Second Grave on the Left (Charley Davidson #2)

 Thanks to a fabulous read along, I got introduced and addicted to the Charley Davidson series. I've a few books behind as I just finished the second book, Second Grave on the Left, when the fourth book was just released this past Tuesday. Luckily, I grabbed the third book from the library and am anxiously waiting for book four to become available.

Description: Charley Davison, a part-time private investigator and full-time Grim Reaper, teams up with best friend Cookie to track down Cookie's friend, Mimi, who has been missing for five days, but the clues lead them to uncover a more sinister plot. Meanwhile, Reyes Alexander Farrow,Charley's mysterious love interest, is busy hunting down Charley to protect her from some scheming demons.

Review: Ms. Jones successfully avoids the sophomore slump and middle book syndrome with the second book in the Charley Davidson series. Our favorite sexy, sassy, and snarky grim reaper has found herself tangled in three messy cases to solve along with sorting out her messy and complicated love life to boot.
With the first book, I had to find a reading rhythm which is why I found the first half of the book a bit slow, but once I got hooked it went smooth sailing. I didn't have this problem with Second Grave on the Left. The mystery had enough suspense to keep me reading instead of feeling a bit bored. Charley and Cookie are working on a new case, trying to solve the mystery behind Mimi's disappearance. Soon a simple kidnapping becomes much more series as secrets from the past come out slowly out of the wood-works. In the meantime, Charley is also trying to find the sexy and stubborn Reyes. There was much more suspense and action in this book which equally matched the trademark humor. I do still have a slight problem with the abrupt transitions from one story line to the other, but I hope this issue will become less of a problem with more books that Ms. Jones writes.

  Reyes, the sexy, tortured, love interest is even more mysterious and infuriating than he was in the first book when we knew nothing about him other than his smoldering looks. Though I find myself a bit weary of him and his hidden secrets, you can't help but be drawn to him like a moth to a flame. He is on par with Ethan Sullivan from the Chicagoland Vampire series as one of the most insufferable hero and I'm honestly not sure if that's a compliment. I'm more of a Team Garrett gal myself. While I can understand his objective, I not really on board with some of his choices in this book particularly towards the end.

  We are also learning more about Charley and her abilities as a Grim Reaper. She is clearly much more powerful than she realizes and I can't wait to find out more about what she can do. I like how we are learning more about her as she is learning about herself. Though the main mystery is nicely solved, we are also given a good dose of family drama and heart ache. There are many unanswered questions left and I'm really curious to see how Charley handles all the obstacles ahead of her.

Rating: 4 stars

Words of Caution: There is strong language, crude humor, some strong violence, and a few sexual situations. Recommended for mature teens and adults only.

If you like this book try: Third Grave Dead Ahead by Darynda Jones (Charley Davidson #3), Accidental Friends series by Dakota Cassidy, Peper Martin series by Casey Daniels, Undead series by MaryJanice Davidson, and the Chicagoland Vampire series by Chloe Neill

Posted in: 2012 100+ Reading Challenge, 4 stars, Adult, Charley Davidson series, Humor, Mystery, Paranormal, romance, Supernatural