Book Review: Second Grave on the Left

Second Grave on the Left (Charley Davidson #2)

By: Darynda Jones

Published By: St. Martin's Press

Publication Date: August 2011

Page Count: 307

Buy it at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, or IndieBound

Source: Library

Audience: Paranormal Romance, Mystery

I LOVE Charley. I don't even know how to write this review since I feel like that first sentence pretty much sums it up. This series is one of those that I would drop everything to read ASAP. Darynda Jones is a phenomenal writer and I cannot get enough of this world. Charley Davidson is one of my top 10 favorite adult characters. She is a strong, spitfire who oozes girl power. She's such a bad ass. 

This edition picks up right where book one left off. There isn't a ton of down time before Charley is thrown into her next case. I like the fast pacing of these novels - they get my adrenaline pumping and have me cracking up at the same time. Furthermore, I really enjoy that each book has a self contained mystery and it also furthers the series with the relationship between Charley and Reyes. I can't believe it took me so long to give these books a chance. My only major complaint is I have been getting from the library, but I should have been buying them. I would actually reread these just to spend some more time with Charley and co.

The mystery in this one was even better than the one in the first book. I couldn't quite figure out "who-dunnit" until the very end when Charley finally pieced things together for me. I love that the mystery elements in this series are not super predictable. I like the challenge and being forced to think through the clues presented. 

Charley's zingers in this one will keep you laughing, but don't go into this one expecting it to be a replica of book one. There is one major element missing in this one - the intimate moments with Reyes. He and Charley spend most of this novel at odds, so the romance that I had come to expect from the first installment didn't make much of an appearance. For me, that was okay. I don't need to the smut to keep my enthralled, but I expect some readers will miss the heat.

My fingers are itching for book three!

One Last Gripe: I have none - shocking, huh?

My Favorite Thing About This Book: Charley - I want to be her when I grow up!

First Sentence: "Charley, hurry, wake up."

Favorite Character: Charley

Least Favorite Character: Charley's Stepmother

Summary:

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 known as the Son of Satan. Yes. Literally) has left his corporeal body and is haunting Charley. He’s left his body because he’s being tortured by demons who want to lure Charley closer. But Reyes can’t let that happen. Because if the demons get to Charley, they’ll have a portal to heaven. And if they have a portal to heaven…well, let’s just say it wouldn’t be pretty. Can Charley handle hot nights with Reyes and even hotter days tracking down a missing woman? Will Cookie ever get a true fashion sense? And is there enough coffee and chocolate in the world to fuel them as they do?