Third Grave Dead Aheadby Darynda Jones
Rating: ★★★★★
isbn: 9781250001542
Series: Charlie Davidson #3
Publication Date: February 4, 2012
Pages: 310
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Publisher: St. Martin's Press
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 part-human, 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 hell-bent on murder when the devil's son just won't give up?
2021 Re-read: Wow, I can’t believe I didn’t have anything to say in my original post about how dark this one is, and how hard to read at least one scene was. Re-reading it, even knowing it was coming up, was still incredibly difficult, and I found I couldn’t let myself do more than skim read said scene. It’s the sharp contrast of the often dark plots, to the snarky humour woven throughout the narrative that makes these books readable for me.
Original Thoughts: What a great book. I started it and couldn’t put it down until it was finished. I was hesitant about the premise – Charley can’t go to sleep. I was afraid it would be painful to read – but that wasn’t the case in the slightest. I found myself holding my breath during parts of the story, and although there were places where the reading of the story was difficult – truly painful for the characters at times – the humour never lets up and I love Charley’s sense of humour. The comedic banter she exchanges with many of the characters – especially her BFF Cookie, makes me laugh out loud.
I truly hope I do not have to wait another year for the fourth one. I’ll be re-reading the three I have in the meantime.