Tuesday, October 9, 2012

Review: Darynda Jones' First Grave on the Right





If you enjoy the paranormal, romance or mystery, then this is a book you’ll enjoy. If you like all three, bring out the fine china and prepare for a feast, especially if you enjoy a slice of comedy for dessert.

When I first picked up this book I was hesitant. It’s white and pink, incredibly girly and features a grim reaper as the main character. I’ve yet to like a novel where the main character is a distinctly “death-like” figure but there’s a first time for everything. Darynda Jones has made a truly hilarious character who is an excellently balanced blend of quirkiness and hilarity with competence and sexy. It’s hard not to like Charley Davidson, and for her voice alone I’d read the sequel. Any female lead who names her tatas Danger and Will Robinson, is worth reading about just for the laughs.

Fortunately the plot was pretty darn good to. It was completely unpredictable and the lack of a supernatural antagonist was actually refreshing, keeping things at a more believable level, and letting ghosts and grim reapers stay unusual rather than having supernatural things everywhere. Really it was great to see some truly despicable human villains.

The cast of characters is also enjoyable, though at times I wish some of Charley’s contacts weren’t around, simply because while she does all the cool leg work, most of the actual detective stuff seems to be done by her assistant.

The love interest was pretty cool too, will freely admit to never guessing what he was. I will confess a bit of disappointment at the reveal. It was dramatic but I would have liked a few more hints about it along the way or something. Considering the plot and main character though, I can overlook this fault.


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