"It's always better to see the dead than to be one." Charlotte Jean Davidson, Grimm Reaper
Hello, Angels! You must think that I'm crazy and what exactly is this horrible quote doing here. If you want to find out - there's only one way for that! Keep reading.
Book: "First Grave on the right"
Author: Darynda Jones
Series: A Charley Davidson Story
Pages: 296
Charley sees the dead. Yes, that's right. She sees the deceased. Her job is to convince them to go in the light. But when those deceased have died under not so ideal circumstances (they have been murdered), sometimes they insist Charley to look for the guilty. Things got complicated from the passionate dreams that Charley have for someone, that has followed her through her entire life. It turns out that he is not actually dead. He might turn out to be something way different...
Meet Charley Davidson - Grimm Reaper and private investigator. Charley is smart, sassy, really annoying at times, sexy and very funny. If you are looking for a great humour, a good laugh, dinamics and adventure - this is your book!
I've started reading the book as a joke. I thought that this will be the usual bland stuff just like "Ghost whisperer" and I was pretty much so sceptical, that I was just about to give up on the book on the third scentence. Yeah, I didn't. I went through the first chapter and I couldn't stop myself. So, I passed furiously through the entire book in just a few hours.
The story introduces us to Charley Davidson's world - she is grimm reaper, who sees the deceased and helps them to "go in to the light". Now I know most of you will think that this is just like Melinda Gordon from "Ghost whisperer". No! Definitely not! Charley Davidson is sassy, smart and can't keep her mouth shut. And also - she knows how to take care of herself (although the world seems to decide that it's going to be the "National let's kill Charley week"), and Charley is so not like Melinda - crying, whining and so defenseless that it gets boring. Charley is everything else but not boring.
Charley will now have to face three recently murdered lawyers and will have to help them to go in to the light. Things get really complicated when Charley is called by her uncle Bob - a detective from the Police, so she can help in the investigation of the lawyers' murder. Like it's not enough that random people are always trying to kill Charley (or just beat her butt off) but she has to actually deal with the constant sudden appear of the Big Villain and also to find out what kind of creatures are the Amazing Seductive Reyes and the Big Villian. Now you will probably say we also want to find out who those are - well, you might very well read the book! Okay, fine, I will not be one of those bad people, so I will just tell you.
The Amazing Seductive Reyes is the seductive passionate man from Charley's dreams, who actually drivers her crazy (in the most intimate way) only with his presence. The Big Villain is a man, with black hood and is something like Charley's bodyguard ever since Charley was born. He is always there when she is in danger to save her.
Out of all the stuff that are happening in Charley's life - the three dead lawyers which are following her all the time, then the eventual romance with the long time hated guy Garett Swops, and then the Amazing Reyes - then there's the discovery of Reyes... Charley can't even sit for a moment or catch her breath - she is always in an adventure after adventure and a lot of dangerous situations. I couldn't even count all the times that Charley was at the edge of dying (or simply beat up by someone). It's good that Charley has the Big Villain as her Guardian Angel... Or is he something else?
Overall, the book is very interesting and the story is amazing. I just love the idea and the fact that at one point the story is funny, at the next moment it's scary, and all out of a sudden - it gets so hot that you want to... To take a cold shower of course. I just love all the emotions there. Darynda Jones definitely has a way of writing that makes you feel like at one moment Charley is just like you and her world is so close to you, but at the very next moment - the world is so far away from the reality.
From the very first page to the very last one - the book is breathtaking! It's definitely something you should read!
I leave my rating stars for Darynda Jones and her amazing book over here.
I am off to read the second book of the Series and the adventures of Charley Davidson, because I really can't wait to read them all!
If you want to find out more - read the book or just wait for the next review!
XoXo, -K.