Third Grave Dead Ahead

4.5 stars

If you haven't had the pleasure of meeting lovely Charley yet, let me introduce you. Charley is a witty, sarcastic, downright hilarious female private investigator who manages to get herself into all sorts of trouble on the various cases she's trying to solve. Oh, and did I mention she's the Grim Reaper? The one and only light beyond the grave baby.

From the moment I read the first book in this series, I knew we'd have a long-term relationship. I'm all about the humor mixed into a storyline, and these books definitely have that. I've heard some say it's "cheesy" humor, but I would categorize it more as cheesy with a good dose of sarcastic mixed in. I can't tell you how many times I laughed while reading this book though, which show more is good because that's just what I needed after the last book I read.

The one and only thing missing, or I guess I should say a bit lacking rather than missing altogether, is the steam factor! We get this hottie-hot-hot Reyes who we hardly ever see and after the third book is still a humungo mystery. Every time he enters the room Charley practically salivates at the mouth, and who could blame her? But it's not enough! It's almost too much tension/build up between those two. Don't get me wrong, we get a bit of one-on-one, and in this book we get a lot more Reyes than we have in the previous books (which is still not a lot btw). So I think if the books took it up a notch when it comes to their relationship, then these would easily be five stars for me.

But at the same time what makes these books so fantabulous is the Charley-isms. She's like a walking talking humor stick and really the series is ALL about her. Which is totally fine. I think in a way if the romance were taken to the next level, it might take away from the humor a bit. It's hard to say, but when it gets to that point (if it ever does) then it definitely needs to be done right to stay true to Charley and the series as a whole.

For those of you just starting the series, don't let the teeny-tiny bit of romance deter you (if you're a big romance buff that is) because despite not having a lot in that area, these books still have so much personality and are a serious pleasure to read. If you haven't joined up with Davidson Investigations, then you'll definitely want to come on over if you're a fan of witty female leads who will keep you laughing the whole time, and a dose of mystery that is actually pretty good and not really all that predictable. Bonus!

More of my reviews at I'm Loving ♥ Books. show less

This is the third book in the Charley Davidson series by Darynda Jones and I think it might actually be the best one yet!

"My name is Charlotte Davidson. Charley to some, Charlotte the Harlot to others, but that was mostly in middle school."

Yeah, she's got attitude, which makes her all the more loveable, and extra fun to read! Charley is the only grim reaper around, so any souls that don't move on immediately when they pass can go through her.

"Apparently I was super-duper bright, like the glowing lens of a lighthouse in a storm. The departed who didn't cross when they died could see me from anywhere on Earth and, if they so chose, could cross through me to get to the other side. That was pretty much the grim reaper gig in a nutshell. show more No scythes. No collecting souls. No ferrying the departed across a lake day in and day out, which would probably get old."

Charley and her bestie, Cookie, run a detective agency and Charley is hired to find a missing wife, but of course, it's never that easy. On top of that, Charley has an on again/off again thing with the Son of Satan himself, Reyes Farrow, and that's not going very smoothly at the moment. Throw in a biker gang and a gorgeous bond enforcement agent, and a few ghosts, and you've got yourself a party!

I love this series so much because the characters are so well developed, and the plots are so well written. The pacing is always spot on, so these are very quick reads. I love the relationship between Charley and Cookie and their fun banter. The missing persons case was engaging, and I love all the little side jobs Charley gets pulled into.

In summary, this is my favorite book yet of this series, and I'm already looking forward to reading the next one. I can definitely recommend this book to fans of paranormal romance stories with a good mystery and a lot of laugh out loud moments.

5/5 stars.
.
*** I would like to thank NetGalley, St. Martin's Press, and Darynda Jones for the chance to read and review this book, show less

Judging by the fact that I was still up reading this at 2:40 am I'd say it's pretty darn good. Charley is still just amazing! Toward the end I thought I was going to have to break up with the series because I got so upset however Ms Jones pulled me through and has me chomping at the bit for the fourth book. I will say with this being the first book in the series I've read and not listened to I really missed the narrator. She does a much better job of bringing the characters to life than the voices in my head. I really want to hear her take on Donovan's voice and I can't wait to learn more about his character in general. This biker gang brings some interesting possibilities. Oh and Reyes, we can never forget Reyes. *dreamy sigh*

This is a show more bunch of rambling I know but when a book is good to me I can't keep my thoughts about it in order. 4.5 Stars show less

Crap. I'm addicted to Darynda Jones. Well, specifically to her Charley Davidson books. I can't say as I'm addicted to Ms Jones. Not yet anyway. We haven't met in person and I've never licked, inhaled or injected her into my body in any way. Yet. But she could very well be made of heroine. Her books definitely are. Heroine, as in female hero. Though reading them has become as addictive as crack, so maybe they're laced with drugs too. It would explain why I need the next one in the series so bady.

Third Grave Dead Ahead has multiple plot lines juggled adeptly by Charlotte Davidson, private investigator and grim reaper. First, she needs to track down a missing person a serial killer of a husband probably knocked off. Second, she needs to show more find out the truth about what really happened to the guy Reyes got sent to prison for killing. Is he actually dead? Did Reyes really kill him? Then there's the whole romance plot between kick-ass girl and the son of Satan.

What I Hated

I'm going to get this out of the way: the only thing I really hate is Reyes. No, it's not jealousy because he gets the hot, smart, fun investigator chick and I don't. Not entirely. It's who he is. I am totally ok with him being the hottest guy ever with chiseled everything, muscles everywhere, handsome cock, forged in sin and sensuality. Sure, whatever. I'm likewise attracted to girls with bikini model curves and brilliant smiles, so I understand the physical stuff.

What I hate, is his personality. I don't get women. Why are so many attracted to violent, high-tempered assholes who are angry so much? I remember seeing this same kind of character in 50 Shades and other romance novels. Why is angry attractive or manly in any fashion? Why are girls into angry, violent guys that seem so dangerous? I gotta say, I've lost my temper a time or two in front of girls and all it did was scare the living daylights out of them. So I try never to do it, ever. And yet, there seems to be a very common archetype that women want to fantasize about and it's angry, violent men. Just because he's hot, a bad temper is ok? Are 'bad boys' crack for females? Because they're just about as healthy and practical.

Reyes is flirty and sexual one minute, mischievous and caring the next, and that's fine, I am too. But then he's holding a knife to Charlotte's throat and threating to kill her or her family or cops or whomever, and she's ok with that? She still hungers for him and trusts him? I just don't understand that. One the one hand, I can't open up social media without a blast in the face from women complaining about how men can't be trusted, how we live in a 'rape culture', how men are scary and violent and can't control their sexuality, so they must be monsters inside. I fucking hate it because I'm not that way and it's horrible that an entire gender are being painted so obviously unfairly. Then I turn around and see that female fantasies abound with big, angry, violent, ultra macho, alpha males who break things and smash things and threaten the very women they're allegedly in love with and portecting. Hulk smash me in the face? Ooh, sexy. One of the biggest genres in erotica fiction is the rape fantasy. Christian Grey in 50 Shades is idolized as hot, but I think he's an emotionally and physically abusive psycho. Frankly, I think Reyes is too.

I get the primal desire for a man who can be big and violent in order to protect a girl and keep her safe from the lions and all that. Sure, makes genetic sense. But how do you still lust after a guy who had a knife at your throat and threatened the lives of your parents? How do you trust that guy? Dear women, you're very confusing. Do you hate men for being awful, sexually out of control, dominant beings, or do you crave it? Is anger terrifying or hot? How can you hate us and lust after us for the same things at the same time? It's entirely contradictory! Pick one!

So, yeah, not a Reyes fan. Or, at least not a fan of his temper. To me, it's emotionally immature and any girl who still wants a guy who regularly threatens her and holds a knife to her, needs to leave said guy immediately.



What I Loved

Well, everything else about the book, like, duh.

The cover is sexy, yet cute. And the title, a pun, awesome-sauce.

Charley is bad-ass, kick-ass, smart-ass and hot-ass. The best of all asses. She's just so damned fun. Cookie too. I like how she's both Charley's foil, and encouragement. What a great friendship. What the two of them have totally reminds me of the silliness and brililance of some of my own closest guy friendships. Well done!

I don't want to spoil the ending, but I guessed who was going to become her guardian right away and I'm glad it turned out that way. The other way was too teenager and angsty and predictable. Good choice, Darynda!

I think the story is well-paced, consistently hilarious and fun, and keeps us turning the pages. Over the course of the books, we're definitely building an emotional rapport with characters and I look forward to that paying off later in the series. I'm rooting for Cookie and Uncle Bob. I'd rather see Charlotte with Garrett, but we know that'll never happen. The family Reyes knows from way back are adorable, just utterly cute and provide a nice change of character from everyone else. I was kinda hoping the little girl with the knife was going to do more, that would have been cool. Rocket was funny.

I love how often I laugh out loud reading these books. First page:

There was a dead clown in my apartment. ... Wondering if the dead clown, with his gaze following my every move, had noticed me.

So smart. And it's on every single page. Sweet. Can't wait to read the next one. :) show less

Charlotte “Charley’ Davidson is a beautiful PI with ADD, a penchant for stumbling into trouble, an annoying family and some good friends. Oh, and she’s the grim reaper and a portal straight to heaven that demons want and the Son of Satan, Reyes, is trying to protect. But she can’t be bothered with that because she has cases to solve.

'Third Grave Dead Ahead' is book 3 in the Charley Davidson series and I’m still in love. In fact, I’m going to marry Darynda Jones just for creating such a great series. Oh, wait…I’m already married. And so is she. Damn polygamy laws! Besides, she doesn’t even know me. Oh, well. I guess I’ll just worship her from afar. Even though the ending was just so mean! Well, the ending before the show more actual ending. The pre-ending? Eh, read it and you’ll understand. Lol

As far as I’m concerned this book is another homerun hit out of the park and across the parking lot. Amusing as hell and intriguing with a case that has more twists and turns than a mountain road in West Virginia I found I had a hard time putting this book down. The ending was a one-two punch, a shocker and a big surprise. Though I did want to beat the snot out of both Reyes and Charley’s dad by the end of the book, I can’t wait to see how book 4 has Charley soldiering on. Is it October yet? Just askin’ because time does seem to get away from me with all this reading and I don’t want to miss the release of 'Fourth Grave Beneath My Feet.' show less

I don't know how to continue to say this in any other way, so I'll just say it again in the only way I know how...Darynda Jones, you are a GENIUS!!! This book and series has so many things going for it, I just don't know what pulls me in more. It could be the creative story line, the heart-stopping twists and turns, or the beyond hilarity of Charley and her one-liners...oh wait, I know, it's incredible hottness of Reyes Farrow!! Every time I read the next in the series I fall more in love with Charley and her world of the grim reaper, Cookie, Misery, and the oh so yummy Reyes. Reading this book and series is like talking with my friends, listening to my sister and only understanding her the way sisters do, and it feels like in some ways show more my friends, sister, and myself are a little bit of Charley rolled up into one. The fact that there is a 4th book and the series continues, makes me excited and upset all at one time. Excited for the fact that the series isn't over and there is another book with this world continuing, and upset because I want Charley and Reyes together in their happy, weird, hilarious, sexy world. Ms. Jones, job well done and I am so excited to have stumbled upon this great Charley Davidson grim reaper world! show less

When you’re The Grim Reaper, you can pretty much count yourself as exempt from some of the everyday things people struggle with. I mean, you still have to pay taxes and such (because Uncle Sam has an even greater reach) but you’re pretty hard to kill so the odd ass kicking here and there isn’t that big of a deal and you don’t have to fear the things that go bump in the night. But as a general rule of thumb, it’s still probably best if you don’t royally piss off the son of Satan by permanently tethering his soul to a human body. Charley had a hunch that doing so could be detrimental to her own personal safety but considering the fact that she never got The Grim Reaper 101 handbook with its list of no-nos, she went ahead and show more did it anyway. Angry would be a walk in the park compared to what Reyes is feeling at the moment, so he lashes out the only way he can. Even tied to his human body, Charley is still only one dream away and every time she closes her eyes, he makes sure he is there.

Sleep deprived (because we all know what he can do with a dream), Charley carries on with her day job as a private investigator. A case of a missing wife finds its way to her in the form of a seemingly distraught husband that just reeks of a guilt that only the supernatural can sniff out. With a woman’s life on the line, the clock is ticking and Charley has to hurry up and get her hands on her missing person before Reyes gets his hands on Charley.

Just what are you trying to do to me, Jones? Reyes is there, he’s not there, he might be there, he’s there but not there there and oh wait he is there there. It’s like an all you can eat buffet of Reyes and I’m aiming to get kicked out for gross over-indulgence. God I love this relationship. There would be all kinds of red flags and danger signs if it was actually real but the majority of Charley’s interaction with Reyes is only in her head. Gives new meaning to the term mindfuc- er moving on…

This is the third installment (thus the title) in the series and I’m happy to report that it hasn’t slacked off yet and with an ending that further complicates the situation, no signs of slacking off are even on the horizon. I’ve said it before, but I’ll say it again- I love that Charley is ridiculously good at her job. The mundane one, not the supernatural (she’s good at that too, but it’s kind of morbid to declare death a good thing). I think it’s what keeps me so tied to the character and the stories. I know I’m always in for a good show with very little slapstick to cover up an incompetent character. Charley is tackling a couple of cases at once in this book. There’s the missing woman with the less than innocent husband but she’s also on the trail of someone who is suppose to be dead. It’s all well in good if the dead guy is in fact dead, but if he isn’t, there’s someone close to Charley with a ten year vested interest in his whereabouts.

There. You’ve been thoroughly teased. Go take a cold shower. show less