October 16, 2013

Audiobook Review: Second Grave on the Left by Darynda Jones

Title: Second Grave on the Left (Charley Davidson #2)
Author: Darynda Jones
Narrated by: Lorelei King
Publication Date: August 16, 2011
Publisher: St. Martin’s Press, Audio by Brilliance Audio
Genre: Adult Urban Fantasy
Find It: Goodreads, Amazon, B&N, Book Depository, Audible
Source: Library

If you hang around with dead people, life can get pretty complicated. Take it from Charley Davidson, part-time private investigator and full-time Grim Reaper. Complicated is her middle name. The deceased find her very sparkly. Demons find her irresistible. And one entity in particular wants to seduce her in every way possible.

When Charley and Cookie (her best friend/receptionist) have to track down a missing woman, the case is not quite as open and shut as they anticipate. Cookie’s friend Mimi disappeared five days earlier. Mimi then sends Cookie a cryptic message telling Cookie to meet her at an nearby coffee shop. The coffee is brewing, but Mimi’s still missing. There is, however, a clue Mimi left on the bathroom wall: a woman’s name. Mimi’s husband explains to them that his wife had been acting strange since she found out an old high school friend had been murdered. The same woman whose name Mimi had scribbled on the bathroom wall.

Meanwhile, Reyes Alexander Farrow (otherwise known as the Son of Satan. Yes. Literally) has left his corporeal body and is haunting Charley. He’s left his body because he’s being tortured by demons who want to lure Charley closer. But Reyes can’t let that happen. Because if the demons get to Charley, they’ll have a portal to heaven…well, let’s just say it wouldn’t be pretty.

Can Charley handle hot nights with Reyes and even hotter days tracking down a missing woman? Can she keep those she loves out of harm’s way? And is there enough coffee and chocolate in the world to fuel her as she does?

Here is your signpost for the most hilarious read of the year: Second Grave on the Left.

I read and really liked First Grave on the Right, the first book in the Charley Davidson series. Charley’s sarcastic wit and self-deprecating nature really appealed to me and had me laughing out loud. The super hot romance with Reyes was an added bonus and I was really happy to find a fun new series to get into. I don’t know what happened between when I read the first book and when I read the second one, but Second Grave on the Left was not fun and I really had to push myself to finish it.

The main problem for me with the book was Charley herself. I remembered that she was super sarcastic in the first book and the jokes felt a little forced at times but, overall, I liked her and enjoyed the sarcasm. This time around though, I really noticed how every sentence and word out of her mouth was a sarcastic quip or catch phrase. It’s like she could not utter a normal sentence. Because she would only speak in wisecracks, nothing that came out of her mouth seemed sincere. She also used “like,” “duh” and “totally” too much and I kept wondering if she was a grown woman or a testy teenager. She is also described as being a great PI but I did not see any evidence of this. At least 3 people tail her during the book and she doesn’t notice a single one of them. Later she ends up leading the bad guys to a witness. She makes really dumb decisions and barely manages not to get herself killed every few hours.

I was hoping that Reyes would save this book for me but I didn’t like him either. His interactions with Charley in this book consist of threatening her and saving her life. He even calls her a “whore” at one point, which isn’t a good sign in a relationship. The two still have physical chemistry but the book doesn’t go anywhere with it. And if I have to hear about Reyes’s “liquid brown eyes” one more time, I may scream. There is a reason that I have avoided audiobooks with a lot of romance. Lines that sound swoon-worthy when reading often sound cheesy when read aloud.

Then we get to the ending, which really annoyed me. I don’t want to give it away but Charley’s actions at the end of the book just show how immature and selfish she is. I really can’t think of any other reason why she does what she does.

Lorelei King read the audiobook of Second Grave. I have heard good things about King but this is the first time I have listened to her. King is very talented, giving life and expression to the words and dialogue. However, her voice didn’t quite match what my image of Charley. As I said, Charley is very immature and speaks more like a teenager than an adult. King has a really rich, deep voice that is incongruous with how I perceive Charley. It just wasn’t a good fit for me.

Sad to say that I won’t be continuing on with this series. I don’t think I can take another book of Charley’s one-liners and pouty quips. It’s unfortunate, too, because I really enjoyed the first book in this series. But Charley’s schtick gets old fast and, without a viable plot or other likeable characters, the humor simply isn’t enough.