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It isn’t easy being the grim reaper. You’re constantly surrounded by the dead—and there are lots of them. But in Eighth Grave after Dark, the eighth book in the Charley Davidson series by author Darynda Jones, the reaper has much more on her mind than just the wandering departed.
The story catches up with investigator and grim reaper Charley Davidson as she prepares for the birth of her child and the wedding of her best friend, Cookie, to her uncle Bob. Knowing that this baby is destined for great things, Charley and her husband, Reyes, the son of Satan, have gone into hiding on the sacred grounds of an old convent to protect her. But weddings and births often come with plenty of family drama—and as Charley deals with her evil stepmother on top of her questions into who (and what) she is, an urgent investigation causes her to break all of the rules and put their plans in danger.
Most literary series set the tone in the first installment and continue to stick with what works. But the Charley Davidson series has grown and shifted and turned into something very different—and what started out as a quirky series about an investigator solving mysteries for the departed has transformed into a series of supernatural thrillers with a side of whodunit.
The characters are still likable. Charley may be preparing to be a mother, but she’s still kooky and comical and prone to getting herself into sticky situations. The extra baby weight hasn’t really slowed her down. And she’s joined at the convent by the whole cast of demons and the departed and other supernatural characters—and a few lovable living beings, too. But, as the series progresses, it takes a much darker turn.
Charley and the others are still trying to figure out what makes her—and her unborn child—such a target for the hellhounds that surround their compound. And as they discuss and debate, digging through centuries of written texts to try to determine who Charley really is—and how she fits into the grand scheme of this universe and others—it stops being a fun-filled paranormal adventure. Charley does take on a supernatural mystery or two, but the focus is on much heavier—and more complicated—matters. When the characters discuss the finer points of Charley’s true identity, it ceases to be the light mystery series that it once was—and readers might be shocked by the surprisingly dramatic conclusion.
Granted, the twists in the series make sense for the direction of the story. But for those who loved how the earlier books felt like a supernatural Stephanie Plum, it may not be an entirely welcome change.
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