City of Fandoms: [R] Fourth Grave Beneath My Feet, by: Darynda Jones

Fourth Grave Beneath My Feet
(Charley Davidson #4)
by: Darynda Jones

★★★★★

Welcome to the world of grim reaper extraordinaire, Charley Davidson. Try as she might, there’s no avoiding her destiny.

Sometimes being the grim reaper really is, well, grim. And since Charley’s last case went so awry, she has taken a couple of months off to wallow in the wonders of self-pity. But when a woman shows up on her doorstep convinced someone is trying to kill her, Charley has to force herself to rise above . . . or at least get dressed. It becomes clear something is amiss when everyone the woman knows swears she’s insane. But the more they refute the woman’s story, the more Charley believes it.

In the meantime, the sexy, sultry son of Satan, Reyes Farrow, is out of prison and out of Charley’s life, as per her wishes and several perfectly timed death threats. But his absence has put a serious crimp in her sex life. While there are other things to consider, like the fact that the city of Albuquerque has been taken hostage by an arsonist, Charley is having a difficult time staying away. Especially when it looks like Reyes may be involved.

Just when life was returning to normal, Charley is thrust back into the world of crime, punishment, and the devil in blue jeans in Fourth Grave Beneath My Feet, the hilarious fourth installment in the New York Times bestselling series from Darynda Jones.

I'm telling you all, this author does not let me down. In every book there is something more. This time, D. Jones give us another side of Charley. A more human one. It's kind of sad, but that's why Charley is so funny, to not let you feel sadness.

Last book left us with a Charley really scarred, but we didn't exactly knew how deep the scar was made by Earl Walker. So in this book we see a Charley that is even afraid of her shadow. Which is totally against her because demons like to eat fear. And I'm totally blaming Reyes, no mater how hot he is. The demons are actually knowing on Charley's door, so as you can guess everything is peachy.

I was seriously worried about Charley, some times she would say something like this:

I winked at her, then closed the door before anyone else could walk up unexpectedly and wrench my heart into pieces.

If that doesn't make you worry, you seriously have a cold heart. But other times, Charley would change the theme and avoid speaking of her emotions, and anyone would let it pass. Until they didn't anyome and confront her. Charley's favorite passtime while recovering for her near death experience was to buy things from infomercials, even though she hasn't been working she doesn't actually have a penny. Even Amber noticed!

Amber spoke up then... "This is Charley's attempt to cope with her feelings of insecurity and helplessness. In a sad effort to gain control over her life again, she has turned to hoarding."

Even thought she looks helpless and feel helpless, she does have people to try to keep her safe. Artemis, her guardian, by example. Just look at her by reading this:

I awoke to the cool sensation of a hundred-pound departed Rottweiler sprawled over me as thought I were a human matress. I wasn't really alarmed by the fact her right paw covered my face almost completely, cutting off my flow of oxygen, or the fact that my leg had gone numb as her shoulder was wedged into my hip bone, but more by the fact that as her head hung over my ribs, she was snoring. Really? Even in death? Snoring just seemed superfluous for some reason. {...} And the fact that I had to pee like a champion racehorse. There was an odd pressure on my bladder that went by the name of Artemis.

Isn't she the cutest? Plus, she is really fierce when Charley is in danger. Yet, we see a more happy side of her while talking with her sister, Gemma.

"Have you seen my pants?"
"Speaking of which, how did you get home without them?"
"I borrowed a pair of your sweats. I ran into a convenience store with them on. I talked to neighbors out in their yard when I pulled up. And only after I got inside did I realize they had 'Exit Only' written across the back."
"You stole my favorite sweats?"
"I wanted to die."
"It's weird that sweats would make you suicidal. I'd analyse the crap out of that if I were you."
"Do you actually wear those in public?"
"Only when I got out in them."

As you can see Charley stole Gemma's pants and went to work in them. Poor Gemma, right? AND later on, almost at the end, we see a side of Charley that I never knew I was going to see. She was beyond angry, so angry that she killed!

Anger surged inside me faster than the splitting of an atom. Like a volcano bursting through the top of a mountain, fury erupted out of me in one blinding flash. Windows shattered and shards of glass hung like a menagerie of shimmering color as I walked toward Blondie, determination locking teeth together. He was reloading the rifle, his movements slow in the adjustment of time, slugish. He brought the butt to his shoulder, leaned his head over until the image from the scope came into view. Just as his finger started to squeeze the trigger, I reached into his chest and crushed his heart. It beat once, twice more, then stopped altogether. And satifaction coursed through me like cool water dousing a wildfire.

You see, you don't mess with the love ones of Charlotte Davidson, grim reaper. But I have to give you another peek of no matter how much she "liked" killing the guy, she got remorse too.

I'd killed a man. I'd reached inside his chest and stopped his heart. Like I had the authority. Like I had the right.

I'm so sorry, Charley, but you did good. It was him or you, darling. Just like one you said... "You mess you the reaper, you get the scythe". Even though you don't carry one, you actually decides what to do with your powers. And chica, you have to know what you can do...This is getting ridiculous, you getting hurt because you don't know what to do. And get over that fear, honey, you are death.

I will not talk more about other characters, because as you can see I only focused on Charley. But I have to give kudos to Amber, Swopes, Donovan and of course, Reyes. Can he grow a pair and tell what he wants to tell Charley? Is driving me nuts, this going and coming. But I cannot end the review without some Charley humor, like the time when naming her sofa was really important.

I looked at Misery's dash. Being with her was comforting on some level, but not as comforting as my sofa. Then it hit me. An atrocity I'd overlooked for years. I'd never named my sofa. How could I do that to her? How could I be so callous? So cold and selfish?But what would I name her? This was big. Important. She couldn't go through life with a name that didn't fit her unique personality.Filled with an odd sense of relief at the new goal in life, I put Misery into drive. I could worry about being a roosting hen later. I had a sofa to name. [Chapter 3]

... I came up with a name for my sofa, which might or might not go by the name of Sigourney Weaver,... [Chapter 20]

As you can see, our Charley will never miss her spark no matter how "down" she may be. That's a plus! I'm telling you guys. Read her and you'll life will be complete. For the end, her best short jokes: