Eighth Grave After Dark (Charley Davidson Book 8) by Darynda Jones

4.5 Stars

So many answers to so many problems in this book!  The last book didn’t quite feel complete, but this book more than makes up for it.  Of course, by the end we have a whole other set of problems for Charley. 

In this book, Reyes and Charley are married and living in a converted convent.  She is 8-9 months pregnant and the book only spans a few days.  Her best friend, Cookie and her Uncle Ubie are getting married.  The Hell Hounds are circling the convent grounds so Charley can’t leave or they will rip her to shreds.  She is secretly working on trying to solve her father’s murder and also has a PI locating Reyes’s parents even though he asked her not to.  Then Agent Carson asks for her help in a case of a missing girl which is more personal than the previous cases that Charley helped with.   

This is a pretty short review because I can’t even say most of the storyline because that would give away too much. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and look forward to the next one.     

Fifth Grave Past the Light by Darynda Jones (Charley Davidson #5)

 5 Stars

Obviously, as the name alludes, this is the fifth book in this series.  I am O-B-S-E-S-S-E-D!  It is awesome and funny and we learn so much in this book in one scene my mind is still reeling.

As always, Charley is funny and makes multitasking look easy.  She has an apartment full of dead blonde women who are scared out of their minds and won’t talk to her.  The arsonist is still on the loose and Charley still thinks it is Reyes.  One of her cases seems open and shut, but as usual comes back to haunt her (not literally).  Angel’s mom suspects something and wants answers and Garrett is hiding something. 

I loved Reyes in this book more than in any other book.  He opens up a bit more each time and we learn more about Charley’s heritage as a grim reaper.

That is all I am going to say because I don’t think I will say anything that 397 other people haven’t already said in their reviews…but it is five stars so I need to put my 2 cents out there.      

Fourth Grave Beneath My Feet by Darynda Jones (Charley Davidson #4)

5 Stars

I have given every book in this series 5 stars!  Each book is awesome and gets awesomer (it’s a word).  As always, Charley is appropriately sarcastic to a point that makes her funny and not annoying.  This is very difficult for authors to achieve (at least for me),  too much and it is just immature and obnoxious.  In this book we find out what happens to Reyes after everyone knows he didn’t kill Earl Walker, and he is a very busy boy.  Like all the books, Charley is working many cases at once, but only after she starts to come out of the coma she was living in after Earl Walker’s torture.  She is still mad at both Reyes and her father for their separate but equal betrayals.  As usual, she gets herself beat up pretty bad on multiple occasions.  I do wish that the author would insert a bit more ability for Charley to take care of herself, but I suspect that is will come all in good time.      

Harper Lowell is the first case she takes.  This poor girl has been stalked and traumatized her whole like and no one in her life believes her.  Charley does and takes the case to help figure out what is going on.  

There are the “gentlemen” bank robbers who she thinks she recognizes although they are masked.  Of course, she does recognize them and gets herself into some trouble in that confrontation. 

Uncle Bob is working a serial arsonist case and wants her help, but I think this case will move more into the next book.

And of course, the ever present demons are still after her and she still needs to find out what she is capable of. 

The reader does get to know a lot more about reaper history and (hold on to your seats) why Reyes calls her “Dutch”.  We get more Reyes time, more Donovan time and more Gemma time.  I actually really like Donovan, he is no Reyes, but I hope that he doesn’t get hurt in all this.  Her guardian is present and very effective.  Denise (step-mother) comes for a visit and while I think the author wants the reader to feel at least a spark of sympathy towards her, I personally, do not.  You do not slap a child or spit in their face!  I hope that Charley makes her work hard to even get into the outer circles of her inner sanctum.

Favorite Quote:

I soon found out Gemma had ulterior motives in hanging with me and drinking like a fish on dry land.  I could read it in her body language, in the shifting light in her eyes, but mostly when she said, “I have ulterior motives.

Third Grave Dead Ahead by Darynda Jones (Charley Davidson #3)

5 Stars

This is the third installment with the Charley Davidson story. I have loved every book. The last one ended on a bit of a sad note with Reyes refusing to see Charley after she bound him to his body. She did it to keep him from sacrificing himself to the demons that were after him in book two. This made him very angry (obviously) and he refused her visit when she went to prison to visit him. This didn’t stop him from visiting him in her dreams. How did this happen since he was bound to his body? I still have no idea! But this meant that both Reyes and Charley were avoiding sleep like the plague!

Again, Charley has more than one case going. She is trying to find Earl Walker to prove that Reyes didn’t kill him. This, of course, stirs up a hornets’ nest and she gets in big trouble. The other case is quite interesting. She is approached by a doctor whose wife is missing. Charley ends up looking in to his background the waters continue to get murky until the very end.

The ending of this book again ends on a sad note. Charley is promised a guardian by Mistress Marigold (yes she finally meets this person) so the entire book, the reader is trying to figure it out. I must say, I am glad it wasn’t who I thought it was going to be! Charley also meets the biker gang that runs the area where she goes to talk to Rocket. I enjoyed all the encounters with the biker gang and expect to see more from them in the future. At the end, Charley is feeling betrayed by two of the most important men in her life and is depressed. The reader can’t help but feel sorry for her because it really was awful what those two turds did to her.

I’ve already bought the fourth book and can’t wait to start it!

Second Grave on the Left (Charley Davidson #2) by Darynda Jones

4.5 Stars

This is the second installment in the Charley Davidson chronicles.  It picks up about a week after the first book ended.  Reyes was missing after he woke up from his coma and walked about of his confinement.  Not only was the prison looking for him, but he had U.S. Marshalls after him too.  Charley finds out really quick that he is going to sacrifice his human body to keep his father’s minions from finding Charley.  He still promises that if the demons get to her, he will kill her to stop them from gaining access to heaven.  I think there are at least three different cases she works on during this book.  She is trying to find her friend, Cookie’s friend, Mimi (did you follow that?).  This is the main case she works on and it goes deeper and more dangerous than just a missing person.  There is also a dead guy in Cookie’s car and Charley is trying to figure out what happened to him on the sly so Cookie doesn’t freak out.  And then of course…Reyes. 

The cool part of this book was that Reyes semi-taught Charley some of the cool things that she can do.  It was fun watching Charley learning more about what she can do.  Reyes wasn’t as present in this book as he was in the first one, and judging by the ending I am unsure of what his role will be in the future.  The ending made me sad.  We shall see how the third book goes before I make my final decision.  I thought it was equally amusing as the first book.  The author has a way of writing an extremely sarcastic main character without making her annoying.    

Funny Quote:

“Some people might’ve gotten annoyed, especially when we checked out the men’s room, it being primarily for men…”