First Grave on the Right: Charley Davidson, Book 1

My review: For a few years, I’ve been fascinated with paranormal TV shows and movies. Until this, I’d never delved into a paranormal audiobook. First Grave on the Right is Darynda Jones’ first novel that hit a home run in my book. Jones covered all the bases by adding paranormal twists, sultry romance and humor.

This novel, the first in a series, centers around Charlotte “Charley” Davidson who works as a part-time private investigator with her Uncle Bob and against her will and better judgement, a full-time Grim Reaper. She doesn’t wear a cape or carry a scythe, but she does see dead people. Everywhere. For instance, Mr. Wong hangs out in a corner of her apartment and Aunt Lil, a toothless elderly woman wonders around the kitchen and “makes” coffee. Normally, Charley helps the deceased “go into the light” but sometimes things get complicated when they stick around and wear out their welcome.

As the story progresses, we follow Charley as she investigates the death of three lawyers who have came to her for help and she ends up risking her life over and over. Charley is miraculously saved numerous times by “Bad”, an Entity who has followed her since birth and tends to show up when her life is endangered. Then there’s Reyes… a boy she saw beaten by his father when she was younger. It’s really intense to see how the plot thickens and boils together when we learn the truth about Reyes, “Bad” and everyone in between.

This audiobook was recently released on February 1, 2011, a great day being that it was my 28th birthday, so it had to be good, right?! The writing is so clever and Jones has led us into a wonderful series. Charley is interesting, funny and intelligent. I can’t wait for the next novel, Second Grave on the Left to hit the market.

Narrator Review: Lorelei King has a lovely voice and definitely does this book justice. She gives Charley a youthful voice that fits her character beautifully.

This was often a side-splittingly silly book. It was totally unbelievable but that didn't matter. The plot was convoluted and difficult to follow but that didn't really matter ...much. The romantic hero was totally unappealing because he was either dead, Satan or nothing but grey smoke and it is hard to make any of that sexy. It is just creepy.

But the snappy writing, the quick one-liners and the silly naivete of the heroine made all of those faults totally unimportant. And the whole book was written so tongue-in-cheek that those really weren't faults. They were part of what made the whole package so fun to read.

Because of who the characters were, the story could have so quickly gotten bogged down into philosophical discussions of good versus evil, spirit versus soul, etc. The author could have easily pulled an "Anne Rice" on us. But she didn't. She kept it light, fluffy and entertaining.

Her secondary characters were well written and strong enough to not wilt away in the glow of the main character. I loved her best friend, the various apparitions in her life and especially, Rocket.

The narration was great

My only complaint is that the bits of information that actually moved the plot forward, that explained what was going on and ultimately, what would lead you to read the second and third books in the series were so buried under the pithy one-liners and double entendres, that if you blinked you missed them. I finished the book not sure I had a clue about what actually happened in the plot. And wishing she had focused more on certain traits of Charley, like the fact she had perfect memory of everything that happened from the second she was born. But this might have been a timing problem on my part. I'm not sure I was up for quite so much humor in my current read when I sat down with this book. And if you are not in the mood for good-natured silliness, the book can be unfulfilling. Like eating your favorite flavor of Ben & Jerry's when all you really wanted was toast. But that is not the author's fault.

Loved, absolutely and unabashedly delighted in, the first 3/4 or so. The last part ended up being a 'tie up the ends and make a POINT' although not quite proselytizing and while it helped to have it knotted up, it wasn't nearly as fun as the first bit. That having been said, the book was absolutely worth reading. Characterization was balanced and they did mostly what one would expect of them given the set-up. The plot line moved along nicely; it seems to me to be a set up for a series, but still it ENDED rather than being a 'tune in next week' sort of story line. Lots of laughs without being fatuous. And I find myself occasionally bringing up parts of the book and working on why the author included it or what she meant or ... well, you get my drift, so enough meat to leave me going 'hmmm'.

CHARLEY DAVIDSON- GRIM REAPER. GREAT STORY. THE MAIN CHARACTER IS VERY SASSY WITH A SMART MOUTH WHO ALSO HAPPENS TO BE BORN A GRIM REAPER. THIS BOOK IS REALLY ENTERTAINING AND LORELEI KING IS ONE OF MY FAVORITE NARRATORS.

All the wonderful reviews were the incentive to buy the book and I loved the TV series "Dead Like Me", so I was hyped to really enjoy it. I'm still trying, but halfway through and sometimes it is all I can do NOT to turn it off and move on to another book. It tries too hard to be clever, and comes off like a cheap supernatural romance novel. Maybe I will love it by the end, but somehow........I doubt it.

This is a Stephanie Plum as the Grim Reaper instead of Bounty Hunter. Since I love those books I also enjoyed this one.
The similarities are numerous -
2 mysterious male love interests
loyal side kick/friend
constant ability to get hurt-in trouble-almost killed-etc..
Smart Mouth
Lorelei King
Loved it - will wait for follow up, the book ending set up perfectly for the next installment

I was nervous at first about this book but took the leap and am happy I did.

This book kept me laughing and guessing the whole way through. I don't want to give anything away I would just like to say that I was VERY pleased with the book, can't wait for the next one and you REALLY should give it a try!

The author hasn't met an adjective she didn't like. Everything is described in detail from the bathroom to every freaking guy she sees. With the same narrator it makes it hard to remember this isn't a Stephanie Plum book. There's the same lusting over multiple guys and describing and thinking about them until I want to scream! By the time I'm ready to run my car into a tree from boredom she finally stops drooling over some guy and we get to some action. But it's not enough to make it worth the price.

I love the narrator, but that is the only good thing about this book. I am at a loss to understand all of the positive reviews. While some of the elements of a good story are here, they are not woven together into anything remotely resembling a plot. It is almost like the author wrote a series of short passages that someone later pieced together. Coupled with the lack of character development, this makes it almost impossible to care about the assorted individuals and events presented. So, unless you have a credit to burn, I???d pass on this one.

I couldn't put down this book I finished it in two days, didn't want to go to sleep just so I could keep listening. It was funny and well written, I can't wait for the sequel to come out in august.
Darynda Jones is an amazing writer hope to read many more books from her.