The Curse of Tenth Grave: A Novel

After I had quite a hard time with the last installment where Charley lost her memory and just sort of blundered around throughout the whole book with nothing much happening until the end, I was a bit leery of starting book ten.Surprisingly I liked it quite a lot and feel this is one of the best installments in the series. There are several mysteries Charley has to solve. One ist he the brutal murder of a hospital administrator, with so much blood at the crime scene that even with the body missing nobody could have survived it. Also, the police already have the boyfriend in custody with lots of evidence pointing towards him. Then there is a runaway girl who fears she will be the next victim in an orphanage where nine children had already died under mysterious circumstances during the last few years.On a personal front Reyes has been drawing back from her ever since they returned from New York state and she does not quite know what that is all about. And she still has to find a way to make her daughter safe and trap the gods of Uzan that are after her. Throw in a assistant district attorney that suspects her of shady dealings (he is not so far off about that) and is trying to mount a case against her and various ghosthunters/ghostbusters who are tailing her in the hopes of catching her doing something supernatural.What I particularly liked was that even with all the funny memes and the snarky inner dialogue she has running Charley is actually doing some some real detecting and follows clues in a manner that is plausible for once. I also like the way she is bending the rules (both legal and supernatural), mostly to help people. She is also finally discovering some of her powers and learning to use them, though sometimes she goes a little overboard with said powers.What I had trouble with is her lack of faith in Reyes: after everything he has endured to be with her, all the countless times he has saved her, and all the ways he has put her well-being and happiness above his own, it takes only one little thing to get her to doubt him. That I had a difficult time swallowing.Nevertheless a compelling and quite fast-paced UF novel with a great host of supporting characters and original and unique world-building. So 4.75 stars from me.Edit: But I do have one major gripe: so Charley and Reyes are having some hot sex (love the scene up to this point) and then Reyes, says in French (because he speaks perfect French): "Vous ne devriez pas taquiner, mon amour" and the moment is spoilt. My French is quite rudimentary, but I do know that between lovers you would never use the formal address "vous", but rather the familiar "tu". I really hate it when authors think they need to stick some foreign language bits into their dialogue and then don't go to the trouble to have it checked by a native speaker or at least someone proficient in that language. I hope this can at least be fixed in the electronic/Kindle version, because it completely kills the mood!

2nd Read and a Revised review: So I won the paperback a year ago with the Goodreads Giveaways. When I read this book, I had not read any of the previous books in the series. I loved it and spent the last year buying up the remainder of the books so that I could go back and start at book one. That's what I'm doing now. I just read this for the 2nd time and I'm changing my rating from 4 to 5 stars. This book was so much more after knowing all that happened before. This series really has been pretty epic and I can't wait to finish out the rest of the books.Here's what happens in book 10:-Charley was hired to prove a man's innocence after being accused of murdering his girlfriend-She found a homeless 12 year old girl who claims the orphanage she stays at is cursed and kills the kids there.-Reyes is hiding something from Charley but she is hiding something from him as well.-A video is released of her helping a possessed girl when she was in the Peace Corps and she must deal with the aftermath.-last but not least, more is revealed in the supernatural war to come.On to book 11....

Let me tell you how much I love Darynda Jones, and her character Charley Davidson. A lot. A very big lot. I remember when I read her first book, I thought where has this woman been hiding all these years.The books are hysterically funny, and warm, and Charley's self deprecating attitude just cracks me up. The books are interesting, entertaining, and most importantly, they make me smile.I found The Curse of the Tenth Grave to be a little choppy. By throwing way to many plot lines together the story lost it's flow. I thought the story line was choppy, and hard to follow. I am so spoiled by her books, because the plot lines usually mesh together seamlessly. She has surprised me on more than one occasion.It's still a great book, and definitely worth a listen. If you purchase the audiobook, you'll have the pleasure of listening to Lorelei King, who makes Charley's stories come to life.

***POSSIBLE SPOILER ALERT***Okay, so...I enjoyed this book and gave it 4 stars. Sorry, I couldn't give it 5 stars (this is killing me), because I seriously love this series!However, something is bothering me about this book or should I say, something is lacking within this book. I can't really put my finger on it exactly or why, but I'll try my best to explain and NOT spoil. I hate doing that, but I posted possible spoiler alert, just incase I do.Books 1-9: Charley always seemed to find trouble or trouble finds her - not so much in this book. Creepy ghosts creeping around Charley a lot and freak her out - not so much in this book. Sex or near it, is well placed and spaced out - not in this book (imagine all of the sex stuff together in one long, long night scene - a bit too much in one section). Murder scenes with killer - not so much in this book (well there is a scene).I think I was a little disappointed, because I expected certain things, but I still enjoyed it and the new things were great, too! I've given 5 solid stars for all books 1-9, loved them all sooo much. It hurts me to give this one 4 stars!I'm seriously look forward to the next book. This book is leading up to something much bigger. Looking forward to it!

Well I downloaded this one month ago and it was so good I read all 12 books to date in one month. They were epic! without giving any spoilers away, let me just say, this series was refreshingly different. A grim reaper who is funny, empathetic and has a gorgeous sexy counterpart. Both main characters and main sub characters progress throughout the series to the point that I felt I knew these people. I miss them - waiting on the final book to be released in a couple of weeks - and then I'll be despondent without them. Each book progressed not only the characters but the story without too much repetition - just the right amount that it kept new readers in the loop and didn't bore the pants of serial readers. It was laugh out loud funny in places -you don't get much of that in books - and I really empathised and felt in tune with Charley. It had it all - romance, naughty bits (just the right amount), suspense, complex storyline, and storyline progression throughout the series. These books would make an excellent transition to TV or film. A good director and producer could make these great on this medium. They are also well written. Written from Charley's POV, you get the inside view of what it's like to be Charley and you get her reactions to her circumstances, relationships both normal and paranormal and how she feels about what she does. You love Reyes as much as she does, what's not to love? And the suspense is a page turner. A series not to be missed and one to ensure you put aside time to enjoy.

For the second time with this series I didn't dive right in and I also ended going off and doing other things.As much as I have loved Reyes, Charley, Cookie, Angel, Kim etc in the past I find myself not enjoying this series anymore. I do not get out of it what I used to. Sacrilege I hear you cry, I'm sorry, I really am but this is how I currently feel. We are 10 books in, with .5's scattered, (some of the spin offs I was unable to read as I was in the UK and when I did finally manage to get my paws on them I felt "meh")Whilst reading book 10 and Charley kept referring to her regaining her memory because her dad passed through her in book 9, I confess to scratching my head and whipping through the pages of book 9 (which I also have not reviewed) to find out what she was referring to.I wish Darynda luck and good fortune with future publications but for me I have come to the end of my road.

I have read the previous books & have the final 3 to go but found this got a bit stuck part way. It did get back on track towards the end but I had to re-read the final chapters as it all got a bit confusing!I think I’ve got my head round it all again now so will continue with the Reyes & Charley saga.It’s a good series but due to the length of it I have to take a break every now & then so I’ll be doing that for now but will be back for the final three!

I've just read this again in advance of the January release of 11th grave, usually I get fed up with a series after book 5 or 6, feeling that the author's are just dragging it out. But Charley, Reyes, Cookie et al are just so endearing! Ubie wasn't around much this time around, but will clearly be front and centre in book 11. Darynda Jones`s Charley Davidson series has remained an enduring favourite of mine, coming from some one who has little patience that's a compliment. But I'm torn...I want to know what happens in the end, but once I know what do i have to look forward to? Maybe a Beep and Osh series???

This series just gets better and better. I was getting pretty peeved with Charley and her secrets but as always she turned things around and now struts like the badass character she is. So much goes on in this story. Revelations upon revelations. Great to be reunited with all the characters again. Plus, what an ending! Cannot wait for the next book. Highly recommend.