Second Grave On The Left (Charlotte Davidson #2) By Darynda Jones
Urban Fantasy
Hardcover
August 16, 2011
St. Martin’s Press

Favorite Quote: “Never be afraid to dart around in public humming the Mission Impossible theme.”

Second Grave On The Left opens up one week after First Grave On The Right when Charlotte Davidson’s (Charley) secretary/bff Cookie comes to Charley needing help finding her old friend Mimi, who has suddenly disappeared off the face of the Earth. During Charley and Cookie’s investigation, they discover that Mimi’s high school classmates are being killed one by one and something from Mimi’s past is coming back for her. During all this, Charley is visited by Reyes (fangirl squeeee) in his incorporeal form, who commences to tell her he is being tortured by demons and is going to let his physical body die in order to save her, himself, and the world. While Charley is still not sure about the whole Satan/Angel portal deal and where she and Reyes fall into it, she is positive that she doesn’t want Reyes to kill off his body and decides she will just have to find him too. She also has to deal with the FBI, some mob wise guy fashionistas breaking in her house, and an annoying ghost that appears in her shower but won’t talk to her. How rude!

While book one, First Grave On The Right, had me howling with laughter as we got to know Charley Davidson and watched her snark her way through her job as the Grim Reaper, it’s here in book two, Second Grave On The Left, that we get more a personal and in depth look into Charley’s life and those that are part of it. Ms. Jones delicately enhances the main arc, adding tension and angst, while not sacrificing the characters or the overall appeal of the storyline.

Still chocked full of humor, snark, and plenty of adventurous action, Second Grave From The Left brings us some shocking revelations concerning Charley’s family, Charley herself, and the sexy supermodel son of Satan- Reyes. Fast pacing and witty engaging dialogue keeps the multiple story lines flowing smoothly and the laughter continuous till the end.

Charley is a great protagonist in that she doesn’t take herself seriously. Full of wit and charm, Charley does her best to save the world one latte at a time. I love the banter that Charley has with her friends, enemies, and herself. She never crosses the line to eye rolling clichés as she bounces from scene to scene. Her inappropriate responses to some things had me crying with laughter.

“…Two men from the FBI are here,” Cookie said.

Crap. “Men in black are at the office?”

“Well, yes, but they’re actually in more of a navy.”
Crapola. I so didn’t have time for men. In any color. “Okay, two questions.

Do they look mad, and are they hot?”

After a long, long pause, Cookie said, “One, not really. Two, no comment at this time. And three, you’re on speakerphone.”

After another long, long pause, I said, “Okie dokie then. Be there in a jiff.”

There are three story lines that intertwine and resolve themselves slowly towards the end. None of them are related to one another yet they all blend together fantastically. I loved seeing more of Cookie and watching her help Charley with Mimi’s case. She is such a spaz yet so adorable you can’t help but laugh and cheer her on. She is a great sidekick for Charley in that she believes in her 100% and always has her back.

Other characters, some old and some new, round out the storyline and keep us in stitches. They are every bit as crazy as Charley. Officer Taft‘s ghostly little sister, Strawberry Shortcake, is hilarious and totally steals every scene she’s in.

“Look,” I said, luring his attention my way, “your sister says the chick your dating is a ho.”
He turned to me, aghast, “She’s not a ho. Well, yeah, okay, she’s a ho thus my dating her, but she knows?”
I shrugged incredulous. “Dude, I have no idea if your GF knows she’s a ho.”

“No, I mean Becky. She knows I’m dating someone?”

I threw my palms up. “Maybe if I knew who Becky was…”

He starred at me appalled. “My sister.”

Who knew Demon Child would have such a normal name? I expected something exotic like Serena or Destiny or the Evil One That Comes In The Night To Make Us Chilly.

Charley and her step sister Gemma have a love/hate relationship but they do make some headway in here that shows promise of them becoming friends. Charley’s Uncle Bob and her Dad both pulled a fast one on her and while I personally felt she was way to forgiving towards them, it goes a long way to showing how Charley isn’t as human as she thought and her family knows it.

We get some great scenes and arc development with Reyes and Charley though I wish we could have had more one on one time with them. While Charley understands she is the Grim Reaper, Reyes hints that her powers are astronomical and she could really put a whammy on him if she knew everything she can do. I love the relationship between them though there isn’t a lot of bed play-none in fact. lol The sexual tension and chemistry between them burns up the pages. And Reyes…OMG Reyes. He’s just so yummy. As the son of Satan he is the ultimate temptation. Ms. Jones doesn’t make him all rainbows and butterflies though. He is a demon and he warns Charley repeatedly that he will kill her to prevent world domination by his father. Yet you can’t help but love his devotion it Charley. I mean, here is a guy that managed to circumvent his father and fate in order to be born when she was. Reyes had it all lined up for them to grow up together and live happily ever after till fate struggled to re align itself and tragedy struck. Yet no matter the circumstances, he has always had her back from day one. Now they have reached an impasse and Charley makes a split second decision that changes everything between them.

The ending is a high speed roller coaster ride of fun, action, suspense, and a quite a bit of intrigue as everything comes to a head and Charley fights for her life yet once again. All in all, Second Grave On The Left, is a delightfully funny sequel that more then lives up to First Grave On The Right. I can’t wait for the third book in the series, Third Grave Dead Ahead, which is scheduled to release February 2012.

Rating: B+

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Happily Ever After – 4.5/5
Wicked Little Pixie – 5/5
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