Expected publication date: January 15, 2019
Cover blurb:
Grim Reaper Charley Davidson is back in the final installment of Darynda Jones’ New York Times bestselling paranormal series!
Charley Davidson, Grim Reaper extraordinaire, is pissed. She’s been kicked off the earthly plain for eternity – which is the appropriate amount of time to make a person starkraving mad. But someone’s looking out for her, and she’s allowed to return after a mere hundred years in exile. Is it too much to hope for that not much has changed? Apparently it is. Bummer.
She’s missed Reyes and her daughter, Beep, but now that she’s back on earth, it’s time to put to rest burning questions that need answers. What happened to her mother? How did she really die? Who killed her? And are cupcakes or coffee the best medicine? It all comes to a head in an epic showdown between good and evil in this final smart and hilarious novel.
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After 12 prior books, this is the 13th and final novel in the Charley Davidson series, sob! (Say it isn’t so!!!) This series is imbued with some of the best characters and funniest writing I have ever had the pleasure of reading and this final entry in the saga is no different. But my enjoyment was slightly subdued knowing that while yes we may get a spinoff series with Beep, this is the last time we will hear Charley’s snarky narrative first hand. However, going out on top is the best way to end a series and oh boy, Darynda hit the peak with this one!
The story begins with Charley returning to Earth after being banished to a hell dimension for bringing Amber back from the dead at the end of book 12. She has been without coffee and Reyes for over one hundred long, agonizing years with only wraiths for company. Upon her return she finds herself in the Sahara, all alone and unsure as to why she was returned from what was supposed to be an endless exile. Fortunately her solitude is fleeting, because who should appear but Reyes….and he is NOT happy with her! (Not that it forestalls a little hanky panky in the desert lol!) But he also stuns her when he explains that even though she thinks she has been gone more than a century, only 10 days have passed on Earth.
After their interlude, Reyes explains that all is not well in Albuquerque as his own return from a hell dimension has opened up a portal for demons to invade and possess the citizens of the city. What’s worse is they only have 3 days to fix the situation and we as the readers know by now that nothing is ever simple when it comes to Charley! After they materialize back in ABQ, Charley delights in surprising their friends with her return before they must deal with both the demon invasion and investigating the spirit of a little boy who needs their help. The rest of the book is full of the requisite action and suspense with a huge side of humor that we have come to expect from Charley!
I just can’t bring myself to give any more hints in case I risk spoiling any of the HUGE surprises in the story because trust me there were some complete shockers involved! I will also say that for the last quarter of the book, I had huge tears sliding down my face one by one while reading and by the end they were out and out sobs!! There can’t be any better evidence of an author managing to connect readers to their characters than such a level of emotion being brought out, can there? I’m assuming that if you are reading this review, you have read all the prior books in the series but if for some strange reason you haven’t, this is NOT a stand-alone. You must start at the beginning, but the good news is you will have 13 books of excellence ahead of you!
A huge thank you to St. Martin’s Press and Netgalley for allowing me the treat of reading this early!