‘First Grave On The Right‘ (2011) is my sixth Darynda Jones novel. Normally, I’m one of those folks who has to start at the first book that an author wrote and then read the rest in sequence but Darynda Jones didn’t catch my eye until she launched her Sunshine Vicram trilogy with ‘A Bad Day For Sunshine‘ in 2020 which made me an instant fan. Since then, I’ve read the rest of the Sunshine Vicram books (all of which I recommend) and the first two of the Betwixt and Between trilogy which I have to be in the mood for but which are fun light-hearted supernatural rom-coms.

I picked up ‘First Grave On The Right‘ because it was a perfect fit for the Halloween Bingo Grave 0r Graveyard square and because I knew that a lot of people love Charley Davidson, the main character of the series. I hesitated a little because I didn’t want to go back twelve years and find that I couldn’t get into Darynda Jones’ earlier writing style.

I needn’t have worried. ‘First Grave On The Right’ was a debut novel but WHAT a debut novel! I could immediately see why it made such a splash when it was launched. The writing is confident and energetic, not so much defying genre conventions as reinventing them with a smile. That familiar mix of sassy humour, spicy but not to be taken too seriously sex wrapped around a mystery that I want to see unravelled, that keeps me coming back to her books was already there in her first book.

O.K. this one is a little heavier on the paranormal romance/’I so want to have sex with this demon’ element than I’d expected but it was mostly well done. Charley feels younger (is younger) than Sunshine Vicram, which made me smile because I didn’t know how intentional it was.

I loved the easy humour and wit. I liked the affection in Charley’s relationships. Her ‘I’m too aroused to think straight‘ moments with the demon hottie didn’t do much for me but then, as a sixty-six-year-old man, I’m not the target demographic.

I was impressed by how well the book laid the foundations for an intriguing series. Charley is charismatic, chaotic, brave and passionate. It also helps that she’s not actually human. She has a family link to the local police which lets her get involved as a ‘consultant’ with a fairly vague brief. She’s a best friend/teammate with research skills, a sense of humour and a teen daughter who somehow helps to make things feel real. She has a hot (of course) bounty hunter competing for her attention in an over-protective but not very effective alpha male way and then she has her demon hottie who, of course, has secrets.

‘First Grave On The Right‘ exceeded my expectations and has given me a new series to read when I’m in the mood to read a fast, fun, snarky, spooky mystery.