Eighth Grave After Dark: A Novel

Darynda Jones

May 2015 · Charley Davidson Series Book 8 · Sold by St. Martin's Press

About this ebook

There's holy hell to pay for Charley Davidson in Eighth Grave After Dark, the New York Times bestseller from Darynda Jones.

With twelve hellhounds after her, pregnant Charley Davidson takes refuge at the only place she thinks they can't get to her: the grounds of an abandoned convent. But after months of being cooped up there, Charley is ready to pop. Both metaphorically and literally since she is now roughly the size of a beached whale. Fortunately, a new case has captured her attention, one that involves a murder on the very grounds the team has taken shelter upon. A decades-old murder of the newly-vowed nun she keeps seeing in the shadows is almost enough to pull her out of her doldrums.

Charley's been forbidden to step foot off the sacred grounds. While the angry hellhounds can't traverse the consecrated soil, they can lurk just beyond its borders. They have the entire team on edge, especially Reyes. And if Charley didn't know better, she would swear Reyes is getting sick. He grows hotter with every moment that passes, his heat scorching across her skin every time he's near, but naturally he swears he's fine.

While the team searches for clues on the Twelve, Charley just wants answers and is powerless to get them. But the mass of friends they've accrued helps. They convince her even more that everyone in her recent life has somehow been drawn to her, as though they were a part of a bigger picture all along. But the good feelings don't last for long because Charley is about to get the surprise of her crazy, mixed-up, supernatural life....

Ratings and reviews

Beep has arrived! And in typical Charley fashion, all plans made for her arrival have been twisted, torn, tossed in the air and challenged – and you couldn’t want it any other way! Picking up eight months after Seventh Grave and No Body, Charley, Reyes and Osh have moved to an historic abandoned convent, on hallowed ground, to keep Charley and Beep safe from the hellhounds. While the early part of the book is relatively slow moving and without a ton of the frenetic action we’ve come to expect, the opportunity to breathe as the story unfolds will be a welcome, if not necessary one, in the grand scheme of things. With Charley having gone against Reyes’ wishes and hired her own PI to find his birth parents, Cookie and Ubie’s wedding – a perfect setting despite her step-monster Denise being omnipresent and desperate to ‘apologize’ for her mistreatment of Charley for her entire childhood, her father appearing to leave a warning, a departed nun appearing regularly and Charley’s FBI friend Kit asking for help with a missing teen, everything is pretty much normal, if quieter than the usual. This won’t last long, however, as Charley notices Mr. Wong has relocated and is now in what they are using for a living room, the departed in her bedroom closet won’t speak – only wail, and there are increasing numbers of departed just standing about in the yard. And while the friction between Osh and Reyes is still there, they aren’t banging one another’s heads together, Reyes isn’t sleeping, and there are moments, frequent moments, when Reyes disappears and Charley can’t get him to explain who (or what) he is planning. With the countdown on Kit’s missing girl coming to a head, Cookie and Bob aren’t on their pre-honeymoon honeymoon but working instead, the people interested in, or a threat to Beep and Charley seem to be increasing exponentially. And then, when following Reyes, and the departed nun, things go left in spectacular, Charley-trademark fashion as a well, two bodies and Beep’s arrival all converge. Not expecting that Denise would step up and help Charley through labor, save Beep from strangulation and bring us to the point of meeting the child destined to be the downfall of Lucifer – just eighteen hours of stasis later and Charley is back to her old tricks, now with Beep in tow. Introducing her to her father, the door that won’t open revealing its secrets, a quick jump through hell to bring forth answers about a missing girl, a threat to Cookie and Amber, the return of the MC club and a showdown between Reyes and Charley that was overshadowed by a big bad – one determined to end Beep and give Charley nightmares about Denise for as long as she lives. Strangely enough, it is Mr. Wong and the hellhounds, along with Osh and his knowledge of her name, her true name, that provides all the difference in this final battle (for this book) and sending Reyes into a tailspin as everyone has no idea just what, or where, Charley will turn next with the new information. Unfortunately, the battles for supremacy aren’t yet over with, and Beep is still threatened and must be protected, but the choices are truly heart wrenching, only the secret that Charley has held for weeks against the wishes of Reyes, could be the only answer. And when a previously departed returns and seems to be involved at the core of the battle, the story takes a twist that is utterly unexpected, and the addition of Reyes’ perspective as a sort of “epilogue’ has the benefit of giving us a few more steps along the path to the conclusion. I received an eBook copy of the title from the publisher via NetGalley for purpose of honest review. I was not compensated for this review: all conclusions are my own responsibility.

Kind of enjoyable. The snark, as always is there, but this story is a little convoluted. I feel sorry for Charley, this chick just can’t get a break, bad and worse are always happening to her. This so far is my least favorite of the series. Charley has to live in a old convent (sacred ground), has Beep, takes a trip down below, loses Beep, mentally breaks and ends up in Sleepy Hollow, NY, where a really bad and previously dead guy resides. And then we have the “God’s”, turns out Charley is a God, there are ghost gods, seven gods, etc. my head is spinning.

EIGHTH GRAVE AFTER DARK is the eighth installment in Darynda Jones’s adult, urban fantasy Charley Davidson series focusing on part time PI/ full time grim reaper Charley Davidson. This is the continuing story of Charley’s life as the Grim Reaper, the corporeal spirits who have yet to pass, and the man to whom she has pledged her undying love-the son of Satan-Reyes Farrow. Lucifer has targeted Charley and her unborn daughter for termination using any means necessary including hellhounds and demons. The series should be read in order for cohesion and the ongoing history between Charley, Reyes and the end of the world. NOTE: If you have not read the series, there will be some spoilers in my review. Told from first person point of view (Charley Davidson) the storyline focuses on the wedding between Charley’s BFF and assistant Cookie, and Ubie (Charley’s Uncle Bob) and, the impending birth of Charley and Reyes daughter. While Charley prepares for her best friend’s nuptials, a missing persons case is brought to Charley’s attention with the belief that Charley’s special abilities are necessary to solve the case. The problem-Charley and Reyes have taken up residence in a former convent believing the Hounds of Hell are unable to enter sacred grounds and Charley is unable to cross the perimeter without placing her life in danger. And of course, Charley comes across the spirit of a young nun who hasn’t been able to crossover, in the hopes of finding someone to solve her murder and the case of her missing sister. EIGHT GRAVE AFTER DARK is a revealing storyline where the true purpose of several secondary and supporting characters comes to fruition including the perpetually silent Mr. Wong and the twelve sent. The notion of the ‘twelve sent and the twelve summoned’ is partially revealed, and with it, my belief that throughout the series, some of the reluctant spirits and supernatural beings who have stayed behind and attached themselves to Charley, have a larger purpose in Charley’s life than fodder for one liners and the bane of Charley’s existence. I suspect the series will reveal a few more ‘spirits’ and guardians whose purpose is to defend and protect the ‘daughter’ in the upcoming war. The ensemble cast of characters includes many of the previously introduced spirits, ghosts, demons and one particularly sexy biker dude. Osh returns as protector but his connection to Charley goes much deeper; Angel keeps secret Reyes plans for the future; Rocket announces the impending death of someone we all know and hate. Charley’s sister Gemma and step-mother Denise play a much larger role than in the past but a role that is not high on Charley’s list of things to do or forgive. Garrett Swopes continues to decipher the ancient prophecies, while Strawberry Shortcake pops in with little bits of information. Cookie’s daughter Amber’s role in Charley’s life has yet to be revealed, but this powerful little teenager is more than just a pretty face and gaming nerd with her bestie Quentin. Artemis returns as our favorite supernatural canine. Darynda Jones continues to use humor, amazing one-liners, sexual innuendo, euphemisms and sarcasm throughout the storyline. Once again, each chapter is introduced with a t-shirt slogan, meme or bumper sticker pointing out that all is not running smoothly in Charley’s life. The friendship between Charley and Cookie continues to be amazing; and Charley’s love for Reyes Farrow is all encompassing and forever. We could all do with a little heat and fire in our lives. EIGHTH GRAVE AFTER DARK is a character driven storyline where everyone has a purpose and place in Charley’s life, and said purposes and places are finally being revealed. Many questions will be answered; some have yet to be addressed; anand in the end, Charley and Reyes’s must make a heartbreaking decision that will affect them all. You can’t go wrong with a little Darynda Jones and Charley Davidson in

About the author

New York Times and USA Today bestselling author DARYNDA JONES won a RITA Award for best first novel for First Grave On The Right. As a born storyteller, she grew up spinning tales of dashing damsels and heroes in distress for any unfortunate soul who happened by, annoying man and beast alike. Jones lives in the Land of Enchantment, also known as Albuquerque, New Mexico, with her husband and two beautiful sons, the Mighty, Mighty Jones Boys.