Eighth Grave After Dark by Darynda Jones

Eighth Grave After Dark by Darynda Jones
Also by this author: The Dirt on Ninth Grave, The Curse of Tenth Grave, First Grave on the Right (Charley Davidson #1), Eleventh Grave in Moonlight
Published by Macmillan, St. Martin's Press on May 19th 2015
Genres: Fantasy, Fiction, Mystery & Detective, Paranormal, Private Investigators, Women Sleuths
Pages: 304
Format: ARC
ISBN: 250045657
ASIN: B00OXID39K
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Sometimes I wonder if the purpose of my life

is to serve as a cautionary tale to others.

--T-shirt

Charley Davidson has enough going on without having to worry about twelve hellhounds hot on her trail. She is, after all, incredibly pregnant and feeling like she could pop at any moment. But, just her luck, twelve deadly beasts from hell have chosen this time to escape onto our plane, and they've made Charley their target. And so she takes refuge at the only place she thinks they can't get to her: the grounds of an abandoned convent. Of course, if hellhounds aren't enough, Charley also has a new case to hold her attention: the decades-old murder of a newly-vowed nun she keeps seeing in the shadows of the convent.

Add to that the still unsolved murder of her father, the strange behavior of her husband, and Charley's tendency to attract the, shall we say, undead, and she has her hands full...but also tied. While the angry hellhounds can't traverse the consecrated soil, they can lurk just beyond its borders like evil sentries, so Charley has been forbidden from leaving the sacred grounds. Luckily, she has her loyal team with her, and they're a scrappy bunch who won't let a few thirsty hellhounds deter them.

While the team scours the prophesies, searching for clues on the Twelve, for a way to kill them or at least send them back to hell, Charley just wants answers and is powerless to get them. But the mass of friends they've accrued helps. They convince her even more that everyone in her recent life has somehow been drawn to her, as though they were a part of a bigger picture all along. Their presence is comforting. But the good feelings don't last for long because Charley is about to get the surprise of her crazy, mixed-up, supernatural life....

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When I see that Darynda Jones has a new book coming out, I do a giddy happy dance, it involves a lot of booty shaking, and fist pumping; cause I adore, love, worship, admire, stalk, her character Charley Davidson.  In fact if I could grow up to be any urban fantasy or paranormal character Charley Davidson or Hermione Granger are my go to girls.  I am definitely going with Charley as she comes with Reyes . OMG. Reyes. Let me just take a moment and contemplate Reyes Farrow. Yes, that is a goofy smile on my face and I sighed.  I challenge anyone who has read these book to not get a goofy grin on their face and sigh just thinking about him.  There are not enough words in the english language to describe the yumminess of Reyes Farrow.   Reyes actually has a scythe and can slice a spine and leave the dude alive, to blood and no gore, but justice is served. Therefore, no one messes with Charley, while Reyes Farrow is on duty and walks away with his spine in tacked.  A severed spine is better than a Hallmark card any day, it says I will love and protect you throughout time.

Eighth Grave After Dark is the continuation of the Charley Davidson series.

Charlotte “Charley” Davidson, a part-time private investigator helping the police with her ability to contact the dead in her full-time role as the Grim Reaper, in Albuquerque, New Mexico, in a paranormal romantic suspense series. (Source Goodreads)

When last we saw Charley and Gang, (feeling like the voice over for Batman televsion series, or maybe Rocky and Bullwinkle)  in the book Seventh Grave and No Body, Charley was pregnant and had just gotten married.  She and her hubby Reyes were expecting a baby girl they called Beep.  Beep is the babies womb name, which I adore.  Charley also found out that her Dad had been killed.  He came to see her after he died.  Yes, I cried like a little girl during the end of book seven. Fast forward to the events of Eighth Grave After Dark, yep, you read correctly; Jones’ jumps ahead 8 months.  This is the first book in the series that made such a large time leap, normally the time leap has been days, weeks or a few months.  Charley is in her finally stages of pregnancy, and everyone else in the known universe safe.  Words fail me when I try to describe my utter fascination with Charley, as I see a lot of myself in this character.  She is like the sassy, snarky, witty Batgirl without the cape and cowl, and she may or may not be a little looney tunes.   She rushes head long into danger, never thinking about her own safety. She always puts others before herself, not matter the cost.  So you know Charley is back and better than ever.  The book is chalked full of great emotional moments, some HOLY SHIT moments, and more Reyes than in any other book.  That last point makes this book worth the cost!  Don’t forget Charley maybe fighting Lucifer himself, but she still is a private investigator and dearly departed fixer.  In this book Charley has two cases, the first centers around a dead novice nun; Charley is living in an old convent,  and the second revolves around a missing fifteen year old girl.  The story about the nun had me tearing up, stupid female ‘Whore-mones’! Those of the departed souls Charley helps are always so poignant.

As with all her adventures Charley is surrounded by her gang of loved ones.  She has a wonderful family of her own making.  Like any family under stress tensions can run high, and things are not always smooth sailing.  Jones’s is brilliant in that she does not tie up every tendril in this book and those few loose ends make for delicious anticipation for the next book The Dirt on Ninth Grave (Charley Davidson Series), which is due out in January of 2016. I have already pre-ordered my copy.