Darynda Jones - Second Grave on the Left

The second book in the Charley Davidson series, published August 16, 2011.
Genre: Urban fantasy / paranormal romance



If you hang around with dead people, life can deliver a whole world of trouble.
Take it from Charley Davidson, part-time PI and full-time Grim Reaper. 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 slash receptionist, have to track down a missing woman, the case is not quite as open and shut as they anticipate. Meanwhile, Reyes Alexander Farrow (otherwise known as the Son of Satan. Yes. Literally) has left his corporeal 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. And if they 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?


Charley gets a rude awakening when her friend and neighbour Cookie barges into her bedroom, and desperately wants her to wake up. Apparently, one of her friends is in trouble, and asked her to meet her urgently at a coffeeshop, at 2 a.m. But when they get there, there is no sign of her friend. Asking the patrons if they have seen her is also not so great, as there are only a couple of ghosts at this time, and the waitress just started her shift. But then the angry husband of the missing friend arrives, and Cookie and Charley have to calm him down. He is very upset that his wife went missing, especially as her behaviour of the last few weeks was so erratic. He even suspects her of having an affair! But when the guy she was supposed to have the affair with is found murdered, Warren is the main suspect. Charley can tell her uncle, the Detective on the case that Warren is innocent, but she will have to find the real killer first, and fast!

And then there is the problem of Reyes. He pops up in Charley’s bathroom covered in blood, and almost kills her when he does not recognize her at once. He refuses to tell her where his body is. He is being tortured by demons, and they are after Charley. He will do anything to keep her safe, even letting his body die! She can’t have that, and so she sets out to search for his body, discovering more and more of his secrets and his past. Reyes is not happy with her, but Charley can’t just let him die on her, not even if he can life without his corporeal body without a problem. But not even Reyes will know for sure what will happen to him, when his body dies, and Charley refuses to take that risk.

When Cookie and Charley find out that more of Mimi’s classmates have died in the last few weeks, they suspect something has happened at highschool, and that something has come back to haunt the ones responsible. But finding out what happened, and who is the one behind the killings, is not that easy. Especially not when Charley is warned off the investigation and gets threatened by some unknown government agents and some thugs posing as FBI-agents.


I liked this book, as it is fast paced, and filled with snarky humor. I also did not like this book due to the snarky humor. In my opinion, not every sentence Charley thinks or says has to be funny and witty and sarcastic. She could just act normal for a while. It gets tiresome. It still is funny, as it is exactly my kind of humor, but it is just too much of it. I do like Charley and Cookie, and they are good at investigating things. The plot did surprise me, just like it did Charley, which I like. And Charley finds out more about her own powers.

All in all a good fast and funny read, but just a little bit too much funny for me. I will read the rest of the books, as I want to know what happens next with Charley and Reyes and Cookie. And why that strange cop hates her so much.

7 stars.

© 2012 Reviews by Aurian