First Grave on the Right
The UF genre just got a major infusion of humor and sass in the form of P.I. Charley Davidson (aka the Grim Reaper). Jones makes a truly memorable debut…
4 1/2 Stars! RT Book Review Magazine
A smashing, award-winning debut novel that introduces Charley Davidson: part-time private investigator and full-time Grim Reaper.
Goodreads
Jones’ wickedly witty debut will delight aficionados of such humorous paranormals as Casey Daniels’ Pepper Martin Mysteries, and Dakota Cassidy’s Accidental Friends series.
Booklist (starred review) on First Grave On The Right
A smashing, award-winning debut novel that introduces Charley Davidson: part-time private investigator and full-time grim reaper.
Charley sees dead people. That’s right, she sees dead people. And it’s her job to convince them to “go into the light.” But when these very dead people have died under less than ideal circumstances (i.e. murder), sometimes they want Charley to bring the bad guys to justice. Complicating matters are the intensely hot dreams she’s been having about an entity who has been following her all her life…and it turns out he might not be dead after all. In fact, he might be something else entirely.
Awards
- RWA Golden Heart for Best Paranormal Romance (2009)
- RWA RITA for Best First Book (2012)
- HOLT Medallion: Best First Book (2011)
- HOLT Medallion: Best Paranormal (2011)
- BOOKIE Award (2012)
- GOTCHA! First Place (2009)
Fun Facts
- Charley’s name was originally Harley Davidson, lol. Yeah, it was worth a shot.
- Originally, Charley was NOT the grim reaper. She was more like a sarcastic version of The Ghost Whisperer. But an agent who was interested in the story early on said that concept had been done to death. He wanted something bigger. And the real Charley Davidson was born! (Then the agent rejected her.)
- Darynda stole the name Reyes from a kid while she was working as an interpreter, as well as the name Federico. She hopes they’re okay without them.
- The character for Uncle Bob is very much based on Darynda’s brother Luther.
- Misery is based on that same brother’s cherry red Jeep Wrangler.
- Charley’s attention span is quite similar to the author’s.
- Swopes (ie, Garrett Swopes) is Darynda’s BFF’s last name.