Eighth Grave After Dark by Darynda Jones

Kidnappings, weddings, hellhounds, and contractions – Eighth Grave After Dark seriously has everything. Charlotte “Charley” Davidson, A.K.A. the grim reaper, and her son-of-Satan husband, Reyes, are expecting their own little bundle any day now. Cooped up in an abandoned convent for months while the prophesied daughter incubates, everyone is getting a little jumpy. The whole gang is here-the dead, the living, and the in between-solving a few problems while they wait for the big day.

The book starts with a wedding. I cry at weddings, always have, but I assumed I had to be present. Wrong. Jones perfectly captures the goofs, the preparations, the ceremony, the laughs, tears, and hairspray. I could smell the cake frosting. Superbly done.

And then back to our regularly-scheduled programming. Charley and Reyes are just as stubborn, sneaky, and steamy as ever, even with Charley about to pop, and almost every minor characters in the series makes a cameo as a ton of plot threads weave in.

I love this whole series, but number eight is the best of the bunch, with so many loose ends tied up, questions answered, character arcs filled in, and surprises popping out all over the place. The plot bounces through several denouements, leaving me in a constant state of fear after page 180 that I would be left hanging. After all my questions were answered, leaving me totally satisfied, I wondered how the series could continue without getting stale. Then the last seven pages happened and I am all wound up again.

Eighth Grave After Dark gets five stars for running me through the emotional ringer. I cried, laughed, sweat, bit my nails, cheered, high-fived my dog, yelled several curse words, cried and laughed again-–in roughly that order. My advice: do not wait for the paperback. Get this one the minute it hits the shelves, and bring tissues.

Book Stats:

• Hardcover: 304 pages
• Publisher: St. Martin’s Press (May 19, 2015)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1250045657
• ISBN-13: 978-1250045652

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Books in the Charley Davidson series in the order they should be read:
First Grave on the Right
Second Grave on the Left
Third Grave Dead Ahead
Fourth Grave Beneath My Feet
Fifth Grave Past the Light
Sixth Grave on the Edge
Seventh Grave and No Body
Eighth Grave After Dark

Eighth Grave After Dark by Darynda Jones