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Monday, December 22, 2014

Audible Book Review: Seventh Grave and No Body by Darynda Jones

This is fun, quick listening entertainment.
Written by: Darynda Jones
Narrated by: Lorelei King
Length: 10 hrs and 30 mins
Series: Charley Davidson, Book 7
Unabridged Audiobook
Release Date:10-21-14
Publisher: Macmillan Audio
Genre:  Paranormal, Detective
My Rating: 4.25 of 5.0


Publisher's Summary
Twelve. Twelve of the deadliest beasts ever forged in the fires of hell have escaped onto our plane, and they want nothing more than to rip out the jugular of Charley Davidson and serve her lifeless, mangled body to Satan for dinner. So there's that. But Charley has more on her plate than a mob of testy hellhounds. For one thing, her father has disappeared, and the more she retraces his last steps, the more she learns he was conducting an investigation of his own, one that has Charley questioning everything she's ever known about him. Add to that an ex-BFF who is haunting her night and day, a rash of suicides that has authorities baffled, and a drop-dead sexy fiancé who has attracted the attentions of a local celebrity, and Charley is not having the best week of her life.
But all of that combined barely scratches the surface of her problems. Recent developments - and a few distressing prophesies - have forced her to become a responsible adult. Exactly the kind of adult she's never aspired to be. To conquer such a monumental task, she's decided to start small. Really small. She gets a pet. But how can she save the world against the forces of evil when she can’t even keep a goldfish alive? A tad north of hell, a hop, skip, and a jump past the realm of eternity, is a little place called Earth, and Charley Davidson, grim reaper extraordinaire, is determined to do everything in her power to protect it. We're doomed.
©2014 Darynda Jones (P)2014 Macmillan Audio


Review:
This is the seventh story in this fun series. Charley is excited to be pregnant but she is insecure about her ability to succeed as a mother. Meanwhile she still wants to continue her PI duties and she is glad to help her Uncle Bob on a case of suicide notes and missing people. It is just too inconvenient that the twelve hounds of hell are out to kill her.

Reyes, Charley’s ‘affianced’, is frustrated because he wants to keep Charley and the baby safe but Charley keeps slipping out on him. She gets help from The Dealer, a demon who Reyes doesn’t trust, and Garret, Charley’s skip trace buddy who learned the truth the hard way. But no one really knows how to kill the hellhounds.

Charley helps FBI SAC Carson to find the bodies of missing girls. In the process Carson begins to uncover some of Charley’s secrets. Charley is also worried because her missing father and she has learned that the Vatican has a full file on her. Charley is being annoyed by the whiney ghost of her former bff and Rocket actually leaves his ‘asylum’ to complain to Charley about her actions that are upsetting heaven.

I continue to enjoy the snarky t-shirt and bumper stickers that open each chapter. I also enjoy the humor and the action that keeps the crew hopping. Charley is a little whiny herself at times even as she grows into her surprising strengths and skills. The sex scenes are on the steamy side but I like the natural frustrations that spark the relationship between Charley and Reyes. The overall story moved forward only a little with a bit more history and some new elements thanks to some dead flashbacks and a Priest from the Vatican. Still this is fun, quick listening entertainment.

Audio Notes: Lorelei King does such a great job narrating this series. Her reading completely enhances the story entertainment.

This title is a purchase in my Audible library.

1 comment:

  1. Sounds like, overall, you enjoyed it. I haven't tried the series mainly because I worry it will end up like the Stephanie Plum series - formulaic, etc. I stopped after 7 or 8 books.

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