Author: Darynda Jones
Title: Second Grave on the Left
There was a whole row of books by Darynda Jones on the shelf at the library and the titles sounded fun, so I thought I'd give one a try. Of course, my library didn't have a copy of the first one in the series, so I had to start with the second book instead.
Meet Charlotte Davidson, or Charley for short: private investigator, police consultant, and grim reaper. She sees and talks to ghosts when she's not helping them crossover; she's also a portal into heaven for the demons who are apparently after her. Not that she's ever seen a demon. Unless you count Reyes "Rey'aziel" Farrow who happens to be the Son of Satan. He left hell and was born on earth in order to protect Charley, but that doesn't make him any less dangerous. And now there are demons after him. And if Charley doesn't find him soon he might just let his corporeal body die and become the next Anti-Christ. Oh, and she has another case to solve, too. This one involving a missing woman named Mimi whose case is more complicated than it first appeared and might just include murder.
This wasn't a bad read. The whole thing with Charley being a grim reaper was the best part in my opinion. I liked the connection she has with different ghosts, and the bits of back story of what it was like for her growing up as the grim reaper. The mystery involving Mimi was mildly interesting, but the majority of the book focused on Charley's search for Reyes and their relationship--parts of which I liked, parts of which I didn't. And sometimes I felt like Jones was trying too hard to be funny. (Or to make Charley be funny.) But I'd definitely be willing to read a few more of these books just to see what happens to Charley and Reyes next.
Happy Reading!
Don't you hate it when the library doesn't have the first few copies of a series you want to read? (It happens to me several times.) That said, I'm glad the second book wasn't a bad read. This sounds like a fun read. I'm always intrigued with books or films which feature grim reapers.
ReplyDeleteI do hate when you can't get the first book...but it seemed to work to start with the second book, so that's good. :)
DeleteI DNFed the first one as she kept getting molested by a pervy ghost and that broke me a few chapters in! My library is useless for getting decent books in and I haven't been for many years.
ReplyDeleteThat would have made me quit, too! Now I'm sort of glad my library didn't have the first book. :D
DeleteSounds like a fun urban fantasy series. Too bad your library didn’t have the first book.
ReplyDeleteFrom what ChucklestheScot said I didn't miss anything by skipping the first one. :)
DeleteThat stinks the library didn't have book #1. I hate reading things out of order but end up doing it all the time. It sounds like this it was ok to read out of order. Some of them just jump in where they left off and confuse the heck out of me!
ReplyDeleteYeah, this time it worked to read the second one first, and I don't feel like I missed out on any important plot points. So that's good.
DeleteMy library branch never seems to have a whole series either. Ugh. Anyway, this sounds fun! I've seen lots of titles by this author but just have never gotten around to her.
ReplyDeleteDon't you hate that? I often find myself requesting that they buy the third book, or the fifth book, so I can finish the series!
DeleteI like the idea of the grim reaper. There was a Canadian show years ago, Dead Like Me, that had a young woman as a grim reaper. Mandy Patinkin made assignments. :)
ReplyDeleteOoh, that show sounds like fun. I would watch that! :)
DeleteToo bad your library didn't have the first book. How does that happen? I'm only about 3 books behind on this series, I like it and it's funny, but Charlie's recklessness kind of gets on my nerves sometimes. I LOVE Reyes! I do know what you mean about the author trying hard to make Charlie funny. Sometimes it's a bit overboard. Great review, Lark! Hope you enjoy the rest of the books. :)
ReplyDeleteThank you so much! I just checked the third one out of the library. Can't wait to get started on it. :)
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