Second Grave on the Left (Charley Davidson #2) by Darynda Jones

Paperback, UK, 307 pages

Published January 5th 2012 by Piatkus Books (first published August 16th 2011)

ISBN

0749956097 (ISBN13: 9780749956097)

edition language

English

original title

Second Grave on the Left

series

Charley Davidson #2

characters

Charley Davidson, Reyes Farrow, Garrett Swopes

setting

New Mexico (United States)

If you hang around with dead people , life can get pretty complicated . Take it from Charley Davidson , part-time PI and full-time grim reaper . The deceased find her very sparkly , and demons find her irresistible . However , Charley doesn't have time to dwell on this : she's got a missing woman to track down .




Meanwhile , Reyes Alexander Farrow ( otherwise known as the Son of Satan ) is haunting Charley . He's left his corporeal body because he's being tortured by demons who want to lure Charley closer . But if demons get to her , they'll have a portal to heaven . Can Charley handle hot nights with Reyes and even hotter days tracking down a missing woman ? And can she keep those she loves out of harm's way ?

My Review
Now in my opinion this was so much better than the first novel because it just seemed to have that much more activity, life and thrilling mystery to it. It was extremely thought provoking in that you were left trying to figure out what mystery to focus on, to understand how things had happened and why they happened in the first place. But this was a good thing because it meant tht the reader was just constantly engaged with the novel, was able to understand it and wsa able to link and relate to it. I did feel that you got to know the characters a little more and I think that probably cookie and angel were my favorite two characters in  the book. It was cookies reaction to having a dead body in her boot that made me chuckle because I am sure that that reaction is something we would all have were we to discover such a thing. However, I still love the way in which Charlotte is portrayed to us. Stubborn, strong willed, cheeky and funny, cocky in some places but always determined. she kind of makes me wonder about how much I am like her and if these are the characteristics that come with the name. There did seem to be a lot more going on within this book, the search for Reyes body, the sudden murder or people, the missing wife, the Fake FBI, and what the hell she really is. In most books this would just make it somewhat confusing, but for me this was the life and the soul of the book, it was the very element that kept me attracted to it and wantiing to read on.


I can't say I really had a least favorite part of the novel, apart from perhaps the ending because that all seemed to rush to an end just like that. But perhaps it was just the fact that I was denied the pleasure of a happy but steamy romance at the end of the novel? who knows. I do admit though the way in which the steamy sections of the novel are written are rather somewhat enduring. they give you enough detail without giving you to much detail. you are able to expand on the imagery, to envision and sense what has happened and that in many ways is an advantage because you become that much more involved with the novel. Would I stick a reading age limit on it, yes. 16+ unless your more mature. There are clearly somethings here within the novel that younger minds would not fully understand, just things that pehraps would not be taken in the correct tone for which they were written for. However, I do feel that there is a lot of emotional context here within the write that makes you understand a little more, though a part of me wants to shake Charley and tell her to stop acting like the big tough girl when she is clearly bothered by what is going on.


Do I see potential within the series, yes of course. it seems to be the sort of series tht can expand, become better and more involved as the series goes on. However there is also that potential for it to become overdone and just boring, so its something that you seem to carry on reading with your breathe held deeply within your chest. I do think that there is a lot of potential to this series and I admit, if it were to be made into a series on the television I would be curious to sit and watch it and do think that it would do well. It just seems to be that sort of novel that introuduces other genres of books into fantasy, meaning you get the wider variety of reading, as most authors are full aware that fantasy is the new in thing and thats what all the kids want to read.


I am giving this book a five star rating merely for the fact that I literally did not want to put the book down. I was hooked into every word, paragraph and line, wanting to actually live and breathe and be one with the characters. it just clearly had a lot to offer and really made me sit back and think and feel. I kept going, just one more chapter and then ill put it down, but one chapter became another and then another and then 100 pages left, then 50 and so on. There was just that something different within the novel that truly held me there, truly made me feel like I was reading something fresh and worthy of my time.

My rating