Sunday, December 4, 2011

Review: First Grave to the Right (Audiobook)




First Grave to the Right by Darynda Jones
Genre: Paranormal, Mystery
Length: 9 hours 4 minutes
Narrator: Lorelei King
Source: eLibrary (overdrive)

From Audible:
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.

My Rating:

My Review:
Many can't understand Charley Davidson's success as a private investigator, but those close to her know her secret.  She can see and talk to dead people.  In fact, she is the grim reaper.  After four lawyers are murdered in suspicious circumstances, Charley must sift through clues and find the killer and bring justice for the lawyers and their families.  Though she is fully committed, she can't help but be distracted by dreams of the BIG BAD who calls her "dutch."  A nickname she has only heard a few times in her life and she doesn't know identity of the BIG BAD or his role in her life.  With two mysteries to solve and so many people trying to kill her, this adventure takes the reader through quite a few twists and turns.

Charley Davidson is a sassy investigator who reminds me of Stephanie Plum, but she is actually good at what she does.  Her sarcasm and wit made me smile at times and I was fully invested in discovering the motive and identity of the killer, though I found the random profanity to be distracting at times.

On the narrator...
I found Ms. King to be a perfect fit as a narrator.  Her voice fit Charley Davidson's character perfectly and all the other characters were easily discernible.

On the story...
While I enjoyed the plot concerning the lawyers, the sub-plot concerning the entity was...weird.  I just didn't get the idea of having a romance with a mysterious entity that showed up in dreams.  The sexual scenes with this mysterious ghost-like entity was also just...weird.  Because of this, I think this would be a book better read.  For some reason, I don't think it would have been so weird and uncomfortable if I was reading it myself.

After reading a review by another book blogger, I had this on my list.  My grandmother sent me a review and gave it one star rating  I was kind of surprised and it made it even more intriguing.  As for my grandmother, I think she enjoyed the book until the point where she found out the identity of the mystery entity and I can see how that could happen.

Read this if you like a Stephanie Plum like mystery full of dead ends, investigation, and fun side-kicks.  There is some profanity but lots of fun.  If you decide to give it a read, let me know what you think.
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24 comments:

  1. I'm still searching for that one great ghost story. This is a good story, don't get me wrong. I was just weirded out by the love interest. I'm not a prude but...it just didn't work for me.

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  2. I hope you'll like it if you try...

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  3. Ugh! Really??? Well I guess I'll take this off my wish list!
    I really wasn't sure about it but love ghost stories.

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  4. This is paranormal +1 so ...ehhh. It has a lot of great reviews so I'm surely not in the majority.

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  5. I think it is just me. This one has a lot of great reviews. I'm very much in the minority on this one.

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  6. Yes...it was weird. I think it is because I couldn't skim through the more unfortunate parts.

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  7. I liked the narrator a lot.

    I just didn't like listening to certain parts of the book because it made me uncomfortable on top of the fact that I had issues with the disappearance with the lawyer storyline for the other...and then it was just there again, randomly.

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  8. I'm not sure if I will. If I decide to, it will definitely be in book form and not audiobook form.

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  9. Yeah I would recommend reading it. I've never seen Dead Like Me. When I read the premise, I knew that I couldn't see her reading it. Then when I got to the end...the lightbulb really went off. I think paranormals wouldn't really be her thing. Now that I think about it, I need to tell her that.

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  10. She is definitely entertaining. I think you should give it a try. Just pick it up in book form I'm thinking.

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  11. I would give it a go. Give it 30 minutes or so. If you like it stick with it. The action...pun intended...starts right away so you'll know if you'll like listening to it early on.

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  12. She's so cute. After listening to the book, I couldn't figure out how she happened upon it. This is definitely no her book. I could have told her that.

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  13. I think it depends on the book. For this one...the character's personality was very witty and sassy and some of the dialogue fell flat or made me feel uncomfortable. I think you read into it differently when you read it yourself.

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  14. I'm sorry it wasn't quite for you. Will you read the sequel? I really like the series, and I'm very curious to read the third book. I hope it'll improve for you. (I forget one more time to make my comment with the good name "Melliane", I'm so lost sometimes)

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  15. Only a meh? That is disappointing and I am starting this one soon :(

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  16. Awww, sorry you didn't like it more. I think I would agree that the sex stuff with the dream guy might be weird if you're listening to it rather than reading yourself.

    Still, I'm intrigued! thanks for sharign your review.

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  17. I have to admit, I'm disappointed to hear that people aren't just loving this one. I was really looking forward to it, but now I think it will be one of those books I read "if" I ever have the time...

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  18. I liked the Audiobook alot but I have listened to some that others have love and I haven't. I actually think certain narrators can be distracting for certain people. :( Sad you didn't like it as much!

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  19. Grandma gave it a 1 star, I would be eager to see why too. I like the book cover and the premise. Sorta reminds me of that old show, Dead Like Me. I don't know if I will take a chance on the audio version or the book. Great review.

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  20. Your review has me intrigued. Especially knowing that your Grandmother sent you her rating...loves it. But if she's anything like Stephanie Plum, the she's sure to at least be entertaining. I've been seeing this one around so I'll have to pick it up and read it sometime. Great review.

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  21. Juju at Tales of Whimsy.comJanuary 26, 2012 at 10:11 AM

    Does sounds like it's for me but I did enjoy the review. I love that your grandma sends you reviews.

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  22. Do you think it being an audio book took away from the story? I think I would have a harder time getting into the story if I was listening to it...

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  23. Oh noes! I just got book one and two of this series on audiobook. Hmmm... Now I wonder if I'll like it or not.

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  24. reading rendezvous reviewzJanuary 26, 2012 at 2:09 PM

    paranormal just isn't my kind of read so I think I would of tried an audio book too. As a matter of fact i'm going to look this one up. nice review.

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