Fifth Grave Past the Light (Charley Davidson Series)

I have thoroughly enjoyed all Darynda Jones Carley Davidson series. Fifth Grave is up there with the best of them. The sense of humour is a hoot, the romance sizzles and story line keeps up the drama and intrigue. Great book, highly recommended!

Jones cracks this one out of The Asylum. Full of Charley's signature wise-cracking smarts with the added bonus of Reyes within kissing distance, this is a must read. Stick to the order of the other books or you'll miss the punch lines, folks.

The Charlie Davidson series has turned in to one of my favorites. Mrs Jones is absolutely brilliant. Great story line with surprise after surprise. Charlie is funny an inticing, and then there is Reyes.... Yummy! I can't wait for more!!

As much as I've adored this series, this one came way down for me. I don't mind a well-written sex scene every now and then if it's pertinent to the story, but this book was filled with sex. Lots of it. In great detail. If that's your thing, fine. It's not mine. So I was disappointed that the excellent storytelling took a back seat (no pun intended) to all the grinding (and more).

Love it. Just the right amount of humor, pace, and intrigue. Plus hot ass guy. And the hard issues were not forced and shallow they were delved into without steering too much toward depression. I am waiting for the next book!! Sucks it will be atleast a year wait!!

I couldn't wait for this book. Read it in one sitting. Now I have to wait for the next. I really loved the fact that I felt closer to the characters. I can honestly say that I would love to be friends with all these characters. This series is just to much fun.

Disappointed. I've loved all the Darynda Jones books so far except this one. Maybe it's an anomaly - I hope so. Why did Charlie go to Garret's place in the beginning after the bar shooting - there was no apparent reason other than to increase word count - it was useless to the plot. I don't remember Charlie's thoughts being so disorganized in the previous books. She states 3 or 4 different times in the first 50 pages that Reyes took a bullet meant for her. She repeats a lot of stuff that happened in the previous books over and over. Constantly touching on the PTSD and the psychologist part could have been left out all together because it added no value to the story, neither did going to her sister's office to confront her other than to see the scarred police officer. There is so much action going on: Bar shooting at beginning, visiting Garret late at night for no apparent reason, sex with Reyes, not dead nurse, lots of dead females in apartment, psychologist visit, visiting sister, Amber & deaf kid, Cookie going to gun safety class, arsonist, attack and attempted murder on old train bed, Garret almost killing Reyes, the special knife for Charlie, and so much more. All the information on the insignificant dead people as they passed through her could have been left out because they were not truly main characters - it was words to fill the page.

The texting she does with Cookie is confusing, because I couldn't tell when the person talking changed. I had to re-read several areas before they would make sense. The signature snarkiness is sadly overdone. The coffee drinking becomes a major focus in the book, and sadly I don't think that it was intended to. It almost makes the coffee a character in itself instead of a part of her character.

Charlie's love life is really questionable. She lust over Garret, Biker dude no longer around, Reyes, who else? If she is really concerned for Reyes, why does she avoid him? Why not talk to him about what she discovered from Rocket? She takes an unknown number of days after her sex fest with Reyes and doesn't talk to him again and barely thinks of him. They have 2-sex scenes: one close to the beginning and one close to the end. However, she's so busy with everything that is happening, how does she even find time to be his bed partner?

Why such a focus on Jessica? To give a full diatribe of their issues several times and have her keep popping up makes me think she has to be a major part of the plot. Still waiting - I don't know why she's in the story other than to take up white space in the book. Then the end of the book her father tells her he's retiring and getting a divorce. Didn't she already know that from the previous book? Why would he have to re-tell her? There were a lot of side stories that had nothing to do with the overall plot itself and appeared to be put in only to hit a word count.

Then the end was almost expected. Obviously Reyes is besotted with Charlie more than she is with him. I only say this because we have insight into her mind since everything we know is through her.

I liked the first couple of books in this series, but it does not seem like this character is progressing at all. Similar to the Stephanie Plum series by Janet Evanovich, this book is just a rehash of the past books.

Fifth Grave begins a few days after the conclusion of Fourth Grave. Charley is working a "normal" private investigation for a woman who suspects that her husband is cheating. As usual, it doesn't take long for things to go awry, and just like that, Charley and her support team are off and running through another breathtaking adventure that includes eXXXplicit seXXX, graphic violence, several new characters (who seem likely to show up in future books), thrills, chills, surprises, and another cliffhanger ending.

I rated this book three stars because the sex and violence seemed much more intense than in the first four books and pushed me way past my comfort zone. Word for word, I also thought that the amount of back story information included was unnecessary for followers of the series. I would rather have had those words develop the story line of Charley's destiny as a portal a little further.

I admire Darynda Jones' imagination and talent, and her dedication to the craft of writing paranormal fiction. She has a winning series and probably wants to keep it going as long as possible. I wish her all the best. Even though I care about Charley and her Scooby Team, and I'm curious about "the coming war", I just prefer a good developing story line without being side tracked by sex and violence. I'm not sure if I'll be coming back for Sixth Grave, whatever that may be. I'd rather go "Ooh!" and re-read sentences and/or passages for being well written than roll my eyes and skip over passages roiling with sexual passion -- not that the latter can't be the former, just that I'd rather get on with the paranormal than the carnal.

I've really enjoyed all the Charley books so far and although I enjoyed this one too, it had some issues that put it a step below the previous ones. It was disjointed. Several of the Reyes scenes just seemed to be thrown in randomly as filler. There was a lot of exposition devoted to expanding the scope from quirky-detective-solves-cases (albeit with some cool backstory) to some sort of Sweeping War Saga complete with prophesied cast of companion characters. That's a tough transition to handle well and I don't think it worked here. There are also some tics like Charley naming everything that were so overused that they stopped being amusing. I'll still watch for the next book but the series might not be an automatic buy anymore.

Too explicit, too expensive, interesting well written story though. A short book with about 20% devoted to what happened in other books. How stupid do you think your readers are? Did someone actually start at the fifth book?

I was really looking forward to the next installment but was a little disappointed. All of a sudden Reyes is a nice guy? Something is going on. It felt as if Darynda Jones is cleaning the stage for the next book. Her humor (that I just love) is still there but no demons or wacky people.

I love Charley Davidson. In this fifth installment of the series, she continues to discover her powers as grim reaper as she deals with threats to herself and to those she loves. There is plenty of Charley's quirky humor to make me laugh out loud, and her helper/assistant/sidekick Cookie is always good for attitude and humor as Charley enrolls Cookie in a gun safety class to protect the public from Cookie's gun-wielding penchant.

Reyes is as gorgeous, dark, mysterious and compelling as ever, and as Charley learns more about him, she decides to stop resisting his allure. How convenient that he has moved into the adjoining apartment!

Murdered women are congregating in Charley's apartment. Charley is hunting the bad guys, as usual, while the police captain seems to be hunting Charley; he wants to know how she has managed to solve so many murder cases and is determined to discover her secret.

So we have plots within plots: murder mysteries, family conflicts, love, and sex, all presented through Charley's rather bizarre sense of humor. I looked forward to the release of this installment, and I was not disappointed!

Fifth Grave Past the Light is book five in the Charley Davidson series. I'm so glad I am finally getting back into these, though I'm not sure why I stopped since they're so good. There is a ton of humor mixed into the story and it's also full of ghosts and mystery. As always, our leading lady Charley Davidson is working as a PI on a case to help the police but at the same time, she's balancing her grim reaper duties. I already know I'll be binge listening/reading this series so expect reviews for the following books up in the next week or two.

We start off with Charley Davidson, a PI that is also a grim reaper. She talks to ghosts and lets them cross through her on top of helping solve cases for the local police department. It doesn't take long to dive into the mystery elements when she wakes up one morning and finds a lot of female ghosts in her apartment that all have similar appearances in how they died. She's also quickly involved in figuring out who is behind several arson incidents that have the police stumped. That isn't all the plot threads weaved into this novel, though, we also have Charley's hunky love interest, Reyes Farrow moving into the apartment next to hers. After the romance aspect building up in the past few novels, I was so happy to see it finally happen. Reyes is a lust worthy character that has always protected Charley and you can tell her cares for her so much. The tension between the two has been electric and continues to be so.

Fifth Grave Past the Light is a perfect addition to this addicting series. I can't believe I forgot how hilarious DJones' books are. Between Charley and her assistant Cookie, I was laughing in every chapter. I seriously love when humor is mixed into the story and done correctly and this is a perfect example of how it's done. The characters and plot are done well and the story arcs are weaved seamlessly. All in all, this series is perfect for fans of Urban Fantasy with ghosts and romance mixed in.

I have to give major props to the narrator, Lorelei King. She really knocks these audiobooks out of the park with how she voices all the characters. You can easily distinguish between the different character voices and she brings them all to life. I've read one of these in paperback and enjoyed it but I have to highly suggest readers try the audiobook versions if you're open to that format since it adds another level to the story.

This is the fifth book in the Charley Davidson series. Right now there are ten books in the series with the eleventh book (Eleventh Grave in Moonlight) expected to release in Jan 2017. These book just keep getting better and better. I absolutely loved this book and could not stop listening to it! This review will have some spoilers if you haven’t read the previous books in the series.

I listened to this on audiobook and the audiobooks for this series have been fantastic. King does an awesome job of sounding just like I imagine Charley would. She also does great with other character voices and with portraying emotion. This is one of my favorite book series to listen to on audiobook.

With Reyes living down the hall from Charley things have really started to heat up between the two of them...in the physical realm this time. However, Charley gets distracted from this when the terrified ghosts of dead blond women start showing up in her apartment. When the number of dead women gets to the point where Charley can barely walk through her apartment Charley knows she has to figure out what is going on quickly.

We learn a lot more about what happened to Garrett Stokes in Hell in this book as well, which was nice. Additionally we find out a lot more truths behind what Charley and Reyes actually are and what their purpose is. Things are really starting to build and it looks like a supernatural war may be on the horizon.

There are so many awesome characters in this series; I enjoy reading about them all. I love the world and love how we keep learning more and more about the alternate world Charley is from.

The story continues to get more complex and interesting with each book. I love that there are individual mysteries solved in each novel and that there is also a larger story arc that is built on in each book...this my absolutely favorite type of urban fantasy to read.

Overall this was a fantastic addition to the series. This series just keeps getting better and better and shows no signs of slowing down. I would highly recommend to those who enjoy humorous urban fantasy with a lot of action. I absolutely love this series and can’t wait to read the next book in it.

Disappointed. I've loved all the Darynda Jones books so far except this one. Maybe it's an anomaly - I hope so. Why did Charlie go to Garret's place in the beginning after the bar shooting - there was no apparent reason other than to increase word count - it was useless to the plot. I don't remember Charlie's thoughts being so disorganized in the previous books. She states 3 or 4 different times in the first 50 pages that Reyes took a bullet meant for her. She repeats a lot of stuff that happened in the previous books over and over. Constantly touching on the PTSD and the psychologist part could have been left out all together because it added no value to the story, neither did going to her sister's office to confront her other than to see the scarred police officer. There is so much action going on: Bar shooting at beginning, visiting Garret late at night for no apparent reason, sex with Reyes, not dead nurse, lots of dead females in apartment, psychologist visit, visiting sister, Amber & deaf kid, Cookie going to gun safety class, arsonist, attack and attempted murder on old train bed, Garret almost killing Reyes, the special knife for Charlie, and so much more. All the information on the insignificant dead people as they passed through her could have been left out because they were not truly main characters - it was words to fill the page.

The texting she does with Cookie is confusing, because I couldn't tell when the person talking changed. I had to re-read several areas before they would make sense. The signature snarkiness is sadly overdone. The coffee drinking becomes a major focus in the book, and sadly I don't think that it was intended to. It almost makes the coffee a character in itself instead of a part of her character.

Charlie's love life is really questionable. She lust over Garret, Biker dude no longer around, Reyes, who else? If she is really concerned for Reyes, why does she avoid him? Why not talk to him about what she discovered from Rocket? She takes an unknown number of days after her sex fest with Reyes and doesn't talk to him again and barely thinks of him. They have 2-sex scenes: one close to the beginning and one close to the end. However, she's so busy with everything that is happening, how does she even find time to be his bed partner?

Why such a focus on Jessica? To give a full diatribe of their issues several times and have her keep popping up makes me think she has to be a major part of the plot. Still waiting - I don't know why she's in the story other than to take up white space in the book. Then the end of the book her father tells her he's retiring and getting a divorce. Didn't she already know that from the previous book? Why would he have to re-tell her? There were a lot of side stories that had nothing to do with the overall plot itself and appeared to be put in only to hit a word count.

Then the end was almost expected. Obviously Reyes is besotted with Charlie more than she is with him. I only say this because we have insight into her mind since everything we know is through her.

I liked the first couple of books in this series, but it does not seem like this character is progressing at all. Similar to the Stephanie Plum series by Janet Evanovich, this book is just a rehash of the past books.

Fifth Grave begins a few days after the conclusion of Fourth Grave. Charley is working a "normal" private investigation for a woman who suspects that her husband is cheating. As usual, it doesn't take long for things to go awry, and just like that, Charley and her support team are off and running through another breathtaking adventure that includes eXXXplicit seXXX, graphic violence, several new characters (who seem likely to show up in future books), thrills, chills, surprises, and another cliffhanger ending.

I rated this book three stars because the sex and violence seemed much more intense than in the first four books and pushed me way past my comfort zone. Word for word, I also thought that the amount of back story information included was unnecessary for followers of the series. I would rather have had those words develop the story line of Charley's destiny as a portal a little further.

I admire Darynda Jones' imagination and talent, and her dedication to the craft of writing paranormal fiction. She has a winning series and probably wants to keep it going as long as possible. I wish her all the best. Even though I care about Charley and her Scooby Team, and I'm curious about "the coming war", I just prefer a good developing story line without being side tracked by sex and violence. I'm not sure if I'll be coming back for Sixth Grave, whatever that may be. I'd rather go "Ooh!" and re-read sentences and/or passages for being well written than roll my eyes and skip over passages roiling with sexual passion -- not that the latter can't be the former, just that I'd rather get on with the paranormal than the carnal.

I've really enjoyed all the Charley books so far and although I enjoyed this one too, it had some issues that put it a step below the previous ones. It was disjointed. Several of the Reyes scenes just seemed to be thrown in randomly as filler. There was a lot of exposition devoted to expanding the scope from quirky-detective-solves-cases (albeit with some cool backstory) to some sort of Sweeping War Saga complete with prophesied cast of companion characters. That's a tough transition to handle well and I don't think it worked here. There are also some tics like Charley naming everything that were so overused that they stopped being amusing. I'll still watch for the next book but the series might not be an automatic buy anymore.

Too explicit, too expensive, interesting well written story though. A short book with about 20% devoted to what happened in other books. How stupid do you think your readers are? Did someone actually start at the fifth book?

I was really looking forward to the next installment but was a little disappointed. All of a sudden Reyes is a nice guy? Something is going on. It felt as if Darynda Jones is cleaning the stage for the next book. Her humor (that I just love) is still there but no demons or wacky people.

I love Charley Davidson. In this fifth installment of the series, she continues to discover her powers as grim reaper as she deals with threats to herself and to those she loves. There is plenty of Charley's quirky humor to make me laugh out loud, and her helper/assistant/sidekick Cookie is always good for attitude and humor as Charley enrolls Cookie in a gun safety class to protect the public from Cookie's gun-wielding penchant.

Reyes is as gorgeous, dark, mysterious and compelling as ever, and as Charley learns more about him, she decides to stop resisting his allure. How convenient that he has moved into the adjoining apartment!

Murdered women are congregating in Charley's apartment. Charley is hunting the bad guys, as usual, while the police captain seems to be hunting Charley; he wants to know how she has managed to solve so many murder cases and is determined to discover her secret.

So we have plots within plots: murder mysteries, family conflicts, love, and sex, all presented through Charley's rather bizarre sense of humor. I looked forward to the release of this installment, and I was not disappointed!

Fifth Grave Past the Light is book five in the Charley Davidson series. I'm so glad I am finally getting back into these, though I'm not sure why I stopped since they're so good. There is a ton of humor mixed into the story and it's also full of ghosts and mystery. As always, our leading lady Charley Davidson is working as a PI on a case to help the police but at the same time, she's balancing her grim reaper duties. I already know I'll be binge listening/reading this series so expect reviews for the following books up in the next week or two.

We start off with Charley Davidson, a PI that is also a grim reaper. She talks to ghosts and lets them cross through her on top of helping solve cases for the local police department. It doesn't take long to dive into the mystery elements when she wakes up one morning and finds a lot of female ghosts in her apartment that all have similar appearances in how they died. She's also quickly involved in figuring out who is behind several arson incidents that have the police stumped. That isn't all the plot threads weaved into this novel, though, we also have Charley's hunky love interest, Reyes Farrow moving into the apartment next to hers. After the romance aspect building up in the past few novels, I was so happy to see it finally happen. Reyes is a lust worthy character that has always protected Charley and you can tell her cares for her so much. The tension between the two has been electric and continues to be so.

Fifth Grave Past the Light is a perfect addition to this addicting series. I can't believe I forgot how hilarious DJones' books are. Between Charley and her assistant Cookie, I was laughing in every chapter. I seriously love when humor is mixed into the story and done correctly and this is a perfect example of how it's done. The characters and plot are done well and the story arcs are weaved seamlessly. All in all, this series is perfect for fans of Urban Fantasy with ghosts and romance mixed in.

I have to give major props to the narrator, Lorelei King. She really knocks these audiobooks out of the park with how she voices all the characters. You can easily distinguish between the different character voices and she brings them all to life. I've read one of these in paperback and enjoyed it but I have to highly suggest readers try the audiobook versions if you're open to that format since it adds another level to the story.

This is the fifth book in the Charley Davidson series. Right now there are ten books in the series with the eleventh book (Eleventh Grave in Moonlight) expected to release in Jan 2017. These book just keep getting better and better. I absolutely loved this book and could not stop listening to it! This review will have some spoilers if you haven’t read the previous books in the series.

I listened to this on audiobook and the audiobooks for this series have been fantastic. King does an awesome job of sounding just like I imagine Charley would. She also does great with other character voices and with portraying emotion. This is one of my favorite book series to listen to on audiobook.

With Reyes living down the hall from Charley things have really started to heat up between the two of them...in the physical realm this time. However, Charley gets distracted from this when the terrified ghosts of dead blond women start showing up in her apartment. When the number of dead women gets to the point where Charley can barely walk through her apartment Charley knows she has to figure out what is going on quickly.

We learn a lot more about what happened to Garrett Stokes in Hell in this book as well, which was nice. Additionally we find out a lot more truths behind what Charley and Reyes actually are and what their purpose is. Things are really starting to build and it looks like a supernatural war may be on the horizon.

There are so many awesome characters in this series; I enjoy reading about them all. I love the world and love how we keep learning more and more about the alternate world Charley is from.

The story continues to get more complex and interesting with each book. I love that there are individual mysteries solved in each novel and that there is also a larger story arc that is built on in each book...this my absolutely favorite type of urban fantasy to read.

Overall this was a fantastic addition to the series. This series just keeps getting better and better and shows no signs of slowing down. I would highly recommend to those who enjoy humorous urban fantasy with a lot of action. I absolutely love this series and can’t wait to read the next book in it.

SPOILER ALERT

I love supernatural series and really love those with a strong heroine. If there's good snark, sign me up. This is hard to write because I actually love Charley and have enjoyed the rather convoluted backstories. What I absolutely hate is when an author feels she has to pander to the "mommy" set and have formerly strong heroine' s goals to either get married, or get married and preggers. Now, It's only the last line in this book, but I hope that Charley isn't going to go the same way and suddenly lose everything that made her special.

I absolutely agree w/the others who said a lot of this was repetitious. It was and I found myself rolling my eyes...a lot. This is a 3 star book in what was a 5 star series. I hope I'm proven wrong about the direction this is headed.

***As originally posted on my book blog TickettoAnywhere (dot) net***

Holy frijoles Batman!

This is one book that I have a hard time putting into words it was just that good and exceeded all of my expectations. If you're a regular reader of this blog then you know that I've been blitzing through the Charley Davidson books by Darynda Jones. And if you live in Massachusetts then you may have hear my squeal of delight when I received a copy of Fifth Grave Past the Light which is the newest installment in the series. Fifth Grave picks up almost immediately after Fourth Grave Beneath My Feet ends and its just filled with hotness and awesome.

The mystery portion of this book wasn't as intriguing to me in this book as in previous ones and in some cases it even took a back seat to the secondary storylines. Because in this book, dear readers, s*** really starts to hit the fans. Things are alluded to that could have some crazy crazy things happen to our favorite grim reaper in the future. Not to mention the whole crazy portal back story and its future implications. Talk about edge of your seat moments and yet at the same time just not enough. Before this book the whole secondary portions of Charley's purpose was just kinda meh. Well, not meh but it just wasn't at the forefront of my brain. But in Fifth Grave there were just enough details and hints given that have me lusting for more.

And speaking of lust....can we just say ooh la la steamy hot scenes with our favorite son of satan, Reyes. Wow. These are the scenes that readers have been waiting for ever since First Grave on the Right. I just love these two together and their chemistry positively sizzles off the page. Plus there was that ending!! Talk about killer and its a whole millenina (ok only about a year) until the next book is out and you know what will happen next. So while there is a cliff hanger its not one that the story hinges on. The mystery is solved in this book and the cliff hanger is all about Charley.

There was some disappointments in this book and that was a lack of the Step-monster. I may not like the character much but I do like the barbs that she and Charley toss at each other. I also missed Charley's interactions with her father but was glad to see more of her sister. Which such a big secondary cast though it can be hard to give them all the page time that they deserve. So as long as there is Reyes, Cookie, Uncle Bob, and Swoops I can be happy. Mostly. It will also be interesting to see where all these secondary characters fit into that thing that we learn about in this book. I have my ideas and I can't wait to see if they pan out or not.

Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed this book and think its the best one in the series to date. I am eager to see what happens next. If you love a humorous, sexy, fun paranormal story and you haven't picked up this series yet then you are seriously missing out.

***As originally posted on my book blog TickettoAnywhere (dot) net***

Review courtesy of Dark Faerie Tales

Quick & Dirty: Fast paced urban fantasy with a surprising ending (both good and bad)!

Opening Sentence: The dead guy at the end of the bar kept trying to buy me a drink.

The Review:

Fifth Grave Past the Light continues Charley’s misadventures as the grim reaper and private eye. This installment was action-packed and crazy. The main portion of this story take place over the course of a few days, while Cookie is undergoing a gun safety course so Charley doesn’t get the help she normally would on her cases. I still greatly enjoy Charley’s humor and sarcastic wit. It helps to take away from the extremely depressing cases.

Charley wouldn’t be Charley without working on about five different cases at once. Charley is working a run of the mill cheating spouse job when a bunch of ghostly murdered women show up in her apartment. Albuquerque has a serial arsonist and Charley is recruited by her uncle to work that case as well. All of these cases wrap up really well without Charley suffering from bodily harm, or did she say that too soon? This was probably the most worried for Charley than I have ever been with terrible twist that I didn’t see coming.

The people in Charley’s life are acting funny. Garrett is being really secretive. Charley’s father is asking her strange questions. Reyes is being really secretive but is trying to open up to Charley in his own way. Then Captain Eckert (Uncle Bob’s boss) is onto Charley. He confronts Charley wanted to know how she is able to solve the cases that she can.

Cookie is funny. She is supposed to be in a two day course for gun training but she would rather be helping Charley so she keeps calling her, trying to get out of doing the safety course. Cookie and Charley are also funny with their binge marathon watching of some really hot guy shows like Prison Break and Supernatural. This joke keeps popping up throughout the story.

Fifth Grave Past the Light does reveal quite a lot about the plan that Lucifer has for Charley. Her information comes from an unlikely source. We still don’t get all the answers but Charley gets a better idea of what she is up against. I really enjoyed this installment. It kept me on my toes, plus I was not sure how these cases were going to wrap up. The Charley and Reyes ending was … whoa… hot and crazy romantic.

My only complaint about Fifth Grave is the unsolved stories. I know they are part of a bigger picture but between the naked guy and Captain Eckert there are some things that aren’t finished. Then Charley gets handed the case that could get her more answers into Reyes past. It is intriguing setup for the next story that I can’t wait to read.

Overall, this was a fast paced book with an incredibly twisted ending that I didn’t see coming. I enjoy the sarcasm and wit of Charley. The world is sad and crazy and fun but it sucked me in. I would highly recommend this book for fans of urban fantasy who want a book they can laugh with.

Notable Scene:

“Twitter!” Cookie said, pointing at me as she sat beside Agent Carson.

I tossed my rag on the bar and stood up for myself. “Don’t tell me what to do, missy!”

“No, that’s how all these women know about your man and where he works. He has his own hashtag. It’s crazy.”

Why that would surprise me, I had no idea. He had entire websites dedicated to him while we was in prison—why should I have expected any less when he got out.

“Does he really have a Ferrari?” she asked.

“A what?” I asked, stunned.

“According to the Twitter-verse, that man is decked out.” She waved at the rest of the gang as she settled onto the barstool.

A Ferrari? Clearly we needed to bang less and talk more. If he did, where was he keeping it? I would totally have noticed a Ferrari, especially if one were sitting beside Misery.

FTC Advisory: I purchased my own copy of Fifth Grave Past the Light. No goody bags, sponsorships, “material connections,” or bribes were exchanged for my review.

This is for the audio version of this title.
I'd almost forgotten why I love this series so much... well, almost. It didn't take long for me to fully absorb myself into this story again and man, it was good to be back! Fans and followers of this series will not be disappointed... this installment is definitely my favorite of the series so far.
The star of this book for me was Cookie. Laugh out loud funny moments from our devoted best friend, neighbor and assistant to Charley. I wish I could leave some examples but I won't because it would just spoil things for you... just trust me... you're gonna' laugh!
Next in line has to be Reyes Farrow... the now next door neighbor to Charley... and, lets just say that life is very interesting living next to the Son of Satan. He apparently loves post it notes... please pay attention to the post it notes! Especially the one he leaves for Charley at the end of the book... be ready... it's a shocker! And, if you've been wondering if Reyes and Charley are ever going to embrace the passion that brews between them... well, this is the book you've been waiting for... be prepared for some steamy passion filled moments.
Reyes has to be one of the most interesting bad boy characters I've ever read... it's always confusing with this guy. Is he bad? Is he good? Darynda keeps us guessing... and his character always takes me by surprise.
The ghosts are also picked up a notch... and the mystery of solving who the mysterious ghosts are filling up Charley's apartment is definitely the best of the mysteries out of all of these books. This one touched at my emotions and my heart. Yep, there were a few tears. I'm such a sap.
This is also the book where we finally begin to scrape the surface of who/what Charley is... and, the questions that always lurk beneath the surface in regards to Reyes and his true intentions for Charley are beginning to be answered.
I've only really touched the surface of all that goes on in this installment... there is so much happening in this book to keep you turning the pages.
Fifth Grave Past the Light is a story that blends together a nice mixture of humor, mystery, suspense and steamy romance. All the elements mixed together in the right way to make a great story and to keep me wanting more. The only negative is that we have to wait for the next book. I hate waiting... hurry Darynda... we need more!
This was also the first time I have ever listened to an audio book. And, I have to say that I can't believe I never thought of doing this before... I can actually do things like housework and exercise while simultaneously feeding my reading addiction. Now, maybe that's a bad thing... I don't know... maybe one doesn't WANT to do housework... definitely something to consider. This leads to the second part of my review which is my opinion of the audio book. Read by Lorelai King, about 9 hours in total over 8 CDs. I found King's narration to be very engaging and she made it easy for me to fully absorb myself into the story. She is a talented storyteller. I found it refreshing to be able to close my eyes and just listen. Great audio book for those of you who may need to fill up those boring commuting hours or don't have the luxury of sitting on the couch with a book.
I am left feeling bitter sweet emotions now... I've been so excited to read this book... and I wasn't disappointed... but, now it's over. Sighhhhhhhh... at least I have something to look forward too.

Charley, Cookie, and Reyes are back! This smart and sassy series doesn’t disappoint with its fifth book. As with all Charley books the suspenseful storyline is filled with humorous hi-jinx and a lot of sexual tension. The star of the show is Charley, but her supporting characters make the story more enjoyable overall.

With a serial killer on the loose, Charley is trying to prevent him from killing again, especially when her sister appears to be his next target. With the ongoing arsonist case, Charley is staying busy. This hilarious tale will have you in stitches and trying to solve the “who dun it” throughout the book.

Like all Charley books we’re chomping at the bit for the next installment.

Enjoy my review? Read all of them at <a href="http://the-pink-moose.com/">the-pink-moose.com</a>

I love Charley. OK,. I love Reyes maybe more.

Charley is at work again. She is determined to find out who the arsonist is. She has a good idea but needs to make sure she is right. In the meantime, all these deceased women have taken up residence in her apartment. No one wants to talk to her or use her as the portal..another mystery for her to solve.

Reyes is just hot and steamy as usual..even if he is sos. The comebacks and white remarks that Charley has makes me laugh. Book five in the series and still going strong. Can't wait to get the next one from the library.

Every time I listen to a CHARLEY DAVIDSON book I know that I’m in for a wild ride, but Darynda Jones has truly outdone herself with this latest installment. We finally get a real sense of “the big picture” that’s previously only been hinted, and the infamous “key” is at long last inserted into the “lock.” Cryptic enough for you? I’m sure that long-time fans of this series know exactly what I’m talking about, but as for the rest of you… this is a spoiler-free review, so you’d best get reading!

There’s definitely no shortage of plot threads in FIFTH GRAVE PAST THE LIGHT with ghosts galore, a serial arsonist on the loose, a new client with a cheating ex husband, and then of course there’s Charley’s ongoing issues with the son of Satan. My favourite mystery out of the bunch was the one surrounding the 20 dead blondes; I loved the way Jones developed this story line, and the resolution was masterfully done. The other subplots were equally as entertaining, especially the new tidbits we learn about this series’ main arc. Mr Wong continues to be stand-in-the-corner dude, but I’m beginning to suspect that he’s there for a reason. And, that cliffhanger, well let’s just say it’s the reason why I’ve postponed listening to this audio for so long.

I’ve been DYING for more Charley/Reyes’ smexy time since I first started these books, and Jones finally delivers in this installment. I guess it’s a good thing that the author made readers wait for so long because it allowed their chemistry to reach its boiling point, but you can’t blame a girl for wanting less flirting and more “doing.” Their relationship undergoes a lot of growth in this novel—both in and out of the bedroom—and it’s clear that their romance is in no danger of waning anytime soon. The secondary characters continue to be incredibly endearing; Cookie is hands down my fav, but Garrett and Ubie aren’t too far behind.

Lorelei King brings just the right amounts of sultry and sass to these audios. She really captures the essence of Charley’s larger-than-life, smart mouthed, ADD personality, and makes you feel like she’s a real person. King is a skilled narrator with a knack for bringing the snark while still maintaining a good pace and tone. Her character voices are distinct yet remain consistent throughout this series, and she sure knows how to deliver a punch line! I can’t imagine that it’s easy reading Jones’ writing aloud with a straight face, so this woman deserves mad props for this and for her stellar performance.

FIFTH GRAVE PAST THE LIGHT is the best of the best, the crème de la crème, the pick of the litter—well, you get the idea. The Darynda Jones / Lorelei King duo is unstoppable!

I'm not sure why, but I had a hard time putting into words how much I adored this book and love this series. I just have one word to sum up this book: Reyes!!! We see so much more of him in this book, and I loved it! I also love how vulnerable he makes Charley. She is so attracted to him, yet at the same time is worried because of all the things that could go wrong with her being with him because of who he is. I would say more about that, but I don't want to ruin it for those who haven't read the series yet.

I have to say that the Charley Davidson series is one of the few series that just gets better and better with each book. I love how no character is forgotten, and even while their appearances may be small, they are still there. Old favorites like Swopes, Cookie and Charley's Uncle Bob are still a huge part of the story and I love how they almost steal every scene they are in.

As much as I love the humor in the story, Charely's penchant for naming everything (even her couch has a name) but her nicknames for her boobs drives me nutso. I mean, I can see why she named her boobs, but it really throws me off when she and Reyes are in the middle of a hot (and I do mean hot) sizzling scene and she refers to her boobs by their nicknames-Will and Danger Robinson. It just throws me off and almost ruins the scene for me, and I'm not sure why because the nicknames she has for everything else don't bother me nearly as much.

All and all though this series is one that is a must for all Urban Fantasy fans. You have a drool worthy hero, a kick ass heroine and secondary characters you want to be best friends with.

Edited to add: I had a fangirl moment when I met the author at Lori Fosters Reader/Author Get Together in June. I was the girl holding up the line with all four books (in hardcover) for her to sign. I literally heard groans behind me when I got them out for her to sign. I couldn't help it-I'm a Reyes junkie and proud of it!

--Received as an ARC from the Publisher

*Slight series spoilers present*

Fifth Grave Past the Light starts with a bang and ends with a bang. Charley is one of my top 5 female heroines and I don't see that changing anytime soon. The series gets better and better with every book.

Let me start with our favorite couple. I love that Reyes now lives right next door to Charley. It was funny watching her fight against going over there. As always the romance between Charley and Reyes is HOT. I love the way that Darynda describes their feelings and relationship towards each other. The scenes between them come fast and often and I loved every minute of it. The supporting characters of this series are always fabulous. Cookie continues to be another source of entertainment. The opening chapter with her was especially fun to read and I always look forward to her and Charley's interaction. Swopes finds out some pretty major information about Charley and Reyes. We get a small look at it but they don't dive into it as much as I wish they would have. We get a slight peek at what is to come in regards to Charley's ghostly side kick when his mother shows up at Charley's office. I am excited to learn more about him. Uncle Ubie and Charley continue to be close. His presence is there when she needs him and she needs him often.

There is one particular scene in FIFTH GRAVE that was really hard to read. I was in complete and total tears and heartbreak having to read it but I made it through and I could see how it will change how Charley looks at some situations in the future. The ending paragraph will make your eyes bug out and leave you panting for book 6. If you have not started this series you are nuts! Start from book 1, you will not be disappointed.

The fifth book in this series is not a let down.

If anything, I'm trying to locate the lovely Ms. Jones's net server so I can hack in for her e-galley of the next book in the series.

Why?

Because she--somehow--made a gal raised in a christian home fall in love with the son of Satan.

That's right. I love her super-Alpha love interest Reyes Alexander Farrow. I may have some competition from Charley, but hey...

Here's what happens. Charley is a reaper--actually the only living one in existence. Her humor is Outer Limits--I crack up reading her deadpan observations--which takes a bit of the "grimness" out of her reaper duties: being a portal through which the dead cross into the afterlife. When they pass through her, she absorbs some of their memories. Communicating with the dead is handy for Charley's private investigator work. Especially when she helps her uncle solve crimes in his job as a Detective for the Albuquerque PD.

In this book, Charley's longstanding attraction to Reyes Farrow is tested to the limit. See, Reyes has moved into her building--right next door. And he keeps leaving her these sexy Post-its telling her to come over. Charley would like to--but she's nervous. First, as the son of Satan Reyes may be able to lead Lucifer's army straight into Heaven by breaching Charley's portal. Also, Charley suspects Reyes is behind a string of arsons that inexplicably have destroyed every dwelling Reyes ever shared with his sexually abusive step-father. Places where photographic evidence of Reyes' molestation had been hidden in the walls...

At her core, Charley is an honest soul. She won't hesitate to turn Reyes in if he's a criminal. As she isn't sure, she continues to search for evidence. In the meantime she and Reyes share some heated (read: smoking hot) encounters. Because--did I mention he makes me swoon?--he's delicious. Intelligent, strong, virile, compassionate and head-over-heels for Charley without losing his magnetic charisma.

In the midst of her Reyes-confusion, Charley works on solving a newly-discovered serial killer case. She follows a few dead leads, and aids nearly thirty lost souls to find their eternal rest. Her discovery of the arsonist seemed more obvious (to me) but handily removes the tension betwixt herself and Reyes. It seems Charley's life will move to the next level with Reyes into Happily Ever Land--until she's kidnapped by a maniac.

The book ends with an arrangement I hope Charley will not refuse--even if it means the end of civilization as we know it.

These books are housed under Mystery at my library--only because they don't have a "Smoking-Hot-Dead-Funny-Paranormal-Romance-Mystery" section in the stacks. If you're interested, schedule some vacation time and read this series from the start. I think you'll lose sleep. I know I have.

Our Review, by LITERAL ADDICTION's Pack Alpha - Michelle L. Olson:

In a nutshell, and in my most humble of opinions, the best book of the series so far! There are a lot of series where around the 5 book mark the installments start to feel a bit like filler. Not so at all with Fifth Grave!

This book did feel a bit different for me though. More... human, maybe? There was still an amazing amount of mystery and action, and plenty of the spectacular dialogue and intrigue that we've all come to know, love and expect from the uber talented Ms. Darynda Jones, but what we got MORE of in this installment was the further revelation of the character growth and development (across pretty much EVERYONE). The way each piece fell into place as you started to see the whole picture and the links that bind them all was absolutely brilliant. I was left kind of wowed at times. I was also left laughing or shouting out loud to a point where I scared my poor dog and interrupted her sweet dreams of chasing cats and eating steaks or chasing cats that look like steaks... I dunno. ;-)

And yes, for anyone wondering, there's LOTS of Reyes in this one. Hot, sexy, yummy, sinfully delicious Reyes, and let me tell you... some big and fabulous times were had by all (and will soon be had - did I mention that I am insanely wanting book #6 now!?).

So yes... wonderful, highly recommended, beautifully written...a masterpiece of a series. Need I say more?

This is the most entertaining book I've read recently. It's a fantasy: murders, spirits, a Grim Reaper, (they are all over the world), sex, a son of Satan, humor, suspense! The story is very exciting, involved and enjoyable.

The grim reaper, Charley, is a female investigator who can see and talk to the spirits of the dead who haven't yet passed. She has solved many murders, found missing bodies, and convinced many spirits to pass on to Heaven. (She doesn't do Hell.)

The son of Satan, Reyes, had been sent to Earth as a child and suffered a ghastly childhood. His duty is to capture Charley, as she's dangerous for Satan. He's the most beautiful man she's ever seen, and they end up having a torrid love affair. He has no intention of harming her, but protects her.

She finds some spirits in her room, all weeping, and is determined to find out what happened to them. They are not from the same era. She starts an investigation to see if she can track down the deaths. Dangerous work.

There are also many other characters.

This gives you an idea of what the book is like. There's so much in it, and it's great reading if you like fantasy stories. I highly recommend it, and read it in one evening. I was up very late that night!

The book I read had 510 pages, but the lines were double spaced, so it's about equivalent to a little more than 200 pages. The double spacing makes it much easier to read. I've never seen it before.

Very,very good reading.

4.5-5 stars

I'm so very pleased with this series and this was another great addition to it. Charley has a lot of stuff going on in this story as she investigates an arson case as well as a serial killer who's 27 victims have all shown up in Charley's apartment. And as normal, these are just the main cases she's working on and there's always more going on in the background. Things in the paranormal aspect seems to have spiked a bit as we get some unexpected news from Garrett. Also, there's a danger coming for Reyes that has Charley reeling. Now that he's moved in next door he's even harder to resist and Reyes makes some headway in showing Charley some of his good aspects.

The main cases get wrapped up in the end but the danger to Reyes isn't concluded. Now that things are settling down a bit it's nice to see Reyes being a bit less threatening and more sweet to Charley. Things aren't perfect between them but they are improving. Charley is getting more abilities (or maybe I should say that more of her abilities are being discovered) but I do wish she had a bit more control over them. Overall this was a great story and moved the series along nicely...I'm looking forward to the next book. I'd recommend this story/series. :D

* note - I listened to the audio version of this story and the narrator did a very good job.

I am a sucker for a good bargain, which is why I bought the ebook of First Grave on the Right when it was on sale. I'd heard all sorts of good things about the Charley Davidson series back when I read Darynda Jones's YA debut, Death and the Girl Next Door. Little did I know that that bargain ebook would suck me into reading the whole series so far as quickly as I could get my hands on them. If you're looking for urban fantasy that stands out from the crowd, then this is it.

Charley Davidson is a grim reaper. She helps the dead pass over to the other side, and along the way has become a private detective so that she can use her skills to help the police. Her family is law enforcement, so she's even got a bunch of cops willing to trust her. I like that Jones never forgets Charley's day job amid the romantic shenanigans and big time supernatural stuff. Charley solves at least three cases in Fifth Grave Past the Light, one of them an arson case that started in an earlier book (but is easy to follow) and the other involving some very strange, disturbing ghosts.

No detective can be without their kooky pals. Fifth Grave Past the Light is an excellent showcase for Cookie, Charley's best friend, neighbor, and employee. On top of failing to use a gun safely, she gets her own budding romance. Angel, a young ghost who helps Charley out, gets a bit of the spotlight when his mom shows up, curious as to why Charley pays her regularly. But beyond friends, there's Reyes.

The romance in this series is absolutely terrific, and fans of Charley and Reyes's relationship will be beyond thrilled with Fifth Grave Past the Light. Their flirting is adorable and witty, the chemistry is undeniable, and the tension is cutting. After all, there's still that little thing standing between them: the fact that Reyes is the son of Satan. (And, by the way, this book offers a little more insight into just what Daddy might be planning.) I just love the push and pull between them, and that Reyes might test Charley's boundaries, but he still lets her set them.

Fifth Grave Past the Light offers humor, mystery, and sizzle. Jones's world has a simple, consistent mythology that isn't difficult to pick up. Ongoing and new storylines meld together nicely, making it easy for newcomers to pick up. Jones also offers plenty of resolution. It feels like the Charley Davidson series is progressing somewhere, not just spinning its wheels. That makes me happy, although I'd gladly spend a few books spinning my wheels with characters this charming.

And the Queen of cliff hangers strikes again! Why must she torture us so? Why, Darynda, why?

Another awesome book from Mrs. Jones. Of course, I didn't expect anything less. I love the way she can have many mysteries in a book and have you guessing the entire time. It's always wrong, but I keep guessing anyway. Reyes and Charley get pretty friendly in this one. *wink* Those scenes were VERY HOT! And it wouldn't be Charley if she wasn't always in trouble, would it? Eh, she gets in a scrape or two. Swopes opens up a little about his time spent in Hell. Rocket gives us some very disturbing news and Charley has a small break down about it. What? That's not enough for you? Greedy little thing aren't you? Ok, I'll give a you little more. We meet a few new characters. One that has me intrigued is Duff. I can't wait to find out his story. Oh, and there is knife fight that I didn't think I was going to make it through. Literally, my heart was beating so fast I thought it was going to rip right out of my chest. Whew. That was a close one. I thought we would get to know a little more about Mr. Wong, but I guess that comes later. I'm on the edge of my seat for that story! I love Darynda Jones and everything she writes. Sixth Grave cannot get here fast enough. I bow to your greatness Mrs. Jones.

I received this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for my honest opinion.

I don't know if you've read this series yet but, if you haven't, you definitely need to! Now, the nice thing is that you don't have to read the first one first and so on but it really does help with character development and getting to know all that Charlie's gone through since learning she's a reaper. Yep. You heard that right. The main character in this book is a grim reaper. Kind of cool, actually, because she's also a portal for lost souls who use her to find their way on to heaven. This, of course, gets her into a ton of trouble as well, as ghosts are drawn to her like moths to a flame.

Charlie's got a lot going on in this book. She's learning more about her purpose and how best to use her powers, she's attempting to resist the temptation of the totally hot but totally bad boy next door (oh, Reyes. Are you *really* a good guy? Or are you going to bring about the end of the world? Dunno. Right now, it's a coin toss.). What I really like about this series is the family dynamics present. Dad runs a cop bar, Charlie's uncle is a cop and, with Charlie's help, has solved a lot of crimes. They look out for one another. Cookie's there, too, learning how to shoot a gun this time (dear lord. That's not good!) and flirting with all the guys.

If you're looking for a fun, fast read, pick up this book. Or the first book in this series. Or all of them, for that matter.

Briefly: Book five of the Charley Davidson series continues in the same vein as the predecessors, with Charley needing plenty of coffee, antagonizing her family members, driving Misery and helping ghosts move on. This time, though, someone seems to be trying to kill her as well. And why are there so many females filling up her dad's restaurant? It's usually a cop hangout. Plus, someone has purchased the old crumbling asylum where her ghost buddy, Rocket lives and is readying it for a tear-down. And what's with all of the women that are hanging out in Charley's apartment? They need to move on, but none will speak to her. What happened?

Of course Reyes follows her every move...with pleasure. How's it going to work with him living next door..especially with that darned arson problem hanging over his head?

Didja Like It?: I can't decide which I love more...the funny quotes under each chapter heading or that Reyes Farrow...(that's a joke, btdubs)...while those t-shirt and bumper stickers are so awesome that I want Ms. Jones to open an online t-shirt and bumper sticker store, anyone who has caught a glimpse of Mr. Farrow will understand my choice.

Anything Else to Mention?: I am happy to say that I think these stories just keep getting better and better. Yes, there is something else going on besides (or in spite of) the Son of Death; some really spectacular storytelling that is full of wit, sarcasm and mystery. The Trifecta. Then, you add in the sexiness of RF...what's that - a Double Perfecta?

To Read or Not To Read: Oh yes...yes...yes...

Fifth Grave Past the Light by Darynda Jones was published July 9, 2013 by St. Martin's Press. Ink and Page picked this book up from the library, so no one had a choice about whether it was reviewed.

Rating: 4

Genre: Adult Fiction Fantasy Paranormal Mystery Romance Series

This is so terrible but I really just want to start this review with this simply statement, “just pick up the dang books and read them because you won't regret it” kind of thing, because truly, you won't and truly these are just books that you have to experience for yourself.

No matter how much I want to try, I will never be able to convey the hotness of Reyes, the badness and the goodness of him or even how the man will make you feel when you read about him, I just can't, I wasn't gifted with that ability apparently. I don't have Jones' ability to suck you into my review and completely enthrall you.

Nor will I be able to express how completely in love I am with Charley and her ADDness and her craziness and her downright wonderfulness. Or with Cookie's willingness to hang right in there with Charley and sometimes even match her madness. Or with Uncle Bob's downright awesomeness (I want to kiss this man for the love and support he gives Charley!). Or Garrett's weirdness (which all makes a little more sense now after reading this), Angel, Quinton, Charley's dad, gosh, just everyone. There isn't a single character that isn't worthy of your love in this series, except for the bad guys. They get no love from me.

So much came to light in this latest installment. Each book we have been getting just a little bit more here and there about Charley's true nature and abilities and about Reyes and his and each time it just makes me crave more. I want to know everything but it is always done so very well that you don't even realize until the end of the book that, dang, it you wanted more. Instead you are just left feeling antsy and anxious for the next one, because again, dang it, you just want more.

Did I mention this one fet creepier than the others as well? The woman...yeah, they were creeping me out a little with their quiet bug like (poltergeist) activity (it will make sense after you read it I promise).

So much is always going on in these books between Charley's PI business, Charley and Reyes, the demons, ghosts and of course there is always some murderer out there on the loose but usually I can predict a lot of what will happen but, not this time. This time there was a ton I didn't see coming and I absolutely loved it. I relished it.

I knew I shouldn't have started this series until they were all out because now I am left feeling sad and disappointed that the next book isn't out.

It is going to be a really long wait until it is and I have a feeling I will have a really hard time picking up something next and being able to get into the story.

Darn Ms. Jones and her awesome writing abilities.

Even after jumping into this series with book number five, I was loving it so much halfway through that I ordered all four of the previous novels in the series. Wow! This is really well written and such a fun and interesting concept. I felt completely comfortable with all the characters immediately and that is quite an accomplishment for an author. Charley Davidson is the Grim Reaper who controls the portal through which the dead cross over to the other side - the good side that is. Naturally in order to do that she has to have some pretty interesting paranormal abilities which are of immense help in solving crimes of violence.

Charley also has a romantic relationship with Reyes, the Son of Satan himself, which is smoking, sizzling, and hot as the fires of.....well, you know where! I enjoyed the romantic elements in the book, but most of all the perfectly natural feelings all the characters had between each other. The family members, friends, and enemies all felt right and that's another very difficult thing for an author to do so very well. My main point of interest here was actually watching the solving of the criminal cases unfold, though. There is more than one case and that keeps the novel moving along at a fast pace so there is never a sagging middle where not much is happening. The case of the women ghosts was a real heartbreaker and I would personally have liked more time to be spent on interaction with the killer, just to answer lots of questions about "why". In fact, that is my main reason for four stars instead of five for this very well written novel. There were just a few too many places where lose ends were not tied up when they could so very easily have been. Definitely recommended reading, loose ends notwithstanding. I'm off now to read the first novel and find out how it all got started.

Obviously, as the name alludes, this is the fifth book in this series. I am O-B-S-E-S-S-E-D! It is awesome and funny and we learn so much in this book in one scene my mind is still reeling.

As always, Charley is funny and makes multitasking look easy. She has an apartment full of dead blonde women who are scared out of their minds and won’t talk to her. The arsonist is still on the loose and Charley still thinks it is Reyes. One of her cases seems open and shut, but as usual comes back to haunt her (not literally). Angel’s mom suspects something and wants answers and Garrett is hiding something.

I loved Reyes in this book more than in any other book. He opens up a bit more each time and we learn more about Charley’s heritage as a grim reaper.

That is all I am going to say because I don’t think I will say anything that 397 other people haven’t already said in their reviews…but it is five stars so I need to put my 2 cents out there.

For more reviews on the Charley Davidson series or to get other book suggestions visit my blog at: [...]

Okay, maybe not better than chocolate & caffeine, but really darn close!

Thank you a million Ms Jones for this awesome series! It has continually been one of my favorites, and I've been a very bad reader, who has not left a review yet. (Giving myself a smack on the hand.)

If you haven't read the first book, and you love urban fantasy with the yumminness of paranormal romance, this series would totally be for you.

When I first began this series (awhile ago), I found it to be a much needed refreshing read, offering a new and creative world. This author's imagination is a very unique thing and her characters continue to reflect this!

The premise of our heroine being the grim reaper is totally original, along with the addition of being the portal to the afterlife. Sounds kinda strange at first, right? At least it did to me in the beginning! However, this combo pack of supernatural abilities, and Charlie's outrageous personality, make for a mind blowing character !

No need for back story with this review, assuming if you are reading it, then you are familiar with the storyline. . .

This book picks up right where the fourth book left off, with the oh so yummy Reyes Farrow moving in down the the hall from Charlie and Cookie. Woohoo! How things really heat up in this edition! (Fanning myself at the moment.)

We get exactly what we have come to expect from this amazing author, and so so much more. . With a new cook tantalizing Charlie's taste buds, a stake out that ends up with Cookie taking shooting lessons, a psychotic stalker, mass graves, and twenty something female ghosts appearing in Charlie's apartment. What else could happen? The mysteries keep piling up and the clues continue to be intriguing.

Charlie definitely has her hands full with all these events occurring, and yet. . . Ms Harper gives us even more on this thriller of a ride. With Charlie's ghostly connections, her knack for solving mysteries, her trusty side kick, and of course uncle Bob. . . The plot really gets rocky with this one!

Spoiler alert. . .

It's about TIME, fans of this series, get ready for what we've been waiting for. . . REYES FARROW and our girl FINALLY hook up in the flesh, and Oh my, what a happy reader these events make!

As not to give any more spoilers, you are going to have to trust this reviewer that this book is absolutely freakingtastic! There is one scene in particular that will have you on the edge of your seat, but have no fear, or girl can take care of herself. And, I promise the ending will make any fan's day!

More! Give us more Ms. Harper. This satisfied reader has saved every t-shirt quote and has plans to have her own Charlie shirts made in the future. Perhaps you could make a business venture, and offer your own line? (I don't think this has been done yet?) I know I would purchase some tees inspired from this favorite series:)

LOVE, love Charley Davidson!! Darynda Jones has built a hilarious, sexy adventure that I just can't get enough of!!
Charley Davidson, the Grim Reaper, is learning more and more about her abilities ~ at the same time she's settling into an ALMOST normal relationship with Reyes Farrow, the love of her life...and the son of Satan. Reyes has moved into her building, he's bought her Dad's bar...and he's taking up a permanent place in her life. I've so enjoyed watching this relationship evolve ~ it's fun, it's sexy, and you NEVEr know what's going to happen next. I read these, but I also listen to these books as I ADORE the audio version of them!

Fans of Stephanie Plum will LOVE these books as they abound with hilarious one liners, zany antics, and just plain fun! At the same time there is a more serious thread that runs through the books with Reyes and Charley, and what the true agenda is. I'm normally read it out of order kinda gal, but with this series you'd be doing yourself a disservice if you didn't start with Book 1, First Grave on The Right. The entire series is FABULOUS, but each book builds on the last, and we see Charley and Reyes growing into a relationship, Charley growing into her true Reaper abilities...

This one has a MAJOR cliff hanger, lol. I was FREAKED!! I'm dying to get my hands on the next book! Luckily I know Darynda Jones has already got a release date for it. I can't WAIT!!

I just spent a few days in Charley Davidson's world listening to the audiobook, and I already want to return! This series has become one of my favorite guilty pleasures. Book after book Darynda Jones keeps giving her fans the wit, charm and mystery that we've come to love all the while offering something fresh and new. In my opinion, this fifth installment of the series is the BEST one thus far!

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

"I'd rather be in Virginia." --T-shirt worn often by Reyes Farrow

If you're not familiar with this series, every chapter begins with a funny T-shirt, bumper sticker or inspirational quote. I've come to think of them as little gifts of humor sprinkled throughout the story.

So, what happens in book #5 with my favorite coffee-loving grim reaper? Charley has a few more mysteries to solve. All those dead people she sees need her help, ya know! Also, her new neighbor is kinda, sorta distracting. Mr. son of Satan himself, Reyes Farrow, moves in next door and leaves a note for Charley to "Use the key"...thud!!!

"I want you, Dutch, body and soul. I want you in my bed every night. I want you there when I wake up in the morning. I want your clothes strung across my apartment and your scent on my skin."

Throughout the series, Ms. Jones has built and kept the chemistry between Charley and Reyes at a slow, simmering burn and sometimes things get flaming hot, but in book 5, the passion and heat all gets kicked up a lovely, sultry notch! Goodness! Now, I'm all for seeing the bad boy side of Reyes, but we get to see a more tender-loving, nurturing Reyes this time around, and, boy, is he as sexy as ever!

The other things I loved in the book include all the things Garret Swopes had to say. It was very thought provoking. Cookie...who loves Cookie? Me!!! Charley's best friend makes me laugh and smile. I'm hoping cupid strikes in the next book for her. I think it's time for Cook to get some...lovin'! Charley, wow! She certainly kicks some major butt. All I will say is that the last few chapters were shocking and wicked!!!

After reading books 1 and 2, I decided to try listening to these books starting with book 3. I am now officially hooked on the audiobook versions. Lorelei King does a super, fantastic job narrating this series. By now I've gotten used to her voices for Charley, Reyes, and the whole gang. They seem like family now. Her voices for Charley's new GPS app was one of the funniest, laugh-out-loud things I've ever heard! Really, I giggled so much. For the most part, the books in this series are humorous, fun and dark. Listening to them offers quite an entertaining experience.

Darynda Jones, you are such a delicious tease with how you ended this book. Please write faster. I need more Charley & Reyes!
*This audiobook was gifted to me*

Run...run now and get this entire series if you have yet to read it.
Because...
The. Best. Ending. Ever! I don't understand how you do it Darynda Jones. I really really don't. Every time I finish reading one of the Charley Davidson books I think "No way she can top that." My foot always ends up firmly in my mouth, because you can and you friggin' do. If Charley was a real person I would stalk her. Because A) it would be the most entertaining days of my life and, B) she's friggin awesome. Oh, and C) I would probably come across Rayes Farrow....MMMmmmmmmmm. And I wish Cookie was a real person. I would try and be her best friend because we already have the Winchester brothers in common. These novels never cease to make me laugh out loud continuously and are always ALWAYS good for bringing a smile to my face. Although there are some things I can predict, there always things I think I'm right about and then I'm just not. AND THEN there are the things that just come out of now where. Its like the whole "Pay attention to this hand" then- whack! That is seriously how I feel after reading everyone of her novels. The book was amazing. I don't even know if I have any words for it. I will point out that the scene with the therapist and Charley's "art" made me laugh, because really only Charley would plan ahead enough for that. There was a lot of Reyes...which made me giggle, and just enough Swoopes to satisfy me. Yes, I love Swoopes, and what is unraveling in his life...makes me smile, cry, and just want more. I, like Charley in this novel, do miss the biker boys and I hope they return soon. Usually when I come across a series that has this many books I always find that they start to go downhill after a few books and pick up later on, or there is a book that I find to be a "filler" book, but that's not the case with Charley. We are on book five and I'm just as happy with this book as I was the first. I want more, and I don't know if I can wait a couple of months to a year to get it. Perhaps now would be a time to learn how to hack into people's computers? But, I really respect Darynda Jones and other authors too much to do that...but seriously it's tempting.

Good:

EVERYTHING!!!

Reyes---Because he is Reyes Alexander Farrow. If you've the books you clearly understand. If you haven't...you and I need to have a firm talk.

Charley---The most entertaining person ever. Really...she should be given an Oscar.

Swoopes- I love Swoopes. I have always been stuck between Reyes and Swoopes. In my opinion they are both equally awesome. I will forever remember his "5 things never to say to a grim reaper" list.

Cookie-We are kindred spirits as Anne of Green Gables would say. She understand my love for Sam and Dean. And she is probably just as clumsy and absolutely as fantastic as I am.

Uncle Umbie- I can't wait for the day when he finally asks Cookie out. And he's been working out. Bless him.

Bad:

There will never be anything in this category when it comes to a Charley Davidson book. Never.

Overall (Writing style, story line, and general):

Overall this book was absolutely amazing. I think it should be turned into a movie...but they would have to make sure there is an inner dialogue for the Charley character because, really, that is where the gold is.
This book was easy to follow and I never had to re-read to understand what was happening. The plot was awesome and although the mystery wasn't really a fore-front as some of the other novels it really didn't matter because it was entertaining and dramatic in many other ways. There are always punches that you don't see coming in these novels and they always take my breath away. God I love this series.

Book source ~ My local library.

Charley Davidson, Grim Reaper Extraordinaire and Private Investigator, is at it again. There are blonde women invading her apartment and they are too terrified and traumatized to speak to her. She has to figure out who they are, who killed them and where their bodies are so she can help them. However, Reyes, the sexy Son of Satan, has moved into the apartment next door and his fondness for leaving Post-It notes on her door are driving Charley insane(r) with the desire to jump his bones. Again. In addition, she needs to solve some arson cases in which she strongly suspects Reyes is the arsonist, deal with an old high school frenemy and go to therapy for her PTSD all while her best friend and assistant is taking a weekend course in gun safety and conceal carry. She can handle it though. Right? Hmmm...

Sweet Mother of Pearl! Darynda Jones has done it again! I cannot express in any words or body gyrations how much I f***ing love this series. Really, I can't. Five books in and the series only gets better and better with each book. I tear through the books and my family just shakes their head at my manic giggling and refusal to put the book down until I'm done. Though I did have to put this one down. I made the absolutest error in judgment by starting this book at 9:00pm, knowing I needed to go to bed soon. I stayed up until 11:00pm before I forcibly had to put the book down and go to sleep. I can't help it! I need my sleep or I can't function! I did pick it back up the next day and finished it though. How could I not?

Picking up where Fourth Grave Beneath My Feet (I can't wait to see future book titles, I've been making them up in my head) ends Charley is still dealing with PTSD and Reyes as a neighbor. And what a yummy neighbor! Favorite characters are back and we have some new additions that look like they might prove to be very interesting. I can't wait to see if I'm correct. The women in Charley's apartment are heartbreaking and it staggers me once again to realize that there are such evil people out there who do such horrendous things to others.

There are laugh out loud moments galore as well as moments of sadness, joy and steamy lava hotness. *fans self* Quotes by the dozens are running through my head, but there are two that have stuck with me and most likely will for a long time.

"I consumed a fire tonight."
"Yes, you can do that," he said. He laid his head back against the wall. "And I'm made of fire."
I could see that now. Of darkness and fire.
"Is that how you'll kill me?" he asked.
A zing of surprise darted through me.
"Will you consume me?" he continued. "Extinguish my fire with a breath? Suffocate me?"
"I would never kill you. Why would you even say that?"
A sad smile crept across his impossibly handsome face. "I told you a long time ago you'd be the death of me. Surely you know that by now."

And this, which I will only partially quote because I don't want to give too much away, but I've been obsessively puzzling over it since I read it.

"...a warrior, a scholar, a prophet, gatekeeper, a warden and a couple of other figures..."

So, this story solves some cases and some things are explained, but it brings up another whole can of worms. Maybe even a case of worms bought in bulk at the nearest BJ's. And the ending? Holy s***! Who does that with a Post-It note?! And what's Charley going to do? When the he!! is the next book due out?! *pulls out best Charlton Heston impression* D*mn you, Darynda Jones! *shakes fist wildly in air* Ah, d*mn you! *takes breath* Ok, not really, but you better be working on the sequel. *stern look*

Visions of fear and terrible consequences come to mind when the grim reaper is mentioned unless it happens to be Charlotte Jean `Charley' Davidson. Then those visions turn to sexy Reyes Farrow, laugh-out-loud antics, and a mystery or two thrown in for good measure.

In the latest installment in the Charley Davidson series, author Darynda Jones gives us a closer look at Charley's grim reaper powers, as well as Charley the woman.

Narrator Lorelei King once again brings the characters to life with her tantalizing voice. Her cadence draws you in as she expresses the emotions of the characters with her unique mannerisms making each distinct in their own right. Her vocals elevates the author's bewitching tale for a captivating story.

Charley is busy playing private investigator trying to help her uncle solve an arson case. She fears the arsonist may be her hunky new neighbor, Reyes Farrow, the sultry son of Satan.

Meanwhile, dead women suddenly start appearing in Charley's apartment. The women all seem to have been tortured and killed by the same madman. Charley has her work cut out for her as she tracks the killer down only to find her sister, Gemma, could be his next target.

As Charley tackles the cases with her usual intrigue and laugh-out-loud behavior, there are twists and turns along the way to keep you in suspense until the last sentence is uttered. Jones puts an interesting spin on the outcome of this tale that will have fans clamoring for more.

Jones has a distinct way of taking a brutal murder investigation and lightening the tension with bits of humor and steamy romance. Her characters continue to evolve with each new installment. Jones blends realistic situations with paranormal events to create a plausible outcome. The more you listen (or read), the more you believe.

FIFTH GRAVE PAST THE LIGHT can be read or listened to as a stand alone. However, listening or reading the series in order provides a much better understanding of the characters and their actions. Quick comebacks and snappy liners are mixed in with suspense, murder and mystery for a fun new adventure for Charley Davidson, the grim reaper.

FTC Full Disclosure - This audio book was sent to me by the publisher in hopes I would review it. However, receiving the complimentary copy did not influence my review.

FIFTH GRAVE PAST THE LIGHT is the fifth installment in Darynda Jones's paranormal/UF/romance/contemporary Charley Davidson series featuring twenty-something Charley Davidson-part time PI/part time grim reaper/ and full time love of Reyes Farrow-the son of Satan. Like all of the previous installments, Fifth Grave is jammed packed with humor, sarcasm, witty one-liners, t-shirt slogans, bumper stickers, murder, revenge and of course, more sex and romance with Reyes Alexander Farrow.

Fifth Grave Past the Light reveals plenty of information and answers some of our questions about the mysterious map and the key, both of which are believed to be residing on earth, awaiting their destiny. But the story surrounding the key to the map reveals the destruction of the world and in this, the truth may be stranger than fiction and the person who revealed the information is someone who has been to hell and back-literally and figuratively. He has the inside information from both Satan and his son.

Once again, Charley's private life will be invaded by a series of spirits-twenty seven to be exact- who are drawn to her light as the grim reaper but for some reason, none of the woman are willing to move on until Charley uncovers the truth behind their murders. And it will take one small, young spirit, not much older than seven or eight to help reveal the person who may be the only one able to identify the person responsible. And in this particular case, he has a connection to Charley and her family. Oh, and someone recognizes Mr. Wong in the corner of Charley's apartment. Let's hope his presence and identity is finally revealed.

Cookie and Uncle Bob return as Charley's confidants and aids. And Charley will need Ubie more than she ever thought possible when the person she was hired to tail turns out to be more dangerous than she had ever suspected.

Charley's abilities come into question when local authorities take a look at her unbelievable record of solving cold case files and crimes. And the latest cold case to come across her desk is frighteningly familiar and heartbreaking.

The relationship between Reyes and Charley is romantic, sensual, hot and well worth the wait. Reyes, as the son of Satan, has never known love but he has found his soul mate in Charley Davidson-the one woman who is capable of putting out the fire that burns within. The romance sparks within the story as Reyes makes his feelings known to Charley and for him to make them a permanent couple will take some tricky dialogue and promises on both of their parts. Reyes is the epitome of sex on a stick; the ultimate lover and sensual male; he oozes sex appeal by virtue of his looks and presence; and it is Charley Davidson-the grim reaper who will capture his heart and his soul-forever.

Fifth Grave Past the Light is one of the best installments in the series thus far. I am still hoping that Darynda gives some life to Donovan and the Bandits and writes a series or at the very least, a series of novellas so that the reader can be kept up to date on their travels. Angel, Rocket, Garret Swopes, Gemma and Leland Davidson all play pivotal roles throughout the story. And the ending comes with a couple of surprises and not the least is the possibility of a new direction for Charley and Reyes.

Darynda Jones takes an UF/paranormal storyline and adds her sarcastic wit and humor as she pushes her series into another direction. The humor, the sensuality and the action filled storyline make this a must read for anyone who wants it all in the stories they read. Charley Davidson is a heroine who is strong yet feminine; heroic yet vulnerable; loved and yet hated by those she seeks to reveal. Fifth Grave Past the Light is an amazing and fascinating installment in Darynda Jones's Charley Davidson series.

And the Queen of cliff hangers strikes again! Why must she torture us so? Why, Darynda, why?

Another awesome book from Mrs. Jones. Of course, I didn't expect anything less. I love the way she can have many mysteries in a book and have you guessing the entire time. It's always wrong, but I keep guessing anyway. Reyes and Charley get pretty friendly in this one. *wink* Those scenes were VERY HOT! And it wouldn't be Charley if she wasn't always in trouble, would it? Eh, she gets in a scrape or two. Swopes opens up a little about his time spent in Hell. Rocket gives us some very disturbing news and Charley has a small break down about it. What? That's not enough for you? Greedy little thing aren't you? Ok, I'll give a you little more. We meet a few new characters. One that has me intrigued is Duff. I can't wait to find out his story. Oh, and there is knife fight that I didn't think I was going to make it through. Literally, my heart was beating so fast I thought it was going to rip right out of my chest. Whew. That was a close one. I thought we would get to know a little more about Mr. Wong, but I guess that comes later. I'm on the edge of my seat for that story! I love Darynda Jones and everything she writes. Sixth Grave cannot get here fast enough. I bow to your greatness Mrs. Jones.

I received this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for my honest opinion.

I don't know if you've read this series yet but, if you haven't, you definitely need to! Now, the nice thing is that you don't have to read the first one first and so on but it really does help with character development and getting to know all that Charlie's gone through since learning she's a reaper. Yep. You heard that right. The main character in this book is a grim reaper. Kind of cool, actually, because she's also a portal for lost souls who use her to find their way on to heaven. This, of course, gets her into a ton of trouble as well, as ghosts are drawn to her like moths to a flame.

Charlie's got a lot going on in this book. She's learning more about her purpose and how best to use her powers, she's attempting to resist the temptation of the totally hot but totally bad boy next door (oh, Reyes. Are you *really* a good guy? Or are you going to bring about the end of the world? Dunno. Right now, it's a coin toss.). What I really like about this series is the family dynamics present. Dad runs a cop bar, Charlie's uncle is a cop and, with Charlie's help, has solved a lot of crimes. They look out for one another. Cookie's there, too, learning how to shoot a gun this time (dear lord. That's not good!) and flirting with all the guys.

If you're looking for a fun, fast read, pick up this book. Or the first book in this series. Or all of them, for that matter.

Briefly: Book five of the Charley Davidson series continues in the same vein as the predecessors, with Charley needing plenty of coffee, antagonizing her family members, driving Misery and helping ghosts move on. This time, though, someone seems to be trying to kill her as well. And why are there so many females filling up her dad's restaurant? It's usually a cop hangout. Plus, someone has purchased the old crumbling asylum where her ghost buddy, Rocket lives and is readying it for a tear-down. And what's with all of the women that are hanging out in Charley's apartment? They need to move on, but none will speak to her. What happened?

Of course Reyes follows her every move...with pleasure. How's it going to work with him living next door..especially with that darned arson problem hanging over his head?

Didja Like It?: I can't decide which I love more...the funny quotes under each chapter heading or that Reyes Farrow...(that's a joke, btdubs)...while those t-shirt and bumper stickers are so awesome that I want Ms. Jones to open an online t-shirt and bumper sticker store, anyone who has caught a glimpse of Mr. Farrow will understand my choice.

Anything Else to Mention?: I am happy to say that I think these stories just keep getting better and better. Yes, there is something else going on besides (or in spite of) the Son of Death; some really spectacular storytelling that is full of wit, sarcasm and mystery. The Trifecta. Then, you add in the sexiness of RF...what's that - a Double Perfecta?

To Read or Not To Read: Oh yes...yes...yes...

Fifth Grave Past the Light by Darynda Jones was published July 9, 2013 by St. Martin's Press. Ink and Page picked this book up from the library, so no one had a choice about whether it was reviewed.

Rating: 4

Genre: Adult Fiction Fantasy Paranormal Mystery Romance Series

This is so terrible but I really just want to start this review with this simply statement, “just pick up the dang books and read them because you won't regret it” kind of thing, because truly, you won't and truly these are just books that you have to experience for yourself.

No matter how much I want to try, I will never be able to convey the hotness of Reyes, the badness and the goodness of him or even how the man will make you feel when you read about him, I just can't, I wasn't gifted with that ability apparently. I don't have Jones' ability to suck you into my review and completely enthrall you.

Nor will I be able to express how completely in love I am with Charley and her ADDness and her craziness and her downright wonderfulness. Or with Cookie's willingness to hang right in there with Charley and sometimes even match her madness. Or with Uncle Bob's downright awesomeness (I want to kiss this man for the love and support he gives Charley!). Or Garrett's weirdness (which all makes a little more sense now after reading this), Angel, Quinton, Charley's dad, gosh, just everyone. There isn't a single character that isn't worthy of your love in this series, except for the bad guys. They get no love from me.

So much came to light in this latest installment. Each book we have been getting just a little bit more here and there about Charley's true nature and abilities and about Reyes and his and each time it just makes me crave more. I want to know everything but it is always done so very well that you don't even realize until the end of the book that, dang, it you wanted more. Instead you are just left feeling antsy and anxious for the next one, because again, dang it, you just want more.

Did I mention this one fet creepier than the others as well? The woman...yeah, they were creeping me out a little with their quiet bug like (poltergeist) activity (it will make sense after you read it I promise).

So much is always going on in these books between Charley's PI business, Charley and Reyes, the demons, ghosts and of course there is always some murderer out there on the loose but usually I can predict a lot of what will happen but, not this time. This time there was a ton I didn't see coming and I absolutely loved it. I relished it.

I knew I shouldn't have started this series until they were all out because now I am left feeling sad and disappointed that the next book isn't out.

It is going to be a really long wait until it is and I have a feeling I will have a really hard time picking up something next and being able to get into the story.

Darn Ms. Jones and her awesome writing abilities.

Even after jumping into this series with book number five, I was loving it so much halfway through that I ordered all four of the previous novels in the series. Wow! This is really well written and such a fun and interesting concept. I felt completely comfortable with all the characters immediately and that is quite an accomplishment for an author. Charley Davidson is the Grim Reaper who controls the portal through which the dead cross over to the other side - the good side that is. Naturally in order to do that she has to have some pretty interesting paranormal abilities which are of immense help in solving crimes of violence.

Charley also has a romantic relationship with Reyes, the Son of Satan himself, which is smoking, sizzling, and hot as the fires of.....well, you know where! I enjoyed the romantic elements in the book, but most of all the perfectly natural feelings all the characters had between each other. The family members, friends, and enemies all felt right and that's another very difficult thing for an author to do so very well. My main point of interest here was actually watching the solving of the criminal cases unfold, though. There is more than one case and that keeps the novel moving along at a fast pace so there is never a sagging middle where not much is happening. The case of the women ghosts was a real heartbreaker and I would personally have liked more time to be spent on interaction with the killer, just to answer lots of questions about "why". In fact, that is my main reason for four stars instead of five for this very well written novel. There were just a few too many places where lose ends were not tied up when they could so very easily have been. Definitely recommended reading, loose ends notwithstanding. I'm off now to read the first novel and find out how it all got started.

Obviously, as the name alludes, this is the fifth book in this series. I am O-B-S-E-S-S-E-D! It is awesome and funny and we learn so much in this book in one scene my mind is still reeling.

As always, Charley is funny and makes multitasking look easy. She has an apartment full of dead blonde women who are scared out of their minds and won’t talk to her. The arsonist is still on the loose and Charley still thinks it is Reyes. One of her cases seems open and shut, but as usual comes back to haunt her (not literally). Angel’s mom suspects something and wants answers and Garrett is hiding something.

I loved Reyes in this book more than in any other book. He opens up a bit more each time and we learn more about Charley’s heritage as a grim reaper.

That is all I am going to say because I don’t think I will say anything that 397 other people haven’t already said in their reviews…but it is five stars so I need to put my 2 cents out there.

For more reviews on the Charley Davidson series or to get other book suggestions visit my blog at: [...]

Okay, maybe not better than chocolate & caffeine, but really darn close!

Thank you a million Ms Jones for this awesome series! It has continually been one of my favorites, and I've been a very bad reader, who has not left a review yet. (Giving myself a smack on the hand.)

If you haven't read the first book, and you love urban fantasy with the yumminness of paranormal romance, this series would totally be for you.

When I first began this series (awhile ago), I found it to be a much needed refreshing read, offering a new and creative world. This author's imagination is a very unique thing and her characters continue to reflect this!

The premise of our heroine being the grim reaper is totally original, along with the addition of being the portal to the afterlife. Sounds kinda strange at first, right? At least it did to me in the beginning! However, this combo pack of supernatural abilities, and Charlie's outrageous personality, make for a mind blowing character !

No need for back story with this review, assuming if you are reading it, then you are familiar with the storyline. . .

This book picks up right where the fourth book left off, with the oh so yummy Reyes Farrow moving in down the the hall from Charlie and Cookie. Woohoo! How things really heat up in this edition! (Fanning myself at the moment.)

We get exactly what we have come to expect from this amazing author, and so so much more. . With a new cook tantalizing Charlie's taste buds, a stake out that ends up with Cookie taking shooting lessons, a psychotic stalker, mass graves, and twenty something female ghosts appearing in Charlie's apartment. What else could happen? The mysteries keep piling up and the clues continue to be intriguing.

Charlie definitely has her hands full with all these events occurring, and yet. . . Ms Harper gives us even more on this thriller of a ride. With Charlie's ghostly connections, her knack for solving mysteries, her trusty side kick, and of course uncle Bob. . . The plot really gets rocky with this one!

Spoiler alert. . .

It's about TIME, fans of this series, get ready for what we've been waiting for. . . REYES FARROW and our girl FINALLY hook up in the flesh, and Oh my, what a happy reader these events make!

As not to give any more spoilers, you are going to have to trust this reviewer that this book is absolutely freakingtastic! There is one scene in particular that will have you on the edge of your seat, but have no fear, or girl can take care of herself. And, I promise the ending will make any fan's day!

More! Give us more Ms. Harper. This satisfied reader has saved every t-shirt quote and has plans to have her own Charlie shirts made in the future. Perhaps you could make a business venture, and offer your own line? (I don't think this has been done yet?) I know I would purchase some tees inspired from this favorite series:)

LOVE, love Charley Davidson!! Darynda Jones has built a hilarious, sexy adventure that I just can't get enough of!!
Charley Davidson, the Grim Reaper, is learning more and more about her abilities ~ at the same time she's settling into an ALMOST normal relationship with Reyes Farrow, the love of her life...and the son of Satan. Reyes has moved into her building, he's bought her Dad's bar...and he's taking up a permanent place in her life. I've so enjoyed watching this relationship evolve ~ it's fun, it's sexy, and you NEVEr know what's going to happen next. I read these, but I also listen to these books as I ADORE the audio version of them!

Fans of Stephanie Plum will LOVE these books as they abound with hilarious one liners, zany antics, and just plain fun! At the same time there is a more serious thread that runs through the books with Reyes and Charley, and what the true agenda is. I'm normally read it out of order kinda gal, but with this series you'd be doing yourself a disservice if you didn't start with Book 1, First Grave on The Right. The entire series is FABULOUS, but each book builds on the last, and we see Charley and Reyes growing into a relationship, Charley growing into her true Reaper abilities...

This one has a MAJOR cliff hanger, lol. I was FREAKED!! I'm dying to get my hands on the next book! Luckily I know Darynda Jones has already got a release date for it. I can't WAIT!!

I just spent a few days in Charley Davidson's world listening to the audiobook, and I already want to return! This series has become one of my favorite guilty pleasures. Book after book Darynda Jones keeps giving her fans the wit, charm and mystery that we've come to love all the while offering something fresh and new. In my opinion, this fifth installment of the series is the BEST one thus far!

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

"I'd rather be in Virginia." --T-shirt worn often by Reyes Farrow

If you're not familiar with this series, every chapter begins with a funny T-shirt, bumper sticker or inspirational quote. I've come to think of them as little gifts of humor sprinkled throughout the story.

So, what happens in book #5 with my favorite coffee-loving grim reaper? Charley has a few more mysteries to solve. All those dead people she sees need her help, ya know! Also, her new neighbor is kinda, sorta distracting. Mr. son of Satan himself, Reyes Farrow, moves in next door and leaves a note for Charley to "Use the key"...thud!!!

"I want you, Dutch, body and soul. I want you in my bed every night. I want you there when I wake up in the morning. I want your clothes strung across my apartment and your scent on my skin."

Throughout the series, Ms. Jones has built and kept the chemistry between Charley and Reyes at a slow, simmering burn and sometimes things get flaming hot, but in book 5, the passion and heat all gets kicked up a lovely, sultry notch! Goodness! Now, I'm all for seeing the bad boy side of Reyes, but we get to see a more tender-loving, nurturing Reyes this time around, and, boy, is he as sexy as ever!

The other things I loved in the book include all the things Garret Swopes had to say. It was very thought provoking. Cookie...who loves Cookie? Me!!! Charley's best friend makes me laugh and smile. I'm hoping cupid strikes in the next book for her. I think it's time for Cook to get some...lovin'! Charley, wow! She certainly kicks some major butt. All I will say is that the last few chapters were shocking and wicked!!!

After reading books 1 and 2, I decided to try listening to these books starting with book 3. I am now officially hooked on the audiobook versions. Lorelei King does a super, fantastic job narrating this series. By now I've gotten used to her voices for Charley, Reyes, and the whole gang. They seem like family now. Her voices for Charley's new GPS app was one of the funniest, laugh-out-loud things I've ever heard! Really, I giggled so much. For the most part, the books in this series are humorous, fun and dark. Listening to them offers quite an entertaining experience.

Darynda Jones, you are such a delicious tease with how you ended this book. Please write faster. I need more Charley & Reyes!
*This audiobook was gifted to me*

Run...run now and get this entire series if you have yet to read it.
Because...
The. Best. Ending. Ever! I don't understand how you do it Darynda Jones. I really really don't. Every time I finish reading one of the Charley Davidson books I think "No way she can top that." My foot always ends up firmly in my mouth, because you can and you friggin' do. If Charley was a real person I would stalk her. Because A) it would be the most entertaining days of my life and, B) she's friggin awesome. Oh, and C) I would probably come across Rayes Farrow....MMMmmmmmmmm. And I wish Cookie was a real person. I would try and be her best friend because we already have the Winchester brothers in common. These novels never cease to make me laugh out loud continuously and are always ALWAYS good for bringing a smile to my face. Although there are some things I can predict, there always things I think I'm right about and then I'm just not. AND THEN there are the things that just come out of now where. Its like the whole "Pay attention to this hand" then- whack! That is seriously how I feel after reading everyone of her novels. The book was amazing. I don't even know if I have any words for it. I will point out that the scene with the therapist and Charley's "art" made me laugh, because really only Charley would plan ahead enough for that. There was a lot of Reyes...which made me giggle, and just enough Swoopes to satisfy me. Yes, I love Swoopes, and what is unraveling in his life...makes me smile, cry, and just want more. I, like Charley in this novel, do miss the biker boys and I hope they return soon. Usually when I come across a series that has this many books I always find that they start to go downhill after a few books and pick up later on, or there is a book that I find to be a "filler" book, but that's not the case with Charley. We are on book five and I'm just as happy with this book as I was the first. I want more, and I don't know if I can wait a couple of months to a year to get it. Perhaps now would be a time to learn how to hack into people's computers? But, I really respect Darynda Jones and other authors too much to do that...but seriously it's tempting.

Good:

EVERYTHING!!!

Reyes---Because he is Reyes Alexander Farrow. If you've the books you clearly understand. If you haven't...you and I need to have a firm talk.

Charley---The most entertaining person ever. Really...she should be given an Oscar.

Swoopes- I love Swoopes. I have always been stuck between Reyes and Swoopes. In my opinion they are both equally awesome. I will forever remember his "5 things never to say to a grim reaper" list.

Cookie-We are kindred spirits as Anne of Green Gables would say. She understand my love for Sam and Dean. And she is probably just as clumsy and absolutely as fantastic as I am.

Uncle Umbie- I can't wait for the day when he finally asks Cookie out. And he's been working out. Bless him.

Bad:

There will never be anything in this category when it comes to a Charley Davidson book. Never.

Overall (Writing style, story line, and general):

Overall this book was absolutely amazing. I think it should be turned into a movie...but they would have to make sure there is an inner dialogue for the Charley character because, really, that is where the gold is.
This book was easy to follow and I never had to re-read to understand what was happening. The plot was awesome and although the mystery wasn't really a fore-front as some of the other novels it really didn't matter because it was entertaining and dramatic in many other ways. There are always punches that you don't see coming in these novels and they always take my breath away. God I love this series.

Book source ~ My local library.

Charley Davidson, Grim Reaper Extraordinaire and Private Investigator, is at it again. There are blonde women invading her apartment and they are too terrified and traumatized to speak to her. She has to figure out who they are, who killed them and where their bodies are so she can help them. However, Reyes, the sexy Son of Satan, has moved into the apartment next door and his fondness for leaving Post-It notes on her door are driving Charley insane(r) with the desire to jump his bones. Again. In addition, she needs to solve some arson cases in which she strongly suspects Reyes is the arsonist, deal with an old high school frenemy and go to therapy for her PTSD all while her best friend and assistant is taking a weekend course in gun safety and conceal carry. She can handle it though. Right? Hmmm...

Sweet Mother of Pearl! Darynda Jones has done it again! I cannot express in any words or body gyrations how much I f***ing love this series. Really, I can't. Five books in and the series only gets better and better with each book. I tear through the books and my family just shakes their head at my manic giggling and refusal to put the book down until I'm done. Though I did have to put this one down. I made the absolutest error in judgment by starting this book at 9:00pm, knowing I needed to go to bed soon. I stayed up until 11:00pm before I forcibly had to put the book down and go to sleep. I can't help it! I need my sleep or I can't function! I did pick it back up the next day and finished it though. How could I not?

Picking up where Fourth Grave Beneath My Feet (I can't wait to see future book titles, I've been making them up in my head) ends Charley is still dealing with PTSD and Reyes as a neighbor. And what a yummy neighbor! Favorite characters are back and we have some new additions that look like they might prove to be very interesting. I can't wait to see if I'm correct. The women in Charley's apartment are heartbreaking and it staggers me once again to realize that there are such evil people out there who do such horrendous things to others.

There are laugh out loud moments galore as well as moments of sadness, joy and steamy lava hotness. *fans self* Quotes by the dozens are running through my head, but there are two that have stuck with me and most likely will for a long time.

"I consumed a fire tonight."
"Yes, you can do that," he said. He laid his head back against the wall. "And I'm made of fire."
I could see that now. Of darkness and fire.
"Is that how you'll kill me?" he asked.
A zing of surprise darted through me.
"Will you consume me?" he continued. "Extinguish my fire with a breath? Suffocate me?"
"I would never kill you. Why would you even say that?"
A sad smile crept across his impossibly handsome face. "I told you a long time ago you'd be the death of me. Surely you know that by now."

And this, which I will only partially quote because I don't want to give too much away, but I've been obsessively puzzling over it since I read it.

"...a warrior, a scholar, a prophet, gatekeeper, a warden and a couple of other figures..."

So, this story solves some cases and some things are explained, but it brings up another whole can of worms. Maybe even a case of worms bought in bulk at the nearest BJ's. And the ending? Holy s***! Who does that with a Post-It note?! And what's Charley going to do? When the he!! is the next book due out?! *pulls out best Charlton Heston impression* D*mn you, Darynda Jones! *shakes fist wildly in air* Ah, d*mn you! *takes breath* Ok, not really, but you better be working on the sequel. *stern look*

Visions of fear and terrible consequences come to mind when the grim reaper is mentioned unless it happens to be Charlotte Jean `Charley' Davidson. Then those visions turn to sexy Reyes Farrow, laugh-out-loud antics, and a mystery or two thrown in for good measure.

In the latest installment in the Charley Davidson series, author Darynda Jones gives us a closer look at Charley's grim reaper powers, as well as Charley the woman.

Narrator Lorelei King once again brings the characters to life with her tantalizing voice. Her cadence draws you in as she expresses the emotions of the characters with her unique mannerisms making each distinct in their own right. Her vocals elevates the author's bewitching tale for a captivating story.

Charley is busy playing private investigator trying to help her uncle solve an arson case. She fears the arsonist may be her hunky new neighbor, Reyes Farrow, the sultry son of Satan.

Meanwhile, dead women suddenly start appearing in Charley's apartment. The women all seem to have been tortured and killed by the same madman. Charley has her work cut out for her as she tracks the killer down only to find her sister, Gemma, could be his next target.

As Charley tackles the cases with her usual intrigue and laugh-out-loud behavior, there are twists and turns along the way to keep you in suspense until the last sentence is uttered. Jones puts an interesting spin on the outcome of this tale that will have fans clamoring for more.

Jones has a distinct way of taking a brutal murder investigation and lightening the tension with bits of humor and steamy romance. Her characters continue to evolve with each new installment. Jones blends realistic situations with paranormal events to create a plausible outcome. The more you listen (or read), the more you believe.

FIFTH GRAVE PAST THE LIGHT can be read or listened to as a stand alone. However, listening or reading the series in order provides a much better understanding of the characters and their actions. Quick comebacks and snappy liners are mixed in with suspense, murder and mystery for a fun new adventure for Charley Davidson, the grim reaper.

FTC Full Disclosure - This audio book was sent to me by the publisher in hopes I would review it. However, receiving the complimentary copy did not influence my review.

FIFTH GRAVE PAST THE LIGHT is the fifth installment in Darynda Jones's paranormal/UF/romance/contemporary Charley Davidson series featuring twenty-something Charley Davidson-part time PI/part time grim reaper/ and full time love of Reyes Farrow-the son of Satan. Like all of the previous installments, Fifth Grave is jammed packed with humor, sarcasm, witty one-liners, t-shirt slogans, bumper stickers, murder, revenge and of course, more sex and romance with Reyes Alexander Farrow.

Fifth Grave Past the Light reveals plenty of information and answers some of our questions about the mysterious map and the key, both of which are believed to be residing on earth, awaiting their destiny. But the story surrounding the key to the map reveals the destruction of the world and in this, the truth may be stranger than fiction and the person who revealed the information is someone who has been to hell and back-literally and figuratively. He has the inside information from both Satan and his son.

Once again, Charley's private life will be invaded by a series of spirits-twenty seven to be exact- who are drawn to her light as the grim reaper but for some reason, none of the woman are willing to move on until Charley uncovers the truth behind their murders. And it will take one small, young spirit, not much older than seven or eight to help reveal the person who may be the only one able to identify the person responsible. And in this particular case, he has a connection to Charley and her family. Oh, and someone recognizes Mr. Wong in the corner of Charley's apartment. Let's hope his presence and identity is finally revealed.

Cookie and Uncle Bob return as Charley's confidants and aids. And Charley will need Ubie more than she ever thought possible when the person she was hired to tail turns out to be more dangerous than she had ever suspected.

Charley's abilities come into question when local authorities take a look at her unbelievable record of solving cold case files and crimes. And the latest cold case to come across her desk is frighteningly familiar and heartbreaking.

The relationship between Reyes and Charley is romantic, sensual, hot and well worth the wait. Reyes, as the son of Satan, has never known love but he has found his soul mate in Charley Davidson-the one woman who is capable of putting out the fire that burns within. The romance sparks within the story as Reyes makes his feelings known to Charley and for him to make them a permanent couple will take some tricky dialogue and promises on both of their parts. Reyes is the epitome of sex on a stick; the ultimate lover and sensual male; he oozes sex appeal by virtue of his looks and presence; and it is Charley Davidson-the grim reaper who will capture his heart and his soul-forever.

Fifth Grave Past the Light is one of the best installments in the series thus far. I am still hoping that Darynda gives some life to Donovan and the Bandits and writes a series or at the very least, a series of novellas so that the reader can be kept up to date on their travels. Angel, Rocket, Garret Swopes, Gemma and Leland Davidson all play pivotal roles throughout the story. And the ending comes with a couple of surprises and not the least is the possibility of a new direction for Charley and Reyes.

Darynda Jones takes an UF/paranormal storyline and adds her sarcastic wit and humor as she pushes her series into another direction. The humor, the sensuality and the action filled storyline make this a must read for anyone who wants it all in the stories they read. Charley Davidson is a heroine who is strong yet feminine; heroic yet vulnerable; loved and yet hated by those she seeks to reveal. Fifth Grave Past the Light is an amazing and fascinating installment in Darynda Jones's Charley Davidson series.

**Review courtesy of All Things Urban Fantasy**

Charley Davidson is the kind of urban fantasy heroine that I want to be. Barring that, I'd love for her to be my best friend. Since she's fictional, I suppose it's a bit hard for that to happen, so in the meantime, I kept myself happy by reading FIFTH GRAVE PAST THE LIGHT, the fifth installment in the Charley Davidson series. Opening up a Charley book is like slipping into your favorite pair of jeans- comfortable and familiar. I sat down and read this book straight through in an afternoon, not wanting it to end, but at the same time dying to know what was coming next.

Our usual cast of characters is back- Charley, Cookie, Uncle Bob, of course Reyes, and all the rest of the people that we're used to in Charley's life- ghosts included. While it was a bit hard to keep everybody straight, Jones did a good job of throwing in a sentence or two about everybody's backstory so I never felt lost. Another thing about Jones is that she is really good about writing relationships- not just the Charley and Reyes relationship, but Charley's relationships with Cookie, her uncle, and Garrett, for example, all stand out and make Charley and her world seem that much more real.

As we find out more about the prophecies surrounding Charley, and why Reyes is on Earth after all, the paranormal aspects get better and more evolved. The little pieces that get dropped in are starting to make a larger picture, and color me intrigued! Plus, Reyes is one of the most enigmatic heroes ever, still maintaining an aura of mystery after five books, which, for a hero who is pretty much dating our heroine, has got to be some sort of urban fantasy series record. Overall, the combination kept me on my seat, pretty much begging the book (which yes, I realize is an inanimate object) for more details. Add in the smokin' hot scenes between Charley and Reyes, and you've got perfection, in my eyes.

One little thing that bothered me was that at the end of FIFTH GRAVE PAST THE LIGHT, there was a rather traumatic situation that Charley found herself in, and I felt she bounced back relatively quickly compared to in the past. Maybe she's getting better at dealing, but considering how she went to a therapist in this book to deal with her encounter with Earl Walker a few books back, her fast recovery surprised me and seemed out of character. Who knows though- maybe we'll see more of the repercussions in SIXTH GRAVE ON THE EDGE, the next book in the series, which I unfortunately have to wait for until at least next year.

So, even though I want Charley all to myself, I do realize that I need to share, and I definitely encourage you to pick up FIFTH GRAVE PAST THE LIGHT. If you're a new reader to the Charley Davidson series, you should be able to jump in with minimal confusion, though I would highly recommend not depriving yourself of books one through four. And if you're already a fan, you're going to love it- from the dead guy trying to buy Charley a drink at the bar on page one, to the startling post-it note from Reyes on the very last page.

My rating: 4.5 of 5 stars
A copy of Fifth Grave Past the Light was provided to me by St. Martin's Press for review purposes.

'The dead guy at the end of the bar kept trying to buy me a drink. Which figured. No one else was even taking a second look and I'd dressed to the nines.'

Charley Davidson is, as usual, up to her elbows in work and she's the only one equipped to handle it. Her apartment has suddenly been taken over by a few dozen ghostly blonde women who show no interest in passing, she almost gets shot after she enlists Cookie to help her in a recent PI case and add to that the ever-distracting Reyes is an arson suspect and he's officially moved in right next door to her.

"My dad put himself through college by setting up cons and selling moonshine. He was a pretty famous moonshiner, actually."
"My dad's pretty famous too." We all turned to stare at Reyes.

This series never fails to disappoint and has gotten better and better with each installment. Charley Davidson is one of my all-time favorite female leads: she's hilarious and snarky and totally bada** but not in excess. And if Charley is one of my favorite female leads, Reyes definitely earns a spot on my favorite male leads. Fair warning, the steamy is in abundance in this installment! And oh my GOSH that ending! Not quite a cliffhanger but definitely leaves a smile on your face and makes you infinitely anxious for the next book.

"No, your other - F***, how many boyfriend's do you have?"
"Including Herman, the maintenance guy at the Jug 'N Chug who talks to celery?" If I didn't know better, I could've sworn Reyes ground his teeth. I couldn't blame him. I mean, who talks to celery in this day and age?

Fifth Grave Past the Light really begins to branch out as far as possibilities for future installments... and let me tell ya, I like the looks of it. This installment really spoke of the future development, the purpose and the potential of Charley Davidson. Darynda Jones has been slowly maturing and expanding on Charley's character taking her past the snarky girl that we've all grown to love and I'm definitely looking forward to seeing where she continues to take it. This series is a highly entertaining and sexy supernatural mystery that is incredibly easy to fall in love with.

Charley, the Grim Reaper and Reyes, the Son of Satan are back in form for Fifth Grave Past The Light. Refocusing on Charley's side business of resolving the concerns of the departed, Jones lightens things up. While Charley's rooms fill with murdered girls Reyes fills with luxury furnishings. Charley juggles the mystery of the serial killer in this book with the mystery of the arsonist from the last. Is Reyes heating up more than her bedroom?

Jones has dialed down some of the problems in books 3 and 4 that made me consider abandoning the series. Reyes is less abusive in this volume, Charley less traumatized. She's still placed in needless danger but Jones offers a partial explanation for that series convention. While I enjoyed Fifth Grave Past The Light there is little advancement here. Except for one major development sure to please long term fans, most of the book is a recap of prior events or a set up for the next volume. I was torn between 3 and 4 stars. As a stand alone read, this is a three star book. It was unsatisfying and requires reading future books to resolve most of it's events. As an entry in the series, it's an improvement of direction, pushing it into four stars. I found Fifth Grave telegraphed most of it's moves but delivered a decent read. It won't convert anyone but it may recapture those on the fence.

Five books into the series Jones has her formula down pat, so there are certain elements to be expected as Charlie: a)goes about solving mysteries - this time pinning down the identity of the serial arsonist in the background of the previous book, and catching a serial killer who's gotten away with murder for years, b) has some hot and steamy times with Reyes, c) gets into the requisite amount of peril to expose a new power, and d) gets some addition insight into the long game behind Reyes' purpose on earth, all while talking sass and e)getting a little help from her friends - both corporeal and not.

Even though this is probably the least funny of the books, what worked for me this time around is that Charlie's relationship with Reyes has finally moved past the 'I don't want to want you' angry sex of the past few books, Reyes is still gorgeous and badA## but he is also clearly smitten - which is nice. I also liked the parts played by the supporting cast, and it looks like Charlie is collecting a few more interesting and off ball players as part of her posse. What worked less well - and Charlie even acknowledges it right before it happens - is the requisite peril - she really really needs a better situational awareness, or to stay out of the really bad guys' sights.

Still, once Fifth Grave got rolling, I enjoy the snark and the mysteries and Reyes has finally grown on me so Sixth Grave on the Edge is going on my wishlist.

For those new to the series, you will probably be scratching your head trying to attach characters to names - FYI Charlie tend to name her body parts and possessions - the rest of the back story for Reyes and Charlie is laid out well enough that it probably isn't too hard to come up to speed. That said, and even though you >could< get by, you probably won't want to miss out on 'what has gone before.'

Complementary copy via the the store vine release date 7/2

After helping free Reyes and clear his name, Charley is a bit surprised to find he's taken up residence just down the hall! But Reyes as a neighbor is the least of the reaper's worries when her apartment begins to fill with dead blonde girls. Over twenty of them when they finally all arrive. Charley thinks they must have a serial killer on their hands, but none of the dead are talking and so far there isn't any real evidence. To further complicate things, Uncle Bob's captain has his eye on Charley and is intent on discovering the secret behind her odd knack for solving so many of the department's cases.

Wow, it feels like we just had a new Darynda Jones release and now it's time for another! All I can say is that I hope the next book comes out just as quickly 'cause I'm dying to know what happens next for Charley and Reyes!

FIFTH GRAVE PAST THE LIGHT is totally awesomely fun. In fact, as much as I've been enjoying this series, I think I might have to say that this is my favorite installment so far!

It was nice to see some of the characters beginning to get a little more action, Swopes in particular. His discoveries about Charley are intriguing and sure to play into future books even more heavily. I'm also curious about Duff and Mr. Chung. I've been wondering when we'd find out more about Mr. Chung and I think it might be coming soon (I hope).

And the ending is killer. I won't give it away but I can't wait to find out what happens next.

If you're into fun paranormal mysteries with a healthy dose of steamy romance and you've yet to start reading the Charley Davidson series, what's stopping you? I suggest you run out and snatch up a few (they're super quick reads, so you might want to stock up). And yes, you most definitely have to read the books in order!

Summary:
Charley has several things to deal with in this story, just like the previous installments. First, she is working on an infidelity case when all of these ghostly women begin popping up in her apartment. All of them are blond and range in ages from a young girl to a woman in her thirties. Is there a serial killer on the lose? Is Charley's sister in danger?

Also, Charley has to really start making a decision on the men in her life. Reyes has turned up the heat and she may just have more feelings for him than she previously believed. Things start to heat up and shift between them. Do they have a future together?

Finally, there is some suspicion on Charley. The police captain is attempting to figure out exactly how she manages to close so many murder cases. What's a girl to do and why won't he just let her keep her secrets?

My thoughts:
There is a lot in this book. There has been a lot in every book, but this one shoved a ton at me. I was a little overwhelmed at some points in time. I'm assuming that some of the unexplained aspects will be used in another book, and we left at a bit of a cliffhanger. I'm curious to see if Charley will jump off the cliff or not. Generally I have enjoyed this series. I love the humor in every book. Charley's inner-monologues are often a lot of fun and Cookie is hilarious. When all else fails, the attitude and humor is what pulls me through each book. This one also has a good mystery that kept me guessing for awhile. I had one theory in mind that was completely thrown off, which is good because I can usually guess mysteries within the first few pages.

Book provided by publisher for fair review on my blog: Fangs, Wands and Fairy Dust. This review is excerpted from that one.
No remuneration was exchanged and all opinions expressed herein are my own except as noted.

I would read these books just for the T-Shirt and Bumper sticker quotes that begin each chapter. But there are a multitude of additional reasons I do read them:

The zingy or snarky one liners and double/triple entendres that occasionally make me guffaw.

Charley is the perfect heroine: pretty, smart funny, selfless, self-deprecating and very vulnerable.
She's the perfect friend.
But, amidst her perfection she is imperfect; her plans, for example, always go awryl And, she is the grim reaper. But, she has that vulnerability and imperfection with a nobility of purpose and a code of honor that makes her engaging, identifiable and approachable.

I read the Charley Davidson novels for the gut churning, heart stopping, leave-me-the-eff-alone-can't-you-see-I'm-reading! scenes where Charley or someone she loves is nearly done in by a complete and total jerk.

I read these books for the compassion Charley shows the dead and confused; how she can look at the without fear, without harking up dinner, how she can always find gratitude for them giving her something as the pass through her to the other side. Darynda relates what could be very morbid, regretful loss with respect and sensitivity.

I love the relationship between Charley and Reyes -- well sort of. It is sometimes love and sometimes he threatens her in a way I don't appreciate. Grr. Well, he is, after all, the son of Satan.

This series is auto-buy, MUST READ, one of my favorite series of all time!

Charley Davidson is a private investigator who also happens to be the grim reaper. She's basically always on call for her talents either as a private eye or the grim reaper. Within this story, Charley is investigating a number of things from a cheating husband to an arsonist to a serial killer. To add to that, her sexy new next door neighbor, the alluring and irresistible, Reyes Farrow, the son of Satan, is the prime suspect in one of the cases she's working on.

Fifth Grave Past the Light by Darynda Jones is the 5th book in the Charley Davidson series. And this is the first book I've read within the series and I must say it was quite enjoyable. The story is funny, sexy, has historical elements, is heart-wrenching in parts, engaging and captivating. The character of Charley isn't who you'd expect to see as a grim reaper, she's hilarious and quirky, which makes for a great story. I wish I could have discovered this book a little earlier but there's no time like the present to start a great book series.

This book, simply put, was the BEST so far in the series and I didn't think it was possible for Darynda Jones to get another winner. Heck she already has 6 incredible winners so far,(4 from Previous Charley books and 2 from her delightful Darklight Series) so Really? Another one? Oh heck yea!! She made this one the most riveting book yet and I honestly will not be surprised if she tops it again in the next one. This book was filled with more laugh-your-self-silly humor, more witty dialogue, more Cookie, more mystery and surprises, and MUCH MUCH more Reyes. I absolutely LOVED the ending and can't wait to find out how Charley will deal with it in the next one. If you haven't picked up the latest Charley Davidson book yet, your missing out on one of the BESTEST books of the year!

Until receiving this book from the store Vine I had never read or heard of this series; where have I been??? The author has crafted an amazing read. Darynda Jones crafts a masterful super natural mystery in the fifth book of the Charley Davidson series. New characters, both dead and living, add another dimension to Charley's life; both in compelling her to develop new powers and in bringing in a wider skill set to the picture. Charley keeps finding herself in the most unusual situations. Jones' creativity shines in that area as well as in the character interactions. Oh and did I mention Charley's a private detective who can see ghosts, and is the grim reaper too. This series is funny,laugh out loud funny. I will be going back and buying the first 4 in the series and will be looking for the next in this series. I recommend this book to anyone needing stress relief,cheering up, or just needing to find an escape from daily life! This series is full of humor, mystery, and characters to love.

I loved this book.Charly is quirky,Add riddled and the most compassionate Grim around. I love the cast of charecters she has surrounded herself with and Reyes. There are no words. In this installment i laughed,i cried(both in laughter and sorrow)i was shocked and i simply could not put it down. I loved the vulnerable Reyes,the sexy Reyes the incensed Reyes the jealous,ok you get it i just love Reyes in all his guises and in this book we finally get alot of Charly and Reyes together. alot of times the author has a need to throw in a distraction that I'm getting so sick of thank god no team edward/jacob here. that has gotten so old just strait out son of satan and the grim reaper in all their glory.I gotta tell you w/o giving anything away but the scene with a former client husband and a bridge just majorly creeped me out and yes,blindsided me too.waited so long for this book and read it so fast but the wait was well worth it!! word to Charly? SAY YES!!!!!ladyl.

LOVE ME SOME CHARLEY!!! Omg!!! She is sooo funny and I love reading about her and Cookies escapades and shenanigans. I like Reyes too but I'm not 100% certain he's not hiding something or not telling Charley something. Charley needs to investigate him and make sure she knows exactly what she's signing up for.

Charley Davidson sees dead people, and interacts with them. She is a grim reaper, and a portal to their afterlife, for those who've lingered for some reason or another.

Charley is also a Private Investigator, so she has to deal with two worlds, plus her sexy son-of-satan boyfriend. Her plate is a bit full. Add in a serial killer and go with Charley on a crazy ride.

The book is the fifth in the series. You can read it as a stand alone, but your enjoyment would probably be enhanced if you read the others. The patter and smart comments are fun, the story compelling. Some characters were left hanging, like the dead guy from the bar, and Mr. Wong, in the corner, rather literally. But the main story was wrapped up although a bit anticlimactic in the grand resolution scene.

There is hot steamy sex and sexual references, violence, and disturbing images of dead women and a child in her apartment, so be warned.

Darynda Jones does it again with this 5th installment in her fabulous Charley Davidson series. Humor, mystery, danger, romance - it's all there and so adroitly intertwined. Investigator/grim reaper Charley and the too-hot-to-mention son of Satan Reyes Farrow return, as do the usual cast of quirky characters - Charley's assistant Cookie, sister Gemma, uncle Bob, and more. This time it's a serial killer who needs to be found, and as Charley investigates, she learns more about her role in the war between Heaven and Hell, and her complicated relationship with Reyes goes to a whole new level. I love Jones's writing; she has a sparkling wit that at times is laugh-out-loud funny, and yet she can also write smoldering, sexy scenes convincingly. I nearly screamed like a teenager at a Justin Bieber concert when I read the last line of this book. I cannot WAIT for book #6 - it can't come soon enough!

Charley bounces back from her last state in book four, thankfully. I don't want spoil any one, but some how Charley finds herself in a crowded apartment from ghosts that won't talk to her. She also makes leeway into her relationship with Reyes, even though she almost loses Garret. Of course you still have the sticky situations and her classic humor all throughout the story, but it's the question at end that makes this novel worth it.

another hang on the edge of your seat story! Now Charley is being visited by women of all ages and must figure out what has happened to them all. While she is trying to discover if sexy as sin Reyes is indeed an arsonist, she realizes all the ladies she's being haunted by are going to lead her to something even closer to home than she can ever imagine.

As all of the Charley Davidson series, this one is yet another grand slam in writing. Cute, sexy, funny, and i can't get enough of them. Yet again Charley finds herself swamped in the super-natural. Her hilarious view of everything and her sometimes ignorance of normal everyday life keeps readers coming back for more. OMG and the ending of this one..... I just want to say, The wait for the next book is going to be way too long to see where this goes. You want to laugh along with her, cheer her along, and be her when she gets close to Reyes. (Sigh) Great Job...

I always get scared when a series goes beyond a trilogy... The books tend to lose their gusto and some situations stagnate to create drama. That is NOT the case with the Grave Series. I have laughed out loud with every single book in the series, have lost myself to the thrill of solving cases alongside Charley, and have fallen in love with the characters. And like its predecessors, Fifth Grave Past the Light does not disappoint. The energy throughout the book is great... I seriously finished the book on a reading high and have not stopped smiling.

I absolutely love this series. I listened to the first four books on audio so I was a little hesitant to "read" Fifth Grave Past the Light. The narrator of the audiobooks does such a great job of portraying the characters. But I was worried for nothing.

I was a little disappointed with the last book and was hoping that Fifth Grave will blow my socks off. I was not disappointed. I could not put this book down. Charley Davidson really matures in this book which I was so happy to see. And Reyes continues to knock my socks off as one of my favorite heroes in Urban Fantasy. Reyes and Charley really kick up the sexiness in this one and I am SO happy about that!

Now I just need the next book because that ending was just so...GAH!!!!!!!

This was my first Darynda Jones book. It was interesting. It took me a while to get into it, but I did eventually do so. Darynda Jones' style of writing is very unique. The main character, Charley Davidson, trends to be all over the place. She has a very interesting, colorful personality. Overall, this wasn't my favorite book, but was still a good, enjoyable book.

It’s been a while since I read the last book from this series and I forgot how freaking hilarious Charley is. I have to hand it to the author to come up with new and interesting situations for Charley to get in trouble. It never gets boring reading this series and I always laugh out loud at Charley’s sarcasm.

Garret made an appearance in this sequel which explained some of the stuff that was happening since he almost died. Reyes was his usual self but there was a twist in the end so I’m excited to read the next book.

I decided to try the audio version of this book and am so glad I did! The narrator did a great job - she sounded exactly like I pictured Charley sounding.

As usual, Darynda Jones does an awesome job! All the books in this series have so many funny moments I end up laughing out loud constantly. The stories are written so well and each book has several mysteries going on that always have a surprise ending I don't see coming. The only difference with this book is that it ended on a HUGE cliffhanger and I will be dying a slow death, waiting for the 6th book to come out. Please write faster Ms. Jones!!!

This installment of the Charley Davidson Grim Reaper series delivers lots of laughs, although some of the jokes are getting a bit tired the fifth time around. I wish the author would let the running joke about Charley's names for her "girls" - Danger and Will Robinson - drop already. I don't think most of her readers are old enough to even recognize the reference.

There's lots going on in this book. Charley spends most of this book trying to figure out what happened to all these female ghosts who are taking up residence in her appartment. Her grim readper powers are developing rapidly. And at the same time her relationship with Reyes is moving right along. Recommended.

I personally like this book and the first one the best. I certainly liked "seeing" more of Reyes, both in the flesh so to speak and more about his true nature.

SPOILER ALERT::

Maybe the reason that Rocket thought that Charley "killed" Reyes is because he has fallen in love with her and is not the same being as he was created to be. Probably more philosophical a reason than Darynda has in mind but we will just have to wait for the next book to find out. Also could have something to do with that knife that Garrett stuck him with.

I recommend this book for fans of silly humor and mysteries of the universe. My Barbara has spoken.

So...this book.

Wait, let me back the truck up a bit and talk about the series first.

The story thus far is that we have Charley who is the Grim Reaper. She is funny, has a completely irreverent sense of humor, has the propensity to name everything (her brain is named Barbara, her couch is named Sophie, her breasts are Danger and Will Robinson....you get the drift) and is also a PI with a complex series of relationships both friend and family. She is human but she is also other. She helps her cop dad (retired) and cop uncle (still active) solve cases at an unheard of rate. That is because all dead souls seek her out to cross over. And many of them will tell her who killed them (if it is a murder) or where to find their body etc. As they are passing through her she also "reads" their life story in milliseconds. She also routinely has dead people who are not yet ready to cross over simply seek her out to be near her or just talk to her.

Each book has 4 basic elements:

1) Charley working on a case or cases. This is the procedural part of the series and my favorite parts of the books honestly.

2) The continuing storyline. An over-arching story that winds through each book. There is something about Charley that is upsetting the underworld in general, Satan in particular. So far demons have tried to kill her and multiple people keep telling her there is something important she must do. But No one seems to tell her much of anything and Charley can't figure it out. This is an intriguing part of the books but had been tantalizingly frustrating because, imo, there has been so little movement or understanding of really what Charley is supposed to be/do.

3)Charley's somewhat torturous romance and Reyes Farrow. Reyes is the son of Satan, he is in love with Charley and he has horrific past in his human incarnation. Truthfully, this has been my least favorite aspect of the series until this installment...but I'll get to that in a bit.

and 4) Charley's mostly humorous but sometimes serious interactions with her family and friends -- some of whom are dead.

For me these books work best when we are heavy on #s 1,4 -- the cases, the dead people and Charley just being Charley -- and when #2 & 3 have some positive forward momentum and don't consume the book.

I am happy to say that this book had a good balance of all four things and we finally get some momentum and smallish answers to what is going on with Charley and why the demons are after her. Not the full story, but enough that I feel like we are going somewhere with that part of the plot.

The main case of the book involves a bunch of blonde (dead) women, all ages, all races, who start to show up one by one in Charley's apartment. They aren't trying to cross over and for once, Charlie can't even begin to communicate with them. It is clear that there is a serial killer who killed all these women and yet, Charley had heard nothing about missing blonde women. She inveigles her uncle to help with that investigation. I loved this case. It was meaty and had a satisfying (and emotional) resolution.

But probably most gratifying to me is how this book handled Reyes. I have not been a huge fan of the character or how the storyline with him has progressed. I thought that Charley's preoccupation with him tended to cannibalize a couple of the earlier installments of the series. I finally began to like him in the last book. In this book I think Reyes has finally clicked for me. He and Charley feel more like a true romantic couple instead of him having some enigmatic secret that he seemed to be holding over Charley's head. In turn he remains in the forefront of her thoughts, but it didn't feel like she was obsessing over him.

And finally there is a great scene with Charley, Reyes and Swopes that brings a lot of the paranormal stuff to a head. Most notably we get some concrete answers about what really is going on with Charley & the underworld stuff.

So in the end, I enjoyed this book but I still feel like it is a 3.5 star installment (rounded up to 4). Mainly because I felt the first half of the book kind of meandered, or rather lurched from thing to thing without any real coherent direction. However the book tightened considerably in the second half and the fired on all cylinders for me.

And of course, the humor that is a hallmark of these books is in full effect. This book made me laugh out loud on a regular basis. especially the running gag of Charley' GPS.

Not a place for a beginner to the series to start.

This one was really good and I enjoyed every moment of that. The writer is so funny that more than once I started laughing so I absolutely will keep on reading, also because of the last question ;)

Questo quinto volume é stato veramente divertente, me lo sono letto una sera dall'inizio alla fine e più di una volta sono scoppiata a ridere da sola quindi direi che a questo punto ho scongiurato ogni possibilità di smettere con questa serie, specialmente a causa dell'ultima domanda....

This series is quickly becoming one of my favorites. Charley, the heroine, absolutely cracks me up. Jones does a wonderful job giving the main character wit as well as wisdom. Charley has another crime to solve (as per usual)but in the chase to stop what could be another serial killer (or at least the 27 dead blonde women in her apartment seems to make her believe it to be so), she is bombarded with obstacle after obstacle. Her uncle Ubie is still there to help her along the way (or is she there to help him?)

Looking forward to the 6th. I highly recommend the series, but suggest they be read in order.

Darynda Jones does it again with this 5th installment in her fabulous Charley Davidson series. Humor, mystery, danger, romance - it's all there and so adroitly intertwined. Investigator/grim reaper Charley and the too-hot-to-mention son of Satan Reyes Farrow return, as do the usual cast of quirky characters - Charley's assistant Cookie, sister Gemma, uncle Bob, and more. This time it's a serial killer who needs to be found, and as Charley investigates, she learns more about her role in the war between Heaven and Hell, and her complicated relationship with Reyes goes to a whole new level. I love Jones's writing; she has a sparkling wit that at times is laugh-out-loud funny, and yet she can also write smoldering, sexy scenes convincingly. I nearly screamed like a teenager at a Justin Bieber concert when I read the last line of this book. I cannot WAIT for book #6 - it can't come soon enough!

Charley bounces back from her last state in book four, thankfully. I don't want spoil any one, but some how Charley finds herself in a crowded apartment from ghosts that won't talk to her. She also makes leeway into her relationship with Reyes, even though she almost loses Garret. Of course you still have the sticky situations and her classic humor all throughout the story, but it's the question at end that makes this novel worth it.

another hang on the edge of your seat story! Now Charley is being visited by women of all ages and must figure out what has happened to them all. While she is trying to discover if sexy as sin Reyes is indeed an arsonist, she realizes all the ladies she's being haunted by are going to lead her to something even closer to home than she can ever imagine.

More than likely anyone reading these reviews has already read Graves first through fourth. You already know to expect humor, great characters, suspense, action and increasingly hotter sex. This book is a lot more of the same but better. There is a lot more Reyes and Charley in this book as their relationship intensifies, their bond deepening. Charley is still involved in solving crimes, but we are introduced to a huge new story arc and reveals about Charley, Reyes and Garrett. We're teased further with a possible Cookie/Ubie hook up and Gemma looks to have found a very promising fellow. The book leaves us with a lot of answered questions as well as a boatload of unanswered questions. But for us Darynda fans, we're in for a penny, in for a pound. We will savor each book and wait (im)patiently for the next book.

Most intense book yet in the Charley Davidson series. It will make you laugh, cry, cringe and swoon. You get to learn so much more about Charley and her abilities, as well as getting a better glimpse into her purpose on earth. Charley is that girl I wish I could be more like. (And not for her supernatural powers.) She's strong, sarcastic and doesn't let all the bad stuff that happens to her bring her down. Well, that, plus she's always surrounded by hotties. ;) If you've read any of the books, you do not want to miss this one!

As all of the Charley Davidson series, this one is yet another grand slam in writing. Cute, sexy, funny, and i can't get enough of them. Yet again Charley finds herself swamped in the super-natural. Her hilarious view of everything and her sometimes ignorance of normal everyday life keeps readers coming back for more. OMG and the ending of this one..... I just want to say, The wait for the next book is going to be way too long to see where this goes. You want to laugh along with her, cheer her along, and be her when she gets close to Reyes. (Sigh) Great Job...

I always get scared when a series goes beyond a trilogy... The books tend to lose their gusto and some situations stagnate to create drama. That is NOT the case with the Grave Series. I have laughed out loud with every single book in the series, have lost myself to the thrill of solving cases alongside Charley, and have fallen in love with the characters. And like its predecessors, Fifth Grave Past the Light does not disappoint. The energy throughout the book is great... I seriously finished the book on a reading high and have not stopped smiling.

I absolutely love this series. I listened to the first four books on audio so I was a little hesitant to "read" Fifth Grave Past the Light. The narrator of the audiobooks does such a great job of portraying the characters. But I was worried for nothing.

I was a little disappointed with the last book and was hoping that Fifth Grave will blow my socks off. I was not disappointed. I could not put this book down. Charley Davidson really matures in this book which I was so happy to see. And Reyes continues to knock my socks off as one of my favorite heroes in Urban Fantasy. Reyes and Charley really kick up the sexiness in this one and I am SO happy about that!

Now I just need the next book because that ending was just so...GAH!!!!!!!

This was my first Darynda Jones book. It was interesting. It took me a while to get into it, but I did eventually do so. Darynda Jones' style of writing is very unique. The main character, Charley Davidson, trends to be all over the place. She has a very interesting, colorful personality. Overall, this wasn't my favorite book, but was still a good, enjoyable book.

It’s been a while since I read the last book from this series and I forgot how freaking hilarious Charley is. I have to hand it to the author to come up with new and interesting situations for Charley to get in trouble. It never gets boring reading this series and I always laugh out loud at Charley’s sarcasm.

Garret made an appearance in this sequel which explained some of the stuff that was happening since he almost died. Reyes was his usual self but there was a twist in the end so I’m excited to read the next book.

I decided to try the audio version of this book and am so glad I did! The narrator did a great job - she sounded exactly like I pictured Charley sounding.

As usual, Darynda Jones does an awesome job! All the books in this series have so many funny moments I end up laughing out loud constantly. The stories are written so well and each book has several mysteries going on that always have a surprise ending I don't see coming. The only difference with this book is that it ended on a HUGE cliffhanger and I will be dying a slow death, waiting for the 6th book to come out. Please write faster Ms. Jones!!!

This installment of the Charley Davidson Grim Reaper series delivers lots of laughs, although some of the jokes are getting a bit tired the fifth time around. I wish the author would let the running joke about Charley's names for her "girls" - Danger and Will Robinson - drop already. I don't think most of her readers are old enough to even recognize the reference.

There's lots going on in this book. Charley spends most of this book trying to figure out what happened to all these female ghosts who are taking up residence in her appartment. Her grim readper powers are developing rapidly. And at the same time her relationship with Reyes is moving right along. Recommended.

I personally like this book and the first one the best. I certainly liked "seeing" more of Reyes, both in the flesh so to speak and more about his true nature.

SPOILER ALERT::

Maybe the reason that Rocket thought that Charley "killed" Reyes is because he has fallen in love with her and is not the same being as he was created to be. Probably more philosophical a reason than Darynda has in mind but we will just have to wait for the next book to find out. Also could have something to do with that knife that Garrett stuck him with.

I recommend this book for fans of silly humor and mysteries of the universe. My Barbara has spoken.

So...this book.

Wait, let me back the truck up a bit and talk about the series first.

The story thus far is that we have Charley who is the Grim Reaper. She is funny, has a completely irreverent sense of humor, has the propensity to name everything (her brain is named Barbara, her couch is named Sophie, her breasts are Danger and Will Robinson....you get the drift) and is also a PI with a complex series of relationships both friend and family. She is human but she is also other. She helps her cop dad (retired) and cop uncle (still active) solve cases at an unheard of rate. That is because all dead souls seek her out to cross over. And many of them will tell her who killed them (if it is a murder) or where to find their body etc. As they are passing through her she also "reads" their life story in milliseconds. She also routinely has dead people who are not yet ready to cross over simply seek her out to be near her or just talk to her.

Each book has 4 basic elements:

1) Charley working on a case or cases. This is the procedural part of the series and my favorite parts of the books honestly.

2) The continuing storyline. An over-arching story that winds through each book. There is something about Charley that is upsetting the underworld in general, Satan in particular. So far demons have tried to kill her and multiple people keep telling her there is something important she must do. But No one seems to tell her much of anything and Charley can't figure it out. This is an intriguing part of the books but had been tantalizingly frustrating because, imo, there has been so little movement or understanding of really what Charley is supposed to be/do.

3)Charley's somewhat torturous romance and Reyes Farrow. Reyes is the son of Satan, he is in love with Charley and he has horrific past in his human incarnation. Truthfully, this has been my least favorite aspect of the series until this installment...but I'll get to that in a bit.

and 4) Charley's mostly humorous but sometimes serious interactions with her family and friends -- some of whom are dead.

For me these books work best when we are heavy on #s 1,4 -- the cases, the dead people and Charley just being Charley -- and when #2 & 3 have some positive forward momentum and don't consume the book.

I am happy to say that this book had a good balance of all four things and we finally get some momentum and smallish answers to what is going on with Charley and why the demons are after her. Not the full story, but enough that I feel like we are going somewhere with that part of the plot.

The main case of the book involves a bunch of blonde (dead) women, all ages, all races, who start to show up one by one in Charley's apartment. They aren't trying to cross over and for once, Charlie can't even begin to communicate with them. It is clear that there is a serial killer who killed all these women and yet, Charley had heard nothing about missing blonde women. She inveigles her uncle to help with that investigation. I loved this case. It was meaty and had a satisfying (and emotional) resolution.

But probably most gratifying to me is how this book handled Reyes. I have not been a huge fan of the character or how the storyline with him has progressed. I thought that Charley's preoccupation with him tended to cannibalize a couple of the earlier installments of the series. I finally began to like him in the last book. In this book I think Reyes has finally clicked for me. He and Charley feel more like a true romantic couple instead of him having some enigmatic secret that he seemed to be holding over Charley's head. In turn he remains in the forefront of her thoughts, but it didn't feel like she was obsessing over him.

And finally there is a great scene with Charley, Reyes and Swopes that brings a lot of the paranormal stuff to a head. Most notably we get some concrete answers about what really is going on with Charley & the underworld stuff.

So in the end, I enjoyed this book but I still feel like it is a 3.5 star installment (rounded up to 4). Mainly because I felt the first half of the book kind of meandered, or rather lurched from thing to thing without any real coherent direction. However the book tightened considerably in the second half and the fired on all cylinders for me.

And of course, the humor that is a hallmark of these books is in full effect. This book made me laugh out loud on a regular basis. especially the running gag of Charley' GPS.

Not a place for a beginner to the series to start.

This one was really good and I enjoyed every moment of that. The writer is so funny that more than once I started laughing so I absolutely will keep on reading, also because of the last question ;)

Questo quinto volume é stato veramente divertente, me lo sono letto una sera dall'inizio alla fine e più di una volta sono scoppiata a ridere da sola quindi direi che a questo punto ho scongiurato ogni possibilità di smettere con questa serie, specialmente a causa dell'ultima domanda....

This series is quickly becoming one of my favorites. Charley, the heroine, absolutely cracks me up. Jones does a wonderful job giving the main character wit as well as wisdom. Charley has another crime to solve (as per usual)but in the chase to stop what could be another serial killer (or at least the 27 dead blonde women in her apartment seems to make her believe it to be so), she is bombarded with obstacle after obstacle. Her uncle Ubie is still there to help her along the way (or is she there to help him?)

Looking forward to the 6th. I highly recommend the series, but suggest they be read in order.

Start at the beginning of this series, you will thank me! This is about a grim reaper, a soul crosser, a funny yet too real PI that takes life almost as it comes...if she can use a flour sifter to sprinkle coffee on it. I like this one the best because this is the pivotal book where, hopefully, we've gotten the angst, and dithering out of the way (I guess all heroines have some faults). This book brings us to the next level for Charley and her gang, but especially for that son of Satan..... And starting at the beginning, or re-reading the series, might take some edge off until the next book, Sixth Grave__________!

Funny sassy sexy! This story rocked! i have to say its one of her best books yet!!! it was soo funny i was laughing so hard getting dirty looks from my husband...lol in this story charlie has to deal with a bunch of dead women AND FINDS OUT HER SISTER MAYBE THE NEXT TARGET! she has to see what happen with them along with a arsonist running around town buring down places! And of course sexy Ryes whose being sneaky oh and also is charlies next door neighbor now...SWOON...I LOVE WHAT HAPPENS AND CANT WAIT FOR THE NEXT ONE....=)

**SPOILERS**

I'm not sure exactly how I feel about this book, on one hand I love Charley Davidson, but on the other, this book took some strange turns, & some of it is getting repetitive.

The book is full of the snark I love, and has some very funny one liners, but I am over Charley naming things. It might have been funny in the first book, but now it's just kind of stupid. Another thing I am over is Charley getting hurt in every book. In this book it doesn't happen until the end, but she gets whipped, nearly raped, & set on fire. I found her torture at the hands of Earl Walker to be too much in the third book, & this torture was just as bad.

I also found some things in the book odd, what was with the sudden "girl parts" doctor story? I kept waiting for her to turn up pregnant, but no, it was just thrown in there for no apparent reason. Also, the little girl recognized Mr. Wong, & then we never heard anything else about that, & why did Charley get so mad at Rocket when he put Reyes' name on the wall? What happened to Duff & why was he there? These things may be setting up something for the next book, but they felt like they were just thrown in & then dropped in this book.

Another thing I'm confused about is the sudden change of backstory of why Reyes is there, & what appears to be changes to the characters around her. We didn't hear from the stepmother once in this book even though she's been in every other book, & Charley's father (who wasn't in this book much either) suddenly sold his bar to Reyes & is divorcing the stepmother, so I guess she's gone forever, & since he's going traveling, we may never hear from him again. And finally, Reyes asks Charley to marry him, & buys the asylum & the building for her. Is the next book going to be Charley getting pregnant & they get married & become the perfect little supernatural suburban family? It felt like the end of the book was rushed with changes.

I enjoyed the book, I just find the changes & dropped plots confusing. I hope the story in the next book is much tighter, & the things that are repetitive get dropped.

As usual, Darynda Jones does NOT disappoint!

We take off on another journey with Charley as she tackles her home being taken over by too many blonde ghosts that will not talk to her, Rayes tempting her at every turn, and trying to save so much of what she holds dear.

I am always laughing out loud with this series, and suddenly finding myself wanting Ozzy too!

My husband just started reading the series and he is someone embarrassed about laughing out loud at work cuz the people look at him funny.

Have you ever noticed how Charley makes having ADD sexy?

"Fifth Grave Past the Light" is the first book I ever read by Darynda Jones and it will not be the last. I was pulled into the story from the get go and couldn't put the book down. The main character, Charley, is smart, sexy, funny, and the Grim Reaper! Who know the Grim Reaper could be so likable?

What an imagination Darynda has! And I love it!

While I'm waiting for her next book I get to read the other Charley Davidson books! This is a series I'm glad I discovered. This book definitely stands on its own merit but, is so good I just need more.

This book wasn't bad, but I have to admit that I thought that there were others in the series that were better. The characters were still great, and the main character is beginning to stand up for herself a bit more with the men in her life. The problem for me still comes from the story though. For starters there were three story lines throughout the book, and that's not even counting the 'story' from the first and last chapters. I don't mind having a B story line in a book, that has the possibility of making the book that much better. Three distinct story lines is way to much though. It is impossible for the reader to properly get into that many story lines and it is impossible for the writer to give them all the weight that they deserve. And to be honest I am more than a little tired of the main character solving the story in the last few pages without any lead up at all. And this book was worst in that respect because the big finale involves a character that appeared for about ten pages in the beginning and then shows up out of absolutely nowhere at the end. Luckily though the characters keep me coming back for more. Here's crossing my fingers though that there are no more than two story lines in the next book.

DESERVES 10 STARS!

I couldn't wait for this book to come out! And, I was sooooooo not disappointed! I was laughing, crying & yelling! I have fallen in love even more with each new release. And, this one is my all time favorite! Love the characters & the story line.

The only bad thing is having to wait for the next installment!

A MUST READ! But, start at book #1 in the series...
First Grave on the Right

I want to give it more than 5 stars!
Ms Jones, you rock woman!
you never disappoint me with this series!!!!
and i sooo wish I had your imagination!
I won't go into details about the book, because I don't do that.
this one kept me glued to every page until the end.
and laughing thru the entire books seems to be a given!
I know it's impossible, but I so wish I could read one in every month!
I hope you continue this series into Infinity!
take my word for it....RUN---don't walk!...to get her books!

This novel once again finds Charley solving a mystery as 27 long-dead women move into her apartment. Problem is, none of them want to "talk" to her. In another plot twist, she's "visited" by a woman she assumes is dead, only to track her down and find she is very much alive, but something of an empath who experiences others' murders. And, then, there's Reyes, the son of Satan gone good for Charley's sake - or has he? I enjoy this series, but would recommend anyone reading them to start at the beginning, otherwise, you'll be missing a lot of past context.

This is the best one so far of the Charley Davidson series! It has a great story, suspense & mystery, hot sex, & humor too. The t-shirt says at the beginning of each chapter are worth buying & reading this book alone! I could not put this book down & read it all in one evening. Can't wait for book 6 to find out Charley's answer to Reyes.

BTW - if you want to relive all those wonderful chapter headings from t-shirts & bumper stickers, go to Darynda Jones' website & check out the extras tab!

The only complaint i hav w/ this 5th book is...i wish there were more books out for this series. I hate waiting 6mths for the next b/c I absolutely love Charley & sexy Reyes!! I bought 5th at Barnes & Noble earlier this wk, they had it before the store. I cudnt wait, finished it in 1 day, waited 6mths for it - disgusting! Wont bother sayn much w/ 5th, just buy it & suffer for tne next, ughh, write faster DJ!

This is by far my favorite series out there! Darynda Jones knows how to write and leaves you wanting more!
Charley continues growing and discovering her abilities. I love all the people in her life, they are colorful just like Charley. She solves a mass murder and gets attacked, but what I love about Charley is how she over comes all the obstacles in her life, one way or another. The ending....oh it was wonderful and I can't wait to see them go down the isle...maybe...hopefully ♥

While this was still a great story it didnt pack quite the punch that the others did. Its too disheartening watching this more vulnerable side of Charley. I need the kick-ass, sarcastic, funny girl back. That being said this book pulls you deeper and deeper into the main story of the series. While some questions get answered many more arise.

The latest of the Charley Davidson series, has the p.i./police consultant/grim reaper/portal to other worlds hot on the trail of an arsonist, on the hunt for a serial killer, trapping an adulterer and canoodling with her spawn of Satan lover. Despite some innovative ideas, this book is as annoying as it is entertaining.

The snarky slogans were probably the must enjoyable part of this book. The breezy writing was not enough to carry the day. Charley's habit of naming everything from body parts to showers is tiring. She and Reyes have lots of explicit sex and their purported evolution into domestic bliss is unconvincing. They behave like juveniles. There are story lines that start but go no where. Perhaps this is a set up for the next book, but most don't go far enough and fail to whet my appetite for more. I don't care for the apocalyptical predictions nor the Charley as messiah line. Overall, it was just too long.

I hope the Charley pregnancy rumors are untrue. The death knell for successful series is when the main characters start marrying and reproducing. I hope this book is just an aberration in an otherwise amusing series.

Sometimes when I read this series it is hard to know which way it is going to go. The good news is that is part of their charm. Each story is unique but cohesive. Each story builds on the last but is very different. I just love these books and as I finish each one I'm ready for the next.

If you love a bit of paranormal romantic thriller in your reading, this series is a must read - in order please. I loved this as I have the first four and look forward to number 6 to see just where we are going with this hilarious tale. What clever writing indeed. I seem to notice toward the end of this book a trend to a more serious future. We'll find out with number 6 which can't come too soon for me.

At a signing in Houston, I told her thanks for giving me a kick-ass heroine who is the best mix of truth and fiction. Omg, it is the best girlfriend book ever for both her relationship with Cookie and with Reyes. Never has an author wanted me to lick her fictional hero's abs...right there while I am reading! She toned down the quick quips from Charley and I missed that because she gets to say all the things we bite our tongues from saying. I also missed her interactions with more dead people...got a little exorcist for me with all the dead women. Of course, now I have to know Mr. Chow's story and see where this "Marry Me" sticky note proposal goes!

My daughter told me to order First Grave series by Darynda Jones and I would not be able to put it down. She was so right. I just loved the way she expressed herself. Funny, intriguing, nail biting at times and over all really good reading. If you don't want to get any work done around the house, and just be plain old lazy get the books. Most enjoyable reading . I just hope that the series will keep going for a long time. I am so looking forward to the next book.

Her writing gets better and better. More Romance, more sex. I just had to hang in there through the first few books which were kind of frustrating as far as the plot. But overall, this is a wonderful series!

Charley hears a strange scratching noise under her bed. She finally gathers her nerve, takes a peek and finds a small, pixie of a girl who is frightened, dirty and dead. Before she knows it, her entire apartment is filled with terrified, filthy dead women who all appeared to have been murdered. Charley must get to the bottom of this haunting immediately. Aside from all the dead women, Charley is trying to determine who is responsible for the arson around the city. Strangely, all the burned properties have a connection to Reyes. Garrett isn't happy with her since his trip to Hell, and her latest client almost shot Cookie. There is never a dull moment in the life of Charley Davidson. Can Charley come through and clean things up once again?
What I Liked:
*Darynda never fails to write a book that will make me laugh and smirk. Charley's one of a kind brand of humor shines through again in this latest installment. There is plenty of snark and witty banter that will be sure to make you smile as you head on yet another misadventure with the one and only Charley Davidson, grim reaper, and company. There is rarely a dull moment in this one!
*I loved how all the story lines came together at the end of this one. Ms. Jones skillfully lays down several story threads which at first do not seem to be related, but by the end they weave together masterfully to a rather shocking finish. I always enjoy the numerous plots in these books.
*The romance between Charley and Reyes is moving to another level and I must warn you, it is scorching hot this time around. The pair seems to be done with dancing around, avoiding their obvious attraction. There are some steamy scenes in this one that may make the more prudish readers blush. If you like plenty of smexy scenes with lots of sizzle, you should enjoy this outing.
*Finally this time around, Garrett Swopes (who I think happens to be pretty darn sexy himself) delivers some exciting and interesting information regarding Charley. It seems she is indeed headed to do something big and important in a big battle to save the world. I was most curious about the entourage that she supposedly needs, and I am eager to see who slips into those spots!
*Charley seems to finally be growing a bit and learning to use her powers, granted she still gets her butt into a heap of trouble, but she is getting there. I am still waiting for the day she will stand up and kick some ass.
And The Not So Much:
*The ending was a shocker! Not a cliffhanger but it is a jaw dropping surprise that left me practically screaming. Darynda you can't end it on that note.
*As I mentioned, Charley still hasn't gotten to the point where she can totally stand up for herself, and it is getting a bit frustrating that she still ends up in horrific situations where she gets bruised and beaten. This time around is no exception. I want Charley to kick ass!
*I was eager to learn more about what was going on with Charley's dad, but there are no answers and he doesn't even hardly make an appearance, and there is no explanation for his restored health.
I mentioned this last review, but I am still waiting for Uncle Bob and Cookie to get together, or for Cookie to get a man, but she is still left hanging and hoping.
*What was the deal with the naked guy ghost? He makes an early appearance and then he fades away and is forgotten.
*Why was Garrett glaring at Mr. Wong?

Fifth Grave Past the Light is another terrific installment to the ever funny Charley Davidson Series. If you are in the mood for a hilarious, paranormal read with grim reapers, ghosts and the ever so sexy son of Satan you need to read this series. You must read it anyway because it is one of the best adult paranormal series out these days. Charley's snarky humor will make you laugh and the story lines are always entertaining. Just do yourself a favor and get these books!
Favorite Quotations:
"Our relationship was a lot like underwear in a dryer without a static control sheet. One minute we were floating through life, buoyant and carefree. The next we were attached at the crotch."
"Coffee was that place where the sun comes up over the horizon and lights the heavens in a burst of vibrant colors."
"Freaking men. It didn't matter what the problem was, they saw only three solutions to it: food, sex, war."
"I don't expect everything to be handed to me. Just set it down wherever. ---t-shirt."

I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own and I was not compensated for this review.
Published@Rainy Day Ramblings.

Darynda Jones is a master at humor and character. I love her series and her main character Charley Davidson. This is perfect!!! I have never read a better Grim Reaper series. You have to read all three. This is how Janet Evanovitch would write urban fantasy.

I am addicted to Charlie Davidson!! These stories are witty and cleverly told. The plots are original and well crafted. I have created Charlie Davidson addicts throughout my circle of friends and at work. I look forward to the next book for months and then finish it in one day!

Darynda has done it again. God, I love her sense of humor. And, damn, this book was hot.
We've been left with big questions at the end of this book, the kind that makes book six waaaayyyy too far away.

I loved the previous books in this series but I could not stand this one. If I wanted to read a sex book I would have picked up a porno and gotten it over with. Pages and pages and PAGES of sex in a book with minimal story, a brief and rushed mystery and no new character development. So disappointed.

As I mentioned above about book 4, I am really enjoying the series and can't wait to get to the next book. But I'm still reading this one, so I can't review past this book. But I know the rest will be just as enjoyable as the first 5 are.

I am a fan of the Charley Davidson series and book five continues the streak of "good reads". Yes, a suspension of traditional belief is required....after all the main characters are Charley, a Grim Reaper and Reyes, the actual son of actual Satan. Secondary characters have visited Hell and returned to tell the tale.

But this is a good entry in a good series. But do not try to read any of these without starting from book one. Fair warning!

This was the most amazing book! I read a lot but have only a few favorite books, now I have one more. This book is wonderful, loving, heart pounding, romantic, terrifying, heart wrenching, sexy and humbling all wrapped up in one package. Thank you so much for this book.

This series started out with so much promise, the son of Satan in love with the Grim Reaper there is lots there to work with. For the first four books...ok well 3.5 the fourth book wasn't that great either I thought this series was fantastic now I just find it slow and repetitive. Don't get me wrong there is a crap load of hilarious one liners accompanied by a crap load of really really dumb ones.

The humor I found funny in the first couple of books I once again found juvenile. The Charley/Reyes story finally moved forward but not by much. By the time we find out what Charley's background is it will be the 20th book, I don't have the patience for that. The plot this time was just kinda meh but I was grateful there was no dumb love triangle this time around. All in all not my favorite book in the series.

I was thrilled to get offered a pre-publication copy of this book for review because I have read and loved the first four books in this sassy series. However, this book left me scratching my head and wondering if the author hired a ghostwriter instead of writing the book herself.

Charley Davidson is a Private Investigator, Grim Reaper and coffee guzzling addict all wrapped into one gorgeous, sarcastic and funny package. This time around she seems to have too many problems to solve: 27 murdered women are crowding her out of her apartment, her soul mate and sometimes not so charming lover Reyes has moved in next door and seems to want more than Charley can offer, someone is burning down buildings in Albuquerque, etc., etc. There were so many things going on in this book that I suffered whiplash trying to keep up.

Charley seemed to be less funny this time around. Her best friend and assistant, Cookie, is missing in action for most of this book and that really took some of the shine out of this installment. Combine all of this with a sex scene that is too weird and explicit even for liberal, old me and this book just wasn't my cup of tea.

Passionate fans will get some pleasure out of this book, and I did too, but it really doesn't do the series any favors in the long term.

I picked up the first book in this series on a whim. Actually, my sister handed it to me in the Target aisle because the skull embellished shoes were just "so you!". I have been completely hooked ever since and can't get enough. Each book in the series just gets better. Also, who could possibly not love a woman who names her girls Danger and Will Robinson? I wish to be half as clever as the author. Brava!

Silly girl squeal going on here! I'm soo loving this series! Yes, it has it's intense moments, but are softened with the heated moments, if you get my drift. Oh, my...sigh. On to the sixth book! Bring it!

Most intense book yet in the Charley Davidson series. It will make you laugh, cry, cringe and swoon. You get to learn so much more about Charley and her abilities, as well as getting a better glimpse into her purpose on earth. Charley is that girl I wish I could be more like. (And not for her supernatural powers.) She's strong, sarcastic and doesn't let all the bad stuff that happens to her bring her down. Well, that, plus she's always surrounded by hotties. ;) If you've read any of the books, you do not want to miss this one!

At a signing in Houston, I told her thanks for giving me a kick-ass heroine who is the best mix of truth and fiction. Omg, it is the best girlfriend book ever for both her relationship with Cookie and with Reyes. Never has an author wanted me to lick her fictional hero's abs...right there while I am reading! She toned down the quick quips from Charley and I missed that because she gets to say all the things we bite our tongues from saying. I also missed her interactions with more dead people...got a little exorcist for me with all the dead women. Of course, now I have to know Mr. Chow's story and see where this "Marry Me" sticky note proposal goes!

More than likely anyone reading these reviews has already read Graves first through fourth. You already know to expect humor, great characters, suspense, action and increasingly hotter sex. This book is a lot more of the same but better. There is a lot more Reyes and Charley in this book as their relationship intensifies, their bond deepening. Charley is still involved in solving crimes, but we are introduced to a huge new story arc and reveals about Charley, Reyes and Garrett. We're teased further with a possible Cookie/Ubie hook up and Gemma looks to have found a very promising fellow. The book leaves us with a lot of answered questions as well as a boatload of unanswered questions. But for us Darynda fans, we're in for a penny, in for a pound. We will savor each book and wait (im)patiently for the next book.