Seventh Grave and No Body

Darynda Jones

Oct 2014 · Charley Davidson Series Book 7 · Sold by St. Martin's Press

About this ebook

The New York Times bestseller from Darynda Jones, Seventh Grave and No Body, puts Charley Davidson in the line of more fires than she may be able to handle...

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.

Ratings and reviews

4.75 stars-SEVENTH GRAVE AND NO BODY is the seventh installment in Darynda Jones’s adult, contemporary Charley Davidson UF series focusing on part time PI/full time Grim Reaper Charley Davidson. This is the continuing story of Charley’s life as the Grim Reaper, the corporeal spirits who have yet to pass, and the man to whom she has pledged her undying love-the son of Satan-Reyes Farrow. The series should be read in order for cohesion and the ongoing history between Charley and Reyes. Told from first person POV (Charley) the focus of the storyline follows Charley as she is called in to help investigate a series of ten year old unsolved murders. Meanwhile, not only has Charley been targeted for extermination by Satan himself but someone has sent twelve hellhounds to make sure the job gets done. When a young sixteen year old girl is murdered, Charley is asked by the recently deceased herself, to track down her missing body. With the number of cases building, Charley continues to place herself in danger at every opportunity. Reyes is NOT a happy camper when he discovers that Charley has risked their future for the sake of someone else. The relationship between Reyes and Charley is one of undying love, ordained by hell, and soul mated by birth. Reyes has waited thousands of years for Charley’s arrival and he isn’t about to lose Charley to the demons of hell. Their sexual chemistry is explosive; provocative and intense. But Reyes sex appeal does not go unnoticed and a local reporter aims her sights at Mr. Farrow. As per Darynda’s writing style, SEVENTH GRAVE AND NO BODY is packed full of sarcastic whit, one liners, sexual innuendo, euphemisms and character asides. Each chapter is introduced using ‘bumper stickers logos’ or ‘t-shirt quotes’ adding an even more humorous element to the story. Cookie and Charley play off of one another like yin and yang-a veritable game of table tennis of the mind. With every storyline, Charley begins to amass a following of the recently deceased that assist Charley in one way or another. Not only do these spirits refuse to move forward but they remain behind to help Charley in any way they can. SEVENTH GRAVE adds one more ghost to Charley’s fan club. Darynda Jones is an amazingly, talented author whose imagination grows with each installment. There are moments of humor and sorrow; heartbreak and love; mystery and suspense. My only complaint is the slow reveal of everyone’s purpose (including Charley) in the series. There are so many secrets that have yet to be revealed. The true nature of Charley’s predestination is the biggest secret of all.

So – quick catch-up: Cookie and Ubie are FINALLY a ‘thing’ and Amber is far more amazing than anyone ever thought. Garrett is still working on the translation, the hell-hounds are stalking, Charley’s father has gone incommunicado, someone is stealing bodies from the graveyard, Charley has ‘quit’ caffeine because of Beep, Reyes and Osh (the daeva) are working out their differences while trying to protect Charley from the hell hounds and herself, ok – mostly herself. Oh – and in preparation for Beep’s arrival – her baby with Reyes, she’s sprung out for a goldfish, named Belvedere, and finds herself unduly (and unusually) beset by jealousy when a television reporter, a few ants short of a picnic, start repeatedly appearing to gaze at and hang on Reyes. When you add in the spectre of Jessica, her former and last best friend from childhood, constantly talking and berating her, things are more than crowded around for her attention. Far more involved with the over-arcing storyline of Charley and Reyes – and their fight for the world, this one has only a minor appearance of the PI gig, mostly because Charley is desperate to find her father and Ubie is working on a case of missing people – suicide notes with no bodies, and at this point, her visit with Rocket left her with the understanding that one of the missing is still alive, and then… the hellhounds. Fortunate to get out of the asylum with minor injuries, and most of the damage done to Reyes and Osh, and some to Garrett, they are all hoping to get some real answers from the German scholar who is working on the pages Garrett found: while Reyes and Osh have some idea of the ‘what’ the hellhounds are, and how they were created, they don’t know who summoned them (or if they do, they haven’t shared that info) or just how to stop them – because, of course they don’t just die - they keep coming back because they are built with a single purpose. As with most of Charley’s world, she’s essentially fearless until nearly too late – much of what she learns about her powers and how to wield them is a spur of the moment thing, fortunately she’s usually driven by good intentions, so it often works out to pull her from the brink at he last possible moment. The questions come later, and with an often close-mouthed Reyes, and Osh who seems to appreciate needling him, her questions in this book seem to have few answers, as everyone seems to be a little lost. Overriding all of her instincts to help, to sort things out however is he worry about parenting Beep (now the size of a black eyed pea -hence the name) and the trial run with Belvedere. She’s starting to get a feel for it all with Amber, and seeing just why (and how) Cookie and Amber, Osh and even Garrett have come into her life – and with Reyes out of the frame for yet another series of murders, Ubie on the mend and new questions abut her father – there’s more to be revealed as we continue on this laugh out loud journey. You need to start at book one and take each of these books in order – fortunately there are twelve with the thirteenth to be released in January… it’s well worth the time. Just bring plenty of cold drinks for Reyes and Charley will create some serious steam along the way. I received an eBook copy of the title from the publisher via NetGalley for purpose of honest review. I was not compensated for this review: all conclusions are my own responsibility.

Loved this thrilling, fun and heart pounding adventure filled with danger, excitement and passion... this crazy adventure begins where the last one left off... Loved it! Charley and her people are in for the fight of their lives as they get closer to the coming war. So excited to read the next book and find out what happens next.

About the author

New York Times and USA Today bestselling author DARYNDA JONES won a RITA Award for best first novel for First Grave On The Right. As a born storyteller, she grew up spinning tales of dashing damsels and heroes in distress for any unfortunate soul who happened by, annoying man and beast alike. Jones lives in the Land of Enchantment, also known as Albuquerque, New Mexico, with her husband and two beautiful sons, the Mighty, Mighty Jones Boys.