In "Second Grave on the Left" by Darynda Jones, Charley Davidson, a part-time private investigator and full-time grim reaper, finds herself in a complex situation involving her missing friend Mimi, her mysterious lover Reyes who is the Son of Satan, and a group of demons trying to use Charley to gain access to heaven. As Charley delves into solving the case of her missing friend while also uncovering more about her powers and purpose, she navigates a world of paranormal activity, emotional journeys, and humorous moments. With a mix of romance, friendships, and supernatural elements, Charley's life becomes increasingly complicated as she faces personal challenges and dangerous adversaries.
The book explores Charley's sarcastic humor, her evolving relationships with Reyes and other characters, and her determination to uncover the truth behind the mysteries she encounters. Through witty banter, intense investigations, and revelations about the supernatural realm, Charley's character is portrayed as brave, flawed, and endearing, making her adventures engaging and entertaining for readers who enjoy a blend of suspense, humor, and supernatural elements in their stories.
From The Publisher:
Charley Davidson, Grim Reaper Extraordinaire, is back in this sexy, suspenseful novel of supernatural shenanigans When Charley is rudely awakened in the middle of the night by her best friend who tells her to get dressed quickly and tosses clothes out of the closet at her, she can't help but wonder what Cookie's up to. Leather scrunch boots with a floral miniskirt? Together? Seriously? Cookie explains that a friend of hers named Mimi disappeared five days earlier and that she just got a text from her setting up a meet at a coffee shop downtown. They show up at the coffee shop, but no Mimi. But Charley finds a message on the bathroom wall. Mimi left a clue, a woman's name. Mimi's husband explains that his wife had been acting strange since she found out an old friend of hers from high school had been found murdered a couple weeks prior. The same woman Mimi had named in her message. Meanwhile, Reyes Alexander Farrow (otherwise
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2 comment(s)
GRIM REAPERS ARE TO DIE FOR.
I just read a sneak peek. Charley & Cookie are hilarious! I'm so anxious to read this one. Less than a month's wait. Yay!
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I just finished, and I can't make up my mind about it. On the one hand, I wasn't bored by it - I read it every chance I had (it has been kind of busy the last 2 days), and I liked the Mimi storyline, so that was all good. But on the other, I feel strung along. We're two books in, and I still feel like I have no idea about Charley's abilities, limitations, role, ... who in holy hell is she? So, okay. Reyes is the son of Satan, as we found out in the last book. He carries on him the key to hell. He elaborates on that a little bit at the end of this book:
apparently, he's like Charley's darker mirror image. Whereas she is a portal to heaven, he's a portal to hell. If the forces of hell got ahold of him - remember, he has essentially run away - they'd control the gate, and could enter our world at whim. Soooooo... what does this mean Charley is? If Reyes is the Antichrist, the son of Satan... is she... the Second Coming, the daughter of God? I hope I haven't lost you all, so please bear with me. Reyes's big revelation in this book is that the two of them are essentially the same - both portals. And connecting some dots... how bright she is, her seemingly limitless superpowers, her role in sending the departed on to heaven... I could see it.
And actually, if something like that is the case, I'm interested. It's a cool storyline. But thus far... I just feel like I don't know
anything. And two books is a pretty large amount of time to invest and still not know anything.
Here's the other thing I am of two minds about. Alright, everyone is going to hate me for this, but I am just not fond of Reyes as her love interest. Don't get me wrong, he's hot for sure. He's got a great bad-boy thing going on. But... he's a bit of an emo douchebag. Eh. He spends this entire book
suicidal
, for crying out loud, and doing this really obnoxious schizophrenic song and dance of "I am dying horribly, being tortured... and btw, you have major superpowers and could kill all the demons" and "Don't find me! Don't even look for me! Don't you dare! I will kill you and everyone else if you do!" WTF Reyes, seriously. He needs to be put on medication, because I am getting whiplash. Other schizophrenic Reyes douchebaggery: he spends the first 40% or so of the book insisting that he's evil, and Charley should stop looking at him with rose-colored glasses... and threatening her friends, saying he has no problem hurting innocent people, etc melodramatic menacing etc. But then when Charley finds out that
he's the Antichrist and was born to bring about The End
, he gets all kinds of offended that she is concerned about it. That she would believe that of him. You can't have it both ways, buddy. You're either some big badass who has no qualms cutting down fields of innocent bystanders and she needs to open her damn eyes, or you are a good guy at heart and are looking for a way to change your destiny. But he, in this book, simultaneously insists that he is both. WTF. >.<
He's an interesting character. The overall story - what he his, what he'll do, what Charley is, what she'll do - is an interesting one. But if you want me to buy him / root for him as a romantic lead, you need to make him more consistent, less emo, and just less of a general bitch. Seriously. Also, what was the "whore" thing? That was so out of left field that it ... it just doesn't even make sense. I don't know what the fuck happened there.
Though to be fair, I don't agree with what Charley did in the end.
Though I of course didn't want him to kill himself - that would kind of kill the interesting story - binding him to his body? That was... waaaaaaay too far. Because in the end, it just isn't her call. Try to persuade him, blackmail him, whatever... but she has no idea, really, what she just did to him. Can he even defend himself anymore? His robe and sword disintegrated. She doesn't get to choose to virtually destroy everything he is. She had no right.
If I were him, I'd never fucking talk to her again. Which is fine. Without him saving her ass, she'll likely be dead 15 pages into book 3 anyway. It sounds like that was pretty much a constant job for him over the course of her life, so she's kind of fucked now.
The stuff with her family... also left me baffled. Why would her dad not tell her?
I get the choice he made. Out of all of them, she is the most capable of defending herself. But WARN her! Fuck! Give her a fucking
chance to prepare and defend herself.
It was a move that was fucking stupid - from a character that we have been lead to believe is very smart about this kind of thing - that I am just completely lost. And the stuff with Gemma... WTF, seriously.
She really never spoke to her or looked at her because they had some fight when she was 12, and Charley screamed at her to never talk to her again? REALLY? And Gemma is a Ph.D-holding psychologist? REALLY?! I can't count the number of times I have told my siblings to never talk to me again (or they have said the same to me). Thank goodness, I guess, that none of the 4 of us is that fucking dumb.
*eyeroll*
I don't know. Thus far, I like it well enough to keep reading, but I am worried that ... I don't know. That it will never pan out to be what it could be. I am feeling preemptively disappointed. Which is maybe unfair, but I don't care. I'll read the third out of morbid curiosity, but if there isn't some real development, I don't know how much longer I'll hang in there.
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