Charley Davidson Books In Order

Publication Order of Charley Davidson Books

Chronological Order of Charley Davidson Books

Many readers of crime thriller suspense type novels often complain about the absence of female lead characters that save the day so to speak and this is perhaps why you could overlook Charley Davidson. Charley is actually an abbreviated name for the twenty-seven year old chocolate eating, coffee drinking Charlotte, who New York Times Best Selling Author Darynda Jones has painted as a part-time private investigator who is an indispensable asset to the local police on account of her eerie ability to contact the dead in her full-time role as the Grim Reaper. Set in Albuquerque, New Mexico, this paranormal romantic suspense series keeps the reader on the edge, always guessing and never doing so correctly! You simply have to read until the very end.

The Girl that is Charley Davidson

Notwithstanding her gift or curse of being able to see and communicate with the dead since birth, Charley Davidson has a certain quality of being relatable because of how Jones paints her character. First of all, the reader gets a sense of admiration because certainly, anyone who can help a loved one pass to the other side should be admired right? She has a lot of heart and gut and can easily take a place in the recesses of the reader’s heart. Charley Davidson like many readers has had to deal with a step-parent who feels threatened by her existence because of course; she is a constant reminder of the loving relationship that existed between Charley’s father and her mother who died during childbirth. What is more, we discover that she had an excellent relationship with her father who solved several murder cases and was a cop. In view of her gift and early training, it is no surprise that she has become a private investigator. She is also hilarious, she definitely takes things in stride and does not always have things figured out which certainly makes this extra-ordinary girl, seem like the co-worker you could gossip with, or that neighbor you can sit and have coffee with whilst complaining about your lazy husband or rude kids.

Another dimension of the girl that is Charley Davidson is that she oozes sex appeal and is not afraid to explore through sexual exploits which come through subtly and not so subtly throughout the book. It is refreshing to see a heroine that is not painted as a saint-like prude which would make her a bit of a turn-off for most of us real men and women who happen to enjoy and think that intercourse is a natural and ordinary thing.

Charley Davidson in ‘First Grave on the Right’ and ‘Second Grave on the Left’

The first two books in the series are, ‘First Grave on the Right’ and ‘Second Grave on the Left’ respectively and despite the seeming similarities in the titles, whilst Charley’s character is certainly developed the stories are actually worlds apart.

In the first book of the series, ‘First Grave on the Right’ transformed the story lines that are usually associated with Grim Reapers, giving us Charlie a severely confident persona who is very female. The story starts off with one of Charley’s apparently frequent steamy dreams about an entity that has been following her for as long as she has known herself. She assumes that he is dead, but this entity does not add up with the usual modus operandi of her work. In fact, he might not even be dead, something she comes to realize when he calls her ‘Dutch’ the reason for which is a total surprise. To our great pleasure, she in fact investigates the steamy hot entity who we can tell you, goes by the name Reyes Farrow you definitely need to read to delve into his character!

There is also Garret Swopes who is another private investigator who doesn’t believe in Charley’s abilities at all and is convinced that her methods at crime solving involve some untoward elements that he is hell bent on figuring out. However, as the story gradually develops, he seems to develop a liking for her and you are encouraged to see if the sparks that fly between the two develop into a love flame. They match each other’s wit and intellect throughout and make caustic yet hilarious remarks about each other that have the trappings of people who need to admit how they really feel about each other. The book goes through twists within twists taking you on a mysterious high, complemented by laughter from beginning to end.

In the second book of the series, Charley and her best friend Cookie, who doubles as her receptionist, try to trace a missing woman. However, in keeping with Jones’ style and the first book, the case turns out to be much more complicated that first envisaged. Prior to the beginning of the action, Cookie’s friend vanishes only to send a very cryptic message to her to set up a meeting in a local coffee shop. When they arrive, she is nowhere to be found, but the writing on the wall provides a clue, which may or may not have been left by Mimi, the missing friend. After doing the routine digging around which involved speaking to the missing woman’s husband, he explains that she has been acting strange after receiving news that an old high school colleague was murdered. If you guessed that the like the motifs friendship and murder run through the course of the second book then you are correct, and this is what adds to the mystery and the surprises that you never saw coming.

The missing woman isn’t Charley and Cookie’s only problem however. Demons cannot seem to leave her alone and for that reason, they torture the body of the son of Satan forcing him to hunt down Charley. But in an interesting twist it seems that Satan’s son has a good side, he’s actually trying to prevent the demons from getting to Charley to use her as a way into heave…or is he? They certainly have a mystic chemistry which they cannot help resisting and when coupled with her quest to find the missing woman, the lives of those she loves are put in danger and it is not until the very end that we discover the truth about several supporting characters that will shock you into next week.

Our opinion is that you definitely want to give these books a read!