REVIEW by @_Shoe_Girl_: Second Grave On The Left by Darynda Jones (@Darynda)

When Charley is rudely awakened in the middle of the night by her best friend who tells her to get dressed quickly and tosses clothes out of the closet at her, she can’t help but wonder what Cookie’s up to. Leather scrunch boots with a floral miniskirt? Together? Seriously? Cookie explains that a friend of hers named Mimi disappeared five days earlier and that she just got a text from her setting up a meet at a coffee shop downtown. They show up at the coffee shop, but no Mimi. But Charley finds a message on the bathroom wall. Mimi left a clue, a woman’s name. Mimi’s husband explains that his wife had been acting strange since she found out an old friend of hers from high school had been found murdered a couple weeks prior. The same woman Mimi had named in her message.

Meanwhile, Reyes Alexander Farrow (otherwise known as the Son of Satan. Yes. Literally) has left his corporeal body and is haunting Charley. He’s left his body because he’s being tortured by demons who want to lure Charley closer. But Reyes can’t let that happen. Because if the demons get to Charley, they’ll have a portal to heaven. And if they have a portal to heaven…well, let’s just say it wouldn’t be pretty. Can Charley handle hot nights with Reyes and even hotter days tracking down a missing woman? Will Cookie ever get a true fashion sense? And is there enough coffee and chocolate in the world to fuel them as they do?

Ok, if you’re a regular reader of this blog, you know how much I LOVED First Grave on the Right. It is up there on my “favorites” list. Second Grave on the Left, the 2nd book in the series is just as good, if not a little better! Sarcastic Charley is back again, getting herself in trouble (she wakes up one morning with 3 men wearing suits in her apartment…she proceeds to ignore them & start a pot of coffee, then just stares at them as the coffee brews) and solving mysteries. Her latest case/mystery to solve is that of Mimi who is Cookie’s friend (Cookie is her best friend/employee) who abruptly disappears. She also has to solve the mystery of Reyes….where IS he??? She does all this while somehow managing not to get herself killed, of which there are many attempts at doing made by different people. **My fav line from the book: “You’re about as helpful as a spoon in a knife fight.”

All I can really say is, I CAN NOT WAIT UNTIL 1.31.12! Third Grave Dead Ahead‘s release date. I MUST buy it and see what is next for Charley! Ending note: I would like to give a HUGE thanks to Darynda Jones, as I was strictly a “romance/contemporary romance” reader, until I picked up First Grave. Darynda has opened up a whole new genre for me, and I’m loving it! 🙂

Paranormal private eye. Grim reaper extraordinaire. Whatever. Charley Davidson is back! And she’s drinking copious amounts of caffeine to stay awake because, every time she closes her eyes, she sees him: Reyes Farrow, the parthuman, part-supermodel son of Satan. Yes, she did imprison him for all eternity, but come on. How is she supposed to solve a missing persons case, deal with an ego-driven doctor, calm her curmudgeonly dad, and take on a motorcycle gang hellbent on murder when the devil’s son just won’t give up?

Click here to get your copy of Second Grave On The Left from Amazon.com!
Click here to pre-order your copy of Third Grave Dead Ahead from Amazon.com! (Release Date: 1/31/2012)

Thanks again to Heather for the review! Check out her site at www.shoe-girl.com or follow her on Twitter @_shoe_girl_! The original review for Second Grave On The Left can be found on her site by clicking here!