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"Grave Robber"
by
Darynda Jones
urban fantasy in a Kindle edition that was published by 1001 Dark Nights Press on September 5, 2023 and has 132 pages.
Explore it on Goodreads or Amazon
Other books by this author which I have reviewed include First Grave on the Right, Second Grave on the Left, Third Grave Dead Ahead, "For I Have Sinned", Fourth Grave Beneath My Feet, Death and the Girl Next Door, Fifth Grave Past the Light, Sixth Grave on the Edge, Seventh Grave and No Body, Eighth Grave After Dark, The Dirt on Ninth Grave, The Curse of Tenth Grave, Eleventh Grave in Moonlight, The Trouble with Twelfth Grave, Summoned to Thirteenth Grave, A Good Day for Chardonnay, The Graveside Bar and Grill
A novella, 13.8 in the Charley Davidson urban fantasy series that usually revolves around Charley — the Grim Reaper. In this case, the focus is on Eric and Halle.
My Take
“Grave Robber” is written in first person protagonist point-of-view from Eric’s perspective. And yep, he’s done. He’s so done, lol. And Eric moans and groans about it throughout the story. Jones is also good at teasing us along with all sorts of issues Eric has without a full explanation! One of which was most unexpected.
For the life of me, I can’t remember which book was the one in which Eric was possessed and got this new “power”.
That poor Halle! What she’s had to put up with all these years!?!
It’s primarily a character-driven story . . . with action. And with a pair of characters who don’t think they deserve anything good.
The Story
Eric Vause is done. Done with ghosts. Done with hellhounds. And definitely done with demons, mostly because he’d been possessed by one.
That invite from his old friend is a welcome change. Until he gets there . . .
So much for Canada.
The Characters
Eric Constantine Vause (Third Grave Dead Ahead, 3) had been one of the Bandits, a biker gang. Later he became part of Team Beep along with the twelve hellhounds and Artemis, his poisoned Rottweiler. Now he can see when people will die. Charley Davidson, the Grim Reaper, is Eric’s “boss”. Aunt Lillian, a.k.a. Aunt Lil, is Charley’s hippieish aunt who’s a ghost. Flower is the puppy Eric rescues.
Halle Nordstrom, the undermedicated gas pump lady, is Donald’s daughter. Donald is Jason’s partner in the the bar. Emma is Halle’s deceased mother. Paul Meacham is Donald’s head of security. Anna had been Halle’s selfish sixteen-year-old cousin.
Jason Vigil is Eric’s high school buddy who now runs a bar, Cruisers, with a unique feature, in Idaho. The waitresses include Betty (in whom Jason is interested). The young Zachary Church is one of Jason’s customers. Zach’s dad, Bobby, works at the Arkwright Building in Spokane. Teresa is Lauren’s sister. Lauren is Zach’s girlfriend.
Nolan had been in high school with Halle and now works at the motel. Peter Scarsdale had gotten to second base. Dominic Toretto is a fictional character from The Fast and the Furious.
The Cover and Title
The cover has a black background with a gradation of snowflakes and trefoils in gold and silver. The publisher’s name is huge at the top in gold. The tiny title is in a pale yellow below that with the series info below that. Almost invisible is an info blurb in pale blue with the author’s name below that at the bottom in the same blue.
The title is Eric’s nickname, “Grave Robber”.
