third Grave). The premise itself is hilarious and she and Cookie are a great team.

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