Fourth Grave Beneath My Feet (Charley Davidson, #4)

by Darynda Jones

[kimbacaffeinate]

I was tickled pink to receive an advanced copy of Fourth Grave Beneath my Feet. As soon as I receive a new book in the series, I lock myself away and consume it. My family is often startled at my sudden outburst of laughter, giggles and rants about Reyes and Charley. When I finish, I walk around in a state of depression, thinking about how long I have to wait till the next book is released. *sigh* That is until someone flashes a shiny book cover in front of me (I get easily distracted).

Two months have passed since Charley was attacked and arrested. She is home in her apartment basically wallowing in her own self-pity. Of course she is doing it Charley style! I felt sorry for her and giggled at the same time. An intervention and a new case force Charley out of her pajamas and back into action in her role as a private investigator and Grim Reaper. Reyes is back and hotter than ever. Some very bad creatures want Charley. The tale that unfolds is full of twists, humor, swoon-worthy moments and plenty of action.

I loved hooking up with my favorite characters again and was deliriously happy to be back inside Charley’s crappy ghost infested apartment. Charley is more messed up than ever and happy to be a couch potato. Despite her over the top issues (which she refuses to deal with) she still manages to get out there and kick some butt. We see growth in her knowledge and skills and foreshadowing of things to come. Eep! Cookie is her usual self, and Charlie's sister is woven into the tale more. Cookie’s daughter was absolutely hysterical in this novel. Reyes *swoon* We see a lot of him, and I loved every smexy, red hot minute of it. He and Charley actually have conversations. I know! Right? I still want to bash both their heads in and tell them to stop their wicked tango and admit their feelings already!! (Rant over) We do finally get some satisfaction regarding the romance and I will tell you it was worth the wait. Villains’ and other secondary characters (some old, some new) add to the tale and further advance the plot. Charley’s family is crazy and her Dad will blow your freakin' mind. Garrett who nearly died in book three reveals some interesting information and so do the sisters..and that’ all I am sayin’.

The world-building and the overall theme progress in this novel, while I still have tons of questions Jones reveals a wealth of information regarding Charley, Reyes and things to come. The cases were interested and full of clever twists. They are more in the background as we get some real Charley and Reyes time. It amazes me how Jones juggles and weaves all of the different threads of this tale and ties them together at the end. We really get to see the vulnerable side of Charley in this tale, and while we have always known her snarky comments and one-line zingers are a defense mechanism; we see it even more clearly. She is such a strong, stubborn character and only one person is strong enough to break through her walls. Jones tackled the tough subject of PTSD in this novel and I thought she did an excellent job. While the ending tied up nicely, in her typical Jones fashion she revealed a startling piece of information at the very end that has me squealing in anticipation for Fifth Grave Past the Light.

If you love snarky characters, humor, mystery and smexy son’s of Satan you really need to read this series. Fourth Grave Beneath My Feet delivered and I cannot wait to continue this series. I abso-freaking-lutely love this author and she is on my auto-buy list.

I want to thank St. Martin Press for providing this ARC in exchange for my unbiased review. *Purchases made through buy links result in a small commission which funds our giveaways.

I gave this novel 5 Mr.Coffee cups out of 5
Kimba the Caffeinated Book Reviewer