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Review: Seventh Grave and No Body by Darynda Jones (Charley Davidson #7)

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Seventh Grave and No Body by Darynda Jones // VBC ReviewSeventh Grave and No Body (Charley Davidson #7)
Darynda Jones
Published: Oct. 21, 2014 (St. Martin’s Press)
Purchase: Book Depository or Amazon
Review Source: purchased

Reviewed by: Amy

Rating (out of 5): 4 stars

Note: While this review will be spoiler free, it will reference previous events in the series. If you havent started yet, check out VBCs review of book 1, First Grave on the Right.

For whatever reason, I did not immediately pick up Seventh Grave and No Body upon its publication back in October. Being one of my favorite series, I didn’t want to get too far behind. Since Eighth Grave After Dark just released, I figured now was as good a time as any to finally read this book. If you’re not like me and you devoured Seventh Grave months ago, maybe this will provide a litter refresher going into Eighth Grave.

Seventh Grave picks up about two weeks after Sixth Grave on the Edge. We know the twelve hellhounds are on Charley’s trail, we just don’t know when they’ll attack so everyone (meaning everyone besides Charley that is) is ever vigilant in regards to safety. The big case this time around involves bizarre suicide cases the APD call in Charley as a consultant on. Meanwhile, Charley’s father is still AWOL. Oh and there’s that tiny little matter of Beep (aka the Bun).

Over the course of these seven books, Darynda Jones has developed a standard M.O. for the series. Usually consisting of our favorite PI and Grim Reaper solving several investigations over the course of the book, which inevitably leads to Charley getting into some kind of trouble along the way; I would say that overall Seventh Grave is no different. This is not a complaint by any means. The book still holds the same humor and banter, plus all the characters I’ve grown to love.

This time around, we got to see Charley really start to flex some power muscle. Reyes has repeatedly told her that she wields great power and yet it’s only been kind of here-and-there that we see that power exuded. The threat of the hounds (plus the presence of Beep) really puts Reyes’ in a protective mind over Charley. He challenges her a lot throughout to use her gifts. It’s great to see, although we probably haven’t even scratched the surface of what she’s capable of yet. I wouldn’t be surprised if Charley gets to participate in the Alpha Showdown herself some day.

Reyes, of course, is his lovely hot self. Seriously his sexiness just jumps off the page. But in Seventh Grave we get to see him dealing a lot with his vulnerability. He just doesn’t know how to permanently defeat the hounds and keep Charley safe. This gives him some broody moments for sure. We also learn how he really feels about his various “fans.” It was nice to see Reyes open up a little more. Those moments with just Charley and Reyes are great. That, however, doesn’t negate the secrets they try to keep from each other. I think eventually all the cards just need to be on the table between them.

While Seventh Grave doesnt end on a monumental cliffhanger, Im always impressed how Darynda Jones navigates these stories from where we start to the ending, but for every answer there are still a lot of unanswered questions. This is typical for this series, however. Overall, I loved the book, but I felt it ended on more of a somber note than the others. While I know Charley could never stop being her wisecracking self, I just hope it’s not a sign of where the tone of the series is headed overall.

Sexual content: graphic sex

3 Responses to “Review: Seventh Grave and No Body by Darynda Jones (Charley Davidson #7)”

  1. Jen Kyle says:

    I also missed out on this book when it first came out. And read the 7th and 8th book back to back. So hurry and read the 8th. It’s really good. And I will not miss the 9th because of course 8 leaves a cliffhanger.

    • Amy says:

      I’ve heard 8 leaves a cliffhanger so I’m wondering if I should just wait to read it until closer to 9’s release.

      Sometimes waiting ends up paying off 🙂

      • Jen Kyle says:

        Yes I would wait. It’s a big cliffhanger, and I’m excited to see where she is going with the story.

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