BOOK REVIEW: First Grave on the Right by Darynda Jones

BOOK REVIEW: First Grave on the Right by Darynda Jones.

St. Martin’s Press
February 2011
Paperback, £6.99
Reviewed by Aly Locatelli

6.5/10

Never knock on Death’s door. Ring the bell then run. He totally hates that. – T-shirt.

Scrap everything you ever thought you knew about Grim Reapers. Charley Davidson is, in fact, the Grim Reaper, the only one on earth, and rather than being a dooming man in dark robes and a huge scythe, she’s actually a 27 year old brunette who would rather be doing anything else with her life. As a Private Investigator, an on-the-side helper at her Uncle Bob’s (or Ubie, as she calls him in times of annoyance) police station and a full-time Grim Reaper, Charley doesn’t have much time to spare. But when the murders of three lawyers literally fall into her lap, Charley can’t stay away and makes it her mission to solve the case.

It also doesn’t help that, for weeks, a dark and alluring entity has been visiting her whilst she sleeps. Is he the same man that has been watching over her since she was born? Or is he more? And what on earth does he want?

Readers will love the large doses of snark, action and laugh-out-loud funny scenes offered up by First Grave on the Right. Although it’s very predictable, this was easily lost in the twists and turns and the humour present on page after page after page. Charley Davidson is the sort of character I’d die to befriend in real life, and nothing (not even life-threatening injuries) can stop her from cracking a joke and a smile, which is a refreshing break from all of the angst-riddled books out there. Even when dealing with some pretty gruesome death scenes, the author managed to keep the book light-hearted and funny. It was a breath of fresh air.

(First Grave is the first book in the Charley Davidson series.)

Category: Book Reviews, Other Reviews