First Grave on the Right (Charley Davidson, #1)

by Darynda Jones

[llamareads]

Charley Davidson is the grim reaper, which means she sees dead people and helps them “go into the light.” But since that doesn’t pay anything, she’s also a PI who uses her dead-people skills to help her cop uncle with his cases and also bartends at her ex-cop dad’s bar. When three lawyers from the same law firm are murdered, Charley’s Uncle Bob calls her in. Can Charley help solve the case before more people end up dead? And does it have any connection to the mysterious dream lover who’s been haunting her for the past month?

I liked Charley’s attitude. She’s hilarious and acts like she doesn’t take anything seriously. Sometimes her quirks got a bit annoying, but her reactions are explained by her (slowly revealed) back story. I especially liked the gradual reveal of her history. As you’re reading, you get hints about why her relationships with her family and most people are antagonistic, but it’s not until near the end of the book that you get the full story and start understanding how strong and resilient Charley is.

Now, for the negatives. There was definitely a hint of the “I’m so hot, everyone wants me!” trope, which I personally can’t stand, but it was not egregious enough to stop me from reading. I also have reservations about the main love interest, since it felt like a lot was revealed about his identity towards the end of the book and not really dealt with, but I’m hoping that is explored further in the next book. Also, the plot is… well, it’s a bit of a mess. It flips back and forth between investigating the murder of the three lawyers and figuring out the identity of her dream lover with a speed that gave me whiplash.

Overall, I had a good time reading this book, mostly thanks to Charley’s humor. It’s a light, fun read, basically book candy. I’d recommend this to anyone looking for an urban fantasy/paranormal romance mash-up with lots of sarcasm and humor.

I received an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.