Musings and Ramblings

Fifth Grave Past the Light

Charley Davidson, #5

Darynda Jones

Genre: Urban Fantasy
Publisher: Macmillan Audio
Narrator: Lorelei King
Date of Publication: July 9, 2013
Abridged or Unabridged: Unabridged
Length of Production: 8 hrs and 52 mins

Never underestimate the power of a woman on a double espresso with a mocha latte chaser high. (T-shirt)

Charley Davidson isn't your everyday, run-of-the-mill grim reaper. She's more of a paranormal private eye/grim reaper extraordinaire. However, she gets sidetracked when the sexy, sultry son of Satan, Reyes Farrow, moves in next door. To further complicate matters, Reyes is her main suspect in an arson case. Charley has vowed to stay away from him until she can find out the truth... but then dead women start appearing in her apartment, one after another, each lost, confused, and terrified beyond reason.

When it becomes apparent that her own sister, Gemma, is the serial killer's next target Charley has no choice but to ask for Reyes' help. Arsonist or not, he's the one man alive who could protect Gemma no matter who or what came at her. But he wants something in return. Charley. All of her, body and soul. And to keep her sister safe, it is a price she is willing to pay.

My sister introduced me to this series when it came out and proceeded to rave about it until I finally gave in and gave it a try. I read the first four books back to back and agreed with her assessment of a great series. And in the wait for book five to come out, I got side tracked and it dropped off my radar. Alright, not so much off the radar, as by the time she finished with the book I was into something else and the book just kept sliding further and further back on the shelf. Eventually it because a matter of "Ugh, how many books to get caught up?" I'm sure you've been there.  Then I found the series on audio format, and my thought was to give myself another way to get caught up. I can't believe I waited so long to get back into this series!

First off, Lorelei King abso-freaking-lutely rocks as the narrator for this series. The male voices aren't fantastic, but she nails the snark and sarcasm, the attitude and bad-assery that makes Charley so much fun. Charley pokes fun at everything, and lives life to the absolute fullest. Lorelei gives us that tongue-in-cheek playfulness that is so Charley. I can't imagine going back to just reading this series now. Lorelei has ruined me for Darynda's mere written word. This was my first experience with Lorelei King and I'm hooked.

It has been long enough since I read the other books, that I really needed some previous book summary to help me recall and get back up to speed. Thankfully enough was provided that I felt pretty good moving forward in the book. Would this be enough for someone starting the series at this book? Eh, maybe. But why would you? My previous ratings were all 4 stars, so why not just start at the beginning and enjoy the awesomeness that is to come?  I was so happy with this book and format, I gave it 5 stars and dived right into book six.