If you're in need of a suspenseful and hilarious read to
lighten your mood, pick up SECOND GRAVE ON THE LEFT, the
second adventure of Charlotte (Charley) Davidson, Grim
Reaper extraordinaire. Actually, this book will make more
sense if you've read First Grave on the Right first, but it
isn't absolutely necessary. The book starts with Charley's
best friend, Cookie, waking her up in the middle of the
night by throwing clothes at her and dragging her to a
coffee shop to meet a friend who's been missing for five
days. But the friend, Mimi, has vanished again, leaving a
name written on the café's bathroom wall, as her only
message. Tracking down Mimi isn't Charley's only mission
though. Reyes, the Son of Satan and her love interest of the
first book, has left his body because it's being attacked by
demons. He can still torment Charley with just a touch, even
incorporeally, but he won't tell Charley where his body is.
It seems the demons want to draw Charley closer which would
give them a portal to Heaven. As the Grim Reaper, helping
the dead to cross is Charley's job.
Charley is nothing if not stubborn though and is determined
to find Reyes' body with or without his help. But what will
she do when she finds it and can she find Mimi before
someone else who wants her badly as well?
Darynda Jones has a talent for the comic mystery. She's got
a fairly complex plot going on, but Cookie and Charley don't
take themselves too seriously and provide lots of laughs
during their investigation. It's doubtful there's enough
chocolate and coffee in the world for Charley either. She
makes the most ambitious caffeine junkie look modest.
Charley has a lively supporting cast as well including her
uncle Bob, a detective; her sister, Gemma, a psychiatrist;
Angel, a 13-year-old gangster who happens to be dead; and
Mr. Wong, a dead man who shares Charley's apartment. Think
Janet Evanovich with a bit more complexity and no Grandma
Mazur oh and with a few less things blowing up and a lot
more dead people and you'll be close to getting a feel for
Jones.
When Charley Davidson and Cookie (her best friend/receptionist) have to track down a missing woman, the case is not quite as open and shut as they anticipate. A friend of Cookie's named Mimi disappeared five days earlier. This friend then sends Cookie a cryptic message telling them to meet her at a nearby coffee shop. The coffee is brewing, but Mimi's still missing. There is, however, a clue left on the bathroom wall: a woman's name, scribbled by Mimi. 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 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? Can she keep those she loves out of harm's way? And is there enough coffee and chocolate in the world to fuel her as she does?
Here is your signpost for the most hilarious read of the summer: Second Grave On The Left.
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