Title: First Grave on the Right (Charley Davidson #1)
Author: Darynda Jones
Format: ebook
Source: NetGalley
From Goodreads: 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?
With scorching-hot tension and high-octane humor, First Grave on the Right is your signpost to paranormal suspense of the highest order.
My Opinion: I've wanted to start this series for a while now but never got around to it, until NetGalley was offering all of the books as read now books prior to the release of the newest one, Summoned to Thirteenth Grave, book #13. Needless to say, I jumped at this opportunity to download the entire series, and started reading First Grave on the Right immediately. I have been hearing for years about how wonderful the series is, and boy was I not let down!
Charley Davidson is a real live grim reaper. She doesn't carry a scythe or wear the long black cape, but she still helps the dead move on. She is the bright light that draws the departed to her so that they can literally pass through her (she's a portal to the afterworld) and move on to the other side. Most of them do, but of course, there are always a few that won't leave because they have unfinished business, sometimes just passing on a message to a loved one, and other times asking her to solve their own murder. Luckily, Charley is an excellent PI, so she uses her talents to help them out. In this book, three people who worked together were all killed on the same night, so they ask Charley for her help finding out who killed them.
This book had so much of everything I love: humor, ghosts, a hotshot reaper, and a mysterious force (I can't tell you what that force is because it would give too much away) that has been around since her birth. I really can't stress the humor enough!! I laughed out loud so many times when I was reading this book! There was a lot of action, as well, but it was critical to the story, and the pacing was spot on.
In summary, I absolutely loved this book and really, really look forward to reading book #2, Second Grave on the Left. I highly recommend this book to anyone who loves a good paranormal read with a whole lot of humor!
I received a copy of this book free of charge from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.
