First Grave on the Right by Darynda Jones (audio book)

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Synopsis from Goodreads: 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.

My thoughts: This story is set in Albuquerque and Northern NM which is already near and dear to my heart. Charley is a woman with attitude that does not take anything from anyone, especially the recently departed trying to find their way “into the light”.

I’ve only read one of them, but this book could be considered similar to the Stephanie Plum series by Janet Evanovich. It is a mystery, but is most definitely on the lighter side. Charley is full of quick wit and snark. More than once I could be heard chuckling as I listened to the story.

The story is completely engaging and highly entertaining. As a former New Mexican, I thoroughly enjoyed some of the references that Charley makes, one of my favorites was when she referred to the pot of green chile at the end of rainbow. (on a side note, if anyone has a great New Mexico style green chile recipe, I’d love to have it.)

There is a little bit of steam between Charley and the mysterious “entity” so listeners should beware of that. The relationship slowly unfolds and nearly drives the reader/listener into a frenzy wanting to know what the heck is going on.

First Grave on the Right is the first of a series and the disks include a preview of the second part, Second Grave on the Left. I didn’t preview it simply because I knew that I would want to dive right into it, but it isn’t being released until AUGUST! I just don’t think I can wait that long.

The bottom line is that this is 9 1/2 hours that were well spent. The story is humorous, there is a sufficient amount of tension and suspense and plenty of snark to keep you wanting more. The story is narrated by Lorelei King who is a new voice to me, but has several credits to her name. She doesn’t have a lot of “voices” for each of the characters, but it is still easy enough to follow the transitions.

You can find Darynda Jones on the web at:

www.darynda.com

twitter: @Darynda

http://www.facebook.com/darynda.jones.official

A Big Thank you goes to Macmillan Audio for sending me a copy of First Grave on the Right. The fact that I received it from the publisher did not affect my review. This is my honest opinion of the audio book. I am sincerely looking forward to the next installment.