Book Review: First Grave on the Right (Charley Davidson) by Darynda Jones

First Grave on the Right is the first book in the Charley Davidson series by Darynda Jones. Charley Davidson is a part-time private investigator and full-time grim reaper. Meaning, 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 (like 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. But what does he want with Charley? And why can't she seem to resist him? And what does she have to lose by giving in?

First Grave on the Right is an urban fantasy with a great blend of humor, danger, and steam. Charlie can see and interact with ghosts, she is also their portal into the afterlife. She is also a private investigator and consultant with the police department, work that is made significantly easier (but harder to explain) due to her ghostly communications. I love her snark, and find her inner vulnerability and concern for those that cannot defend themselves to be very well balanced and believable. I thought the Reyes storyline and the complication of their possible relationship to be well played and the larger storyline it leads to is intriguing, and I want more. I like the way that the cast of secondary characters were introduced, and how much depth each were given. There were moments that felt like I should already know something about a character, or that there might have been a prequel or backstory that I somehow missed, but most of those were quickly explained and fixed in the story. Ithink the fact that Charlie does not have all the answers but is figuring things right along with readers goes a long way to forge a connection between the reader and her character. I like that I was not able to solve the mystery, and that some things surprised me as much as they did Charlie. Too often I have my theories about who is pulling the strings too early in the story, but in this instance I was as shocked as the characters when certain reveals were made. As a whole I am engaged with the story and the characters, and while there was closure to the story, I still want more (in a good way).

First Grave on the Right is a fun and engaging read. While this is not a new series, I have read one of the more recent instalments and wanted to see where it all started. I was not disappointed. Now I need to binge read the whole series. I highly recommend that other urban fantasy fans that have somehow missed this series to pick it up.