cover image Fifth Grave Past the Light

Fifth Grave Past the Light

Darynda Jones. St. Martin's, $24.99 (320p) ISBN 978-1-250-01440-5

Jones (Fourth Grave Beneath My Feet) continues dragging out the now-stale romance between PI grim reaper Charley Davidson and sexy Reyes Farrow, Son of Satan . Charley is avoiding an angry adulterer, who caught her investigating him, and the 27 dead blonde women filling her apartment. Naturally she ends up in Reyes's apartment next door, where he's living while working as a short order cook in her father's bar. Despite prophecy, the long-awaited culmination of their sexual passion does not particularly change the universe. Only Charley's best friend, Garrett Swopes, still seems interested in uncovering why Hell wants Charley, despite that supposedly being a central plot point. Though Jones's ghost-mediated murder mysteries are clever and her sex scenes are hot, the characters and jokes have worn out their welcome. If she keeps withholding the grand showdown, there's no reason for her readers to remain interested. (July 2013)