Friday, September 30, 2011

Review: Second Grave on the Left by Darynda Jones

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Second Grave on the Left (Charley Davidson, #2)
Darynda Jones
First published August 16th, 2011
St. Martin’s Press

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?
Oh my goodness!! I’m still laughing. I think I liked this second book even better than the first. Darynda definitely didn’t slack off with book #2. She gave us another great, fabulous, funny as heck novel.

What a ride!!! Charley is back to her old tricks and witty sarcasm. I found the plot in this one much more interesting and equaling a wild roller coaster ride. She is working on a new case, trying to solve the mystery behind Mimi’s disappearance; Someone is hiding a big secret from way back in high school. In the meantime, Charley is also trying to find the sexy and stubborn son of Satan. There was much more suspense and action in this book. The humour did not falter, though. There was plenty of it and it was still the best part of it all.

“Two men from the FBI are here,” Cookie said.
Crap. “Men in black are at the office?”
“Well, yes, but they’re actually in more of a navy.” 
Crapola. I so didn’t have time for men. In any color. “Okay, two questions.
Do they look mad, and are they hot?”
After a long, long pause, Cookie said, “One, not really. Two, no comment at this time. And three, you’re on speakerphone.”
After another long, long pause, I said, “Okie dokie then. Be there in a jiff.”
The mystery behind Charley and her “powers” are becoming very interesting. There is more to this Grim reaper business than she thought. Mistress Marigold is also intriguing – what’s up with her? But I’m most curious about Owen and what Charley did to piss him off. Third Grave Dead Ahead is bound to be awesome!

Although the character development is modest, it’s there nonetheless. All the characters are really enjoyable. They fit very well into Charley’s eccentric life and all have distinct roles to play in the story. I particularly enjoy Garrett (and Cookie of course), he’s like the amusing little brother who’s fun to pick on.

Not everything is tied up in this one. There is still much mystery left to uncover and I can’t wait until February to read more. Darynda has become one of my favourite authors and I will thus be reading anything and everything she is willing to dish out. If you want pure fantastic entertainment, these books are for you!!

“Never be afraid to dart around in public humming the Mission Impossible theme.”
4/5 hot espressos
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Giselle

Canadian blogger, wife, mother, coffee lover, and sarcastic at heart! She has had a love for all things bookish since before Amazon and eReaders existed *le gasp*. You can also find her organizing tours and other fun things at Xpresso Book Tours.

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5 Responses to “Review: Second Grave on the Left by Darynda Jones”

  1. Andrea

    This totally sounds like my type of book. I haven’t read First Grave on the Right yet, but I heard its great. I love books w/funny dialogue. I’ll definitely have to hit this one up at some point. Great review!

  2. Meghan and Jesse

    I enjoyed First Grave on the Right mostly because of the characters and so I’m glad to hear they’re still as fun as in the first book. And hey, more mystery, more reading…as long as it’s not a drag. Love the review.