The Trouble with Twelfth Grave

In Jones’s exuberant 12th paranormal romance starring Albuquerque, N.Mex., PI and grim reaper Charley Davidson (after Eleventh Grave in Moonlight), Charley has a problem with her husband, Reyes Alexander Farrow, a deity who happens also to be Rey’azikeen, a rather more sinister god. Charley must somehow separate Reyes from Rey’azikeen or otherwise deal with this new amalgamation quickly, since the archangel Michael gives her a deadline—one day—to tame Reyes/Rey’azikeen before he sends an army of angels to attack the menacing hybrid. Meanwhile, Charley has more mundane matters to handle, such as the case of some scorched murder victims that Uncle Bob, her police detective relative, is investigating. She’s helped by a host of friends with unusual abilities, such as researcher Garrett Swopes, who’s died more than once but bounces back. Some literally sizzling erotic scenes between Charley and Reyes (or his alter ego) add to the fun. That Charley comes up with names for her breasts—Danger and Will Robinson—may strike some readers as juvenile, but that’s exactly the sort of silly detail that’s won Jones a legion of fans. Agent: Alexandra Machinist, ICM. (Oct.)