The Charley Davidson series, by Darynda Jones

When my time comes, I hope that I pass from here to the hereafter by way of Charley Davidson. The woman is awesome.

Smart mouthed, sarcastic, funny, smart, and the grim reaper. Charlotte Jean "Charley" Davidson does a lot of things,  but mostly, she runs a sort of PI business wherein she gets help from the recently departed to solve her cases.  Of course, being the grim reaper, she sees dead people all over the place, including in her living room, her car, her bedroom, even the shower.  Eventually, though, they all cross over, through Charley, and she goes back to her life.

A life that includes her father, her uncle, her sister and stepmother, BFF Cookie and Cookie's daughter, the cops, and last but by no means least, Reyes Alexander Farrow.

Hot as hell and sexy as sin don't do the man justice.  I tend to imagine he looks like this:

But with darker, curlier hair.  Hey, it's my imagination and it's a strange and twisted place.

Anyway, Reyes Farrow is Charley's paramour, her lifelong protector, her frequent rescuer, and the son of Satan.  Yes, seriously.  But Reyes isn't exactly a bad guy.  Although he really is a bad boy... and he's very good for Charley.  Among Reyes's talents are the ability to materialize wherever he wants to, to kill invisibly by severing the spine, and the devoutly-to-be-wished-for ability to have sex from a great distance.  I mean.. I don't care if his father is Satan, A-Rod, or Rush Limbaugh, to be honest.  A man who doesn't have to be in the room to satisfy me?  Yeah, I could deal with that.

I don't want to give away anything.  But I will tell you these things:

These books are set in New Mexico, which is where Jones lives, and she does a fabulous job with the descriptions.

Charley and Cookie rival the Smothers Brothers for funny.

The dead in Charley's world are all still quite active. Except for Mr. Wong, the Asian guy who stands in her living room staring at the wall saying nothing.

The sex in these books could short-circuit your e-reader.

Darynda Jones keeps the stories fresh and interesting, fun and exciting, and totally worth the price of admission.

I love Charley Davidson, and of course you knew that.  But how can you not love a woman who names her breasts Danger and Will Robinson?  I mean, she wears a shirt emblazoned "Grim Reapers are to die for!" What's not to love?  

If you're looking for a good, fun series to sink into by the pool, or for a book or two to take with you to the beach, or for something worthwhile to take up some of the free space on your e-reader, then get these books. The writing is great, the characters are awesome, the setting is perfect, and the stories are interesting and exciting.  Oh, and the sex - yes, with the son of Satan - really is hotter than hell.  Really.

Click on the pic to buy the book.