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!
