Darynda Jones - Macmillan Library

Starred Review for Third Grave Dead Ahead

Posted on February 3, 2012 by Ali Fisher

After her adventures in the RWA Golden Heart Award-winning novel FIRST GRAVE ON THE RIGHT and sequel SECOND GRAVE ON THE LEFT, Private Investigator and Grim Reaper Charlie Davidson has come to find that leading a double life of solving crimes and shepherding souls into the afterlife exhausting. But the cases, the dead, and the boys just keep getting wilder!

Publishers Weekly gave the third installment in the series, THIRD GRAVE DEAD AHEAD, a starred review and called P.I./Grim Reaper Charlie, "smart" and "wickedly hilarious." Of the story, they said, "Jones pulls all the craziness together in the end while leaving plenty of open threads to pull the reader into the next installment."

Library Journal said, "A must-buy for Charley Davidson fans, the novel has an engaging style--coupled with the enjoyable sarcasm of its protagonist--that will no doubt win Jones an expanding readership among paranormal romance/mystery aficionados."

And Booklist said, "Readers will be dying to know where the fourth grave is."

The REAL question is, what do librarians think of it? Well, Shayera Tangri of Los Angeles Public tweeted, "I LOVED Third Grave Dead Ahead. Loved it like I love cake. And you know that's a lot. :-)" We do know, Shayera. We do, indeed.

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Monday Fun Day! (12/5/2011 Edition)

Posted on December 5, 2011 by Ali Fisher

Welcome to a new week, librarians! We've had an exciting few weeks as the Best of 2011 lists come in and we get to celebrate many of our favorite books from throughout the year.

- FIRST GRAVE ON THE RIGHT by Darynda Jones and narrated by Lorelei King has been named Best Romance Audio Book of 2011 by Audible!

- Steampunk pioneer and Hugo Award-nominated title, BONESHAKER, is scheduled to hit the silver screen! Variety has all the details here.

- BURY YOUR DEAD by Louise Penny took home the Nero Award this weekend and we were even more heart-warmed to hear it after Ms. Penny joined us in the office last week for some deliciously mysterious cake!

- Finally, Esquire named THE SUBMISSION by Amy Waldman Book of the Year!

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Special Delivery for Boss Lady Sherer

Posted on August 9, 2011 by Talia Sherer

romance in the mornin'

On this beautiful and bright morning I received an amazing selection of forthcoming romance titles from St. Martin's Press Paperbacks. (I may have begged for 'em, but it was still pretty awesome to be me when they arrived.)

To learn more about these books - you'll just have to register for Booklist's Romance Webinar. [...]

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Monday Fun Day! (7/18/2011 Edition)

Posted on July 18, 2011 by Ali Fisher

Happy Monday, librarians!

First of all: congrats to all five winners of the Great ALA Signed Books Sweepstakes! We had hundreds of enthusiastic entries and so much positive feedback that we'll definitely be holding more contests like this in the future. In case you missed it, the winners are as follows:

The three (3) runners-up for a signed copy of IRON HOUSE are:
Nancy Vigezzi, Merrimack Public Library
Lisa Hullett, Wallace State Community College Library
Jeff Bailey, Arkansas State University-Jonesboro

The 1st runner-up for three (3) signed paperbacks is:
Lisa Cosgrove-Davies, Arlington Public Library

The Grand Prize Winner for six (6) signed hardcovers is:
Shana Hitt, Brooklyn Public Library

Last week EarlyWord put up a list of great new reads, "New Title Radar – Week of July 18," and marked Colin Cotterill's KILLED AT THE WHIM OF A HAT as the Rising Star! And did you see Colin as Book Brahmin in Shelf Awareness last week? He's a riot.

If you've fallen head over, ehem, heels for the sassy kicks on the cover of third-in-series THIRD GRAVE DEAD AHEAD, you can buy them here on heels.com! NOTE: This is this Little, Brown UK version of this cover, so keep your eyes peels for our steamy US version.

DRAGON'S OATH, the first novella in a House of Night mini-series, released last week so we can finally share with you some rad early versions of the illustrations by Kim Doner.

"These characters may be nearly immortal, but they are at the beginning of such immortality and, therefore, they are like any other young couple.

These are a few of the sketches I made: him approaching from behind her, sword down; her handing him a sunflower; her beginning to lift the face of a sunflower up towards him." -illustrator Kim Doner

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Part-Time Grim Reaper Charley is Back In Action

Posted on July 8, 2011 by Ali Fisher

Publishers Weekly just slapped a star on their review of SECOND GRAVE ON THE LEFT, the sequel to the RWA 2009 Golden Heart for Best Paranormal Romance, FIRST GRAVE ON THE RIGHT.

Part-time grim reaper, P.I. Charley Davidson, is solving two separate missing person cases, sorting out her love life, and trying to keep demons from accessing a portal to heaven (can somebody get this woman a cup of coffee?).

"Jones perfectly balances humor and suspense in her tight second paranormal thriller featuring grim reaper, PI, and "all-around badass" Charley Davidson. [...] The fiery relationship between Charley and Reyes will satisfy paranormal romance fans, but it's the distinctive characters, dead and alive, and the almost constant laughs that will leave readers eager for the next installment." —Publishers Weekly (starred review)

And to get you in the mood, check out, FOR I HAVE SINNED, a Charley Davidson short here on HeroesAndHeartbreakers.com!

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Starred Reviews for First Grave on the Right AUDIO

Posted on April 22, 2011 by Ali Fisher

FIRST GRAVE ON THE RIGHT, the debut paranormal romance from the sizzlingly talented Darynda Jones, won the 2009 Golden Heart for Best Paranormal Romance from RWA. The story continues to grab reviewers attention, this time in audio!

The reviewers at Booklist (who starred the book when it first released in hardcover) have starred the audio version, as well! They say, "[Lorelei] King (familiar to many as the recent reader of Janet Evanovich’s Stephanie Plum novels) brings sassy fun to the role of Charley, who is spunky and sarcastic. […] Paranormal romance is hot, so expect high interest in this sizzling, laugh-out loud-story."

It's also an Earphones Award-winner with AudioFile who said, "Narrator Lorelei King has proved herself the queen of snark, the sovereign of inspired performances of sassy female detectives. She’s pretty amazing with a large cast of secondary characters, too. King’s a perfect choice for portraying Charley Davidson, an Albuquerque P.I. and grim reaper responsible for leading the dead to the other side. [...] Jones’s book will leave romance, chick-lit, humor, and mystery lovers waiting for Charley’s second adventure."

[UPDATE]: Library Journal also gave the FIRST GRAVE ON THE RIGHT audio a starred review! "When Charlie announces that the names of her breasts are "Danger" and "Will Robinson," listeners know they are in for a wild ride. Actress/Audie Award winner Lorelei King is comfortable in Charlie's skin and performs a wide variety of characters distinctly. For anyone enjoying sexy paranormal detective fiction."

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