*Have You Heard? * Audiobooks For Your Listening Pleasure* First Grave on the Right by Darynda Jones

First Grave on the Right (Charley Davidson #1) by Darynda Jones
Also by this author: Eighth Grave After Dark, The Dirt on Ninth Grave, The Curse of Tenth Grave, Eleventh Grave in Moonlight
Series: Charley Davidson #1
Also in this series: Eighth Grave After Dark, The Dirt on Ninth Grave
Published by Macmillan Audio, St. Martin's Paperbacks on November 29th 2011
Genres: Paranormal Romantic Suspense
Pages: 315
Format: Audiobook
ISBN: 0312360800
ASIN: B004LQ6M60
Goodreads

First Grave on the Right is the smashing, award-winning debut novel that introduces Charley Davidson: part-time private investigator and full-time Grim Reaper.
Charley sees dead people. That's right, she sees dead people. And it's her job to convince them to "go into the light." But when these very dead people have died under less than ideal circumstances (i.e., murder), sometimes they want Charley to bring the bad guys to justice. Complicating matters are the intensely hot dreams she's been having about an Entity who has been following her all her life...and it turns out he might not be dead after all. In fact, he might be something else entirely.
This is a thrilling debut novel from Darynda Jones, an exciting newcomer to the world of paranormal romantic suspense.
First Grave on the Right is the winner of the 2012 Rita Award for Best First Book.

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There are many advantages to being involved in a blog with several people as opposed to just being out there on your own. Of course, there is always the obvious reason: the day-to-day tasks of maintaining a blog get shared. Another advantage is the diversity of interests that enables us to bring a variety of opinions and tastes to our readers. One of my favorite reasons, however, is a purely selfish one. I have a great group of ladies to lead me into book temptation and sometimes even addiction if a series is involved. My latest walk on the wild side (thanks to Lover Karen) is First Grave on the Right, book 1 in the Charley Davidson Series by Darynda Jones.  I wasn’t really sure what to expect from these books, but who could resist the teasers? Charley Davidson, a woman who even her family recognizes is different, is a Grim Reaper. No . . . not the scary guy in the hoodie robe with the scythe. Charley serves as a portal for souls to pass out of this world and into heaven. She has a long memory going back as far as the day she was born and, most fascinating of all, she has a supernatural lover, Reyes Farrow, who was there when she was born, has been following her all her life and is with her still. By the way, he also happens to be the Son of Satan! Holy Hotness! This guy visits Charley in her dreams, in the shower, anywhere he likes.  As a further complication, Reyes is also flesh and blood and, at the time the story takes place, he lies in a coma although that doesn’t prevent him from having his way with Charley! And what a way! Who needs a flesh and blood boyfriend when she can have Reyes?  As the first book in the series, First Grave on the Right serves its purpose well. The storyline is relatively simple to follow as readers are introduced to the players in Charley’s day-to-day dramas which she endures with humor and sarcasm, inevitably managing to wind up in the wrong place at the wrong time and leaving with the bumps, bruises, and cuts to show for it.

Narrator Lorelei King is a great voice for Charley Davidson as well as the other characters, both living and dead. This is my first experience with her work, but Ms. King is a well-established artist in the audio world having recorded work by Janet Evanovich, Patricia Cornwell, Debbie Macomber and others. Check out the link to her Facebook page to read her audio interview with Darynda Jones! I was glad to find that she will also be performing the rest of Charley’s story as I listen my way through the series. I really love the continuity of narrators.

Although there are now ten of the Charley Davidson books, I chose to start with the first book as Karen recommended. This is not a series whose books can be read as standalones; you really need to start at the beginning and let the characters tell you their stories in an orderly fashion if anything about Charley’s life could qualify as orderly. 😀 Several of the ones you meet will no doubt accompany Charley through the series. There are Charley’s father and uncle and their fellow investigator Garrett Swopes who, I think, would like to replace Reyes in Charley’s affections and her dreams, but who can compete with Mr. Supernatural Hotness? Charley’s assistant Cookie is an amazing friend and a whiz with research, but my favorite character is a ghostly being named Angel who assists Charley with her investigations and whose greatest wish is to see Charlie naked! One of my favorite things is the hilarious taglines at the beginning of each chapter which lend themselves to bumper stickers, T-shirts, etc. Tell me you wouldn’t crack up if you saw a T-shirt inscribed with “Do not disturb. Already there.” or a bumper sticker that read “When fighting clowns, always go for the juggler.” I recommend this book to listeners who enjoy lighthearted paranormal romance laced with suspense, laugh-out-loud moments, and likable characters.