Summoned to Thirteenth Grave (Charley Davidson, #13)

by Darynda Jones

It's lucky number thirteen . . . this is the epic finale for our favourite Grim Reaper and her sinfully sexy son-of-the-devil husband, Reyes.

Charley Davidson, Grim Reaper extraordinaire, is pissed. She's been kicked off the earthly plane for eternity - which is exactly the amount of time it takes to make a person stark, raving mad. But someone's looking out for her, and she's allowed to return after a mere hundred years in exile. Is it too much to hope for that not much has changed? Apparently it is. Bummer.

She's missed her daughter. She's missed Reyes. She's missed Cookie and Garrett and Uncle Bob. But now that she's back on earth, it's time to put to rest burning questions that need answers. What happened to her mother? How did she really die? Who killed her? And are cupcakes or coffee the best medicine for a broken heart? It all comes to a head in an epic showdown between good and evil in this final smart and hilarious novel.

It's Charley's last adventure, and the one thing we know for sure is that it's going to be one wild ride . . .

'An absolute must read' J.R. Ward, No.1 New York Times bestselling author of the Black Dagger Brotherhood series.

'The grim reaper gets a shiny cook makeover in Jones's blazing hot debut... will appeal to fans of MaryJanice Davidson and Janet Evanovich.' Publisher's Weekly

'What's better than a bad-ass girl grim reaper who keeps us safe from hell hounds and demons? (The answer is obviously nothing.)' RT Book Reviews

• ISBN10: 0349417784
• ISBN13: 9780349417783
• Publish Date: 15 January 2019
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: GB
• Publisher: Little, Brown Book Group
• Imprint: Piatkus Books
• Format: Paperback (B-Format (198x129 mm))
• Pages: 304
• Language: English

Reviews

[MurderByDeath]

The last book in the series; the one meant to wrap up all the loose ends, and it does so admirably.   When I read the first book, I liked it for the mysteries and the humor, though the humor was a little over-played (her penchant for naming everything grated on my nerves, and though she never stops doing it, it plays a much smaller part in the narratives of future books).  As the series progressed, I still read them for the mysteries and I enjoyed the humor more because it became more balanced, but I also got stuck into the mythology Jones was using for the overall series arc.  And I genuinely became attached to the wacky cast of characters that surrounded Charley.   This final book winds up the arc concerning the prophecies involving Charley and Reyes - and keeps the possibilities open for a future series featuring their daughter and her prophesied battle against Lucifer.  Since the 13th book was meant to be the finale, there are no loose ends or questions - though there were a couple of didn't-see-that-coming twists, one full-blown M. Night Shyamalan shocker, and a single misty-eyed moment I'm wiling to admit to.   The only bit that left me disappointed was the end-end; the part where we find out what Charley and Reyes do.  It's not anything short of a happy ending, but I didn't like it.  I get it, and I get why it was the perfect ending, but I still didn't like it, and mostly for juvenile reasons.   They left their friends and family behind to become incorporeal so they could protect their daughter.  Altruistic and purely unselfish, but I still didn't like imagining a book world where the gang isn't all together.  Sue me. (hide spoiler)   While I'm sad to see the story end, and sad I won't see the gang anymore, I'm happy with the series ending now rather than past its prime, and Darynda Jones has a new series coming out next year that sounds like it might be fun, so perhaps I'll have a new series to love and look forward to.

[Angie]

Was this not the final book?!?!?!

[Berls]

Gah! What a way to end the series! I'm so sad it's over and I totally started stalling the last couple chapters because I wasn't ready for it to be over. I really want to reread it, too, I think.

I feel like Darynda did a really good job bringing things to a satisfying conclusion. I like where Charley and Reyes's relationship is at as we end the series. And man did she bring some revelations I just did not see coming at all - talk about plot twists! And despite blowing my mind, not a single one of them felt ridiculous or unbelievable.

The story is only partly over though - we still need to see Beep's story - and I really look forward to that. I have no idea when or how that's coming, but I can't imagine we won't get it. I wonder if I'll miss Charley's brand of humor though. Because that's seriously great and a favorite element for this series.

[liz089]

Mostly I just feel sad. So sad that this is over now. I LOVE Charley, she is my favourite character EVER. Yes there are a lot of strong, independant, funny characters in all kinds of novels. But Charley is special. There is no one like her.
No one like her family and friends. They are all so amazing in their own way, I love Cookie, Ubie, Amber, Quentin, Angel, Rocket, Blue, Garrett, Osh, Pari, Artemis, Reyes... we've been through so much with them. I don't want to say goodbye.

Thirteen books I've read of her, waiting anxiously for the next one, and the next. And now it is finished. Over. And that sucks.
So... she better continues with Beep's story after this !!! I need it.

[ellieroth]

el fin de una era

the last sentece tho

[Melanie]

My review and an extended sample of the audiobook are posted at Hotlistens.com.

Another series coming to an end (I had so many of them in 2018). The last Charley Davidson book. *sigh* I’ve known for a while that this was coming, but it doesn’t make it any less bittersweet. I’m glad to see Charley fight the battle that she knew was hers to fight and doing it with all of her friends and family around her.

As with the books in the past, this one has two sort of plots. One is the overarching story arc for the series. The second is the mystery that she’s working to solve and resolve in this one book.

In this one, she’s got a young child departed that is following her around. He sounds so cute as she talks about him peeking at her around the corner. Charley works to find out what has happened to this young boy. And she’s doing that while trying to figure out why demons are coming onto this plan and making humans go nuts. Oh, and she only has 3 days to save the world. No pressure, right? Just another day in the life of Charley Davidson.

I’m not going to go into much more detail so as to avoid spoilers. It was great to see the whole gang again. Pretty much everyone gets a little bit of page time. We learn more about Rocket (poor Rocket, I felt so bad for him). We also learn a bit more about Charley’s mom, but I would’ve liked to know more. There is a big twist that we learn about a character towards the end of the book (I won’t say more than that).

There were a few issues for me. It is hard for me to explain and not give a lot of spoilers, so just know that there are some issues, but that overall, I loved the story. I will warn you, this ends in a bit of a cliffhanger. No, that’s not the right word. I’m not sure what the right word would be. It does leave you hanging for the next step in this world (a spinoff series to follow Beep’s story). That niggled at me a bit too. I’m still giving it four stars, because I even with my niggles, I really enjoyed my time with Charley and the gang. This book is filled with the humor, mystery and action that I’ve come to expect from a Charley Davidson book.If you haven’t tried this series, start with First Grave on the Right. This is not a series to be read out of order, but a fun world to experience.

Narration
Lorelei King continues to nail the narration. I don’t know what I can say that I haven’t said before. King is one of my favorite narrators. She does all parts of narration extremely well. If you haven’t tried her yet, I highly recommend her.

**I like to thank the publisher for providing me with a copy of this audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

[EBookObsessed]

There is good and bad with saying goodbye and ending a series. I will be back after the new year and closer to release date for a full review.

See more at EBookObsessed.com

[kimbacaffeinate]

Summoned to Thirteenth Grave by Darynda Jones is the final book in the Charley Davidson series featuring a coffee loving, Grim Reaping god who collects friends, named her tits and loves a Demon who happens to be the son of Lucifer. These are my people. Osh, Cookie, Garret, Uncle Bob, the kids and so many more from the living to the non-living. I have loved every minute of this series, even the killer last paragraphs that left me hanging to the next release.

The only reason I am not curled in a fetal position somewhere is because I have it on good authority we will see more from this world pertaining to Beep.

Jones took me on one heck of an emotional ride and made me experience all the feels from laughter to tears as we said goodbye to some, made startling revelations, learned the fate of some, battled demons and spent time with our favorite couples.

An apocalyptic event is happening in Albuquerque because of events in the previous books. The CDC and national news are reporting illness, followed by violent changes in behavior to those affected. Think..zombie apocalypse..but no one is eating brains. Oh, and there are demons from a hell dimension. You must read the book to discover more but Charley and her army of misfits have mere days to save the world.

Summoned to Thirteenth Grave was epic!! If you haven't begun the series now is the time to binge. If you've read all the books, but have final book phobia (trust me it is a thing), do not be afraid. I repeat. Do not be afraid....it is safe to go into the light!

On and Ms. Jones, that last paragraph was a killer.  This review was originally posted at Caffeinated Reviewer

[Linda]

Oh my wow! What an ending to a series. Even if parts of how it ended made me sad - it also made so much sense. It's totally what Reyes and Charlie would do.