ARC Review: Death and the Girl Next Door by Darynda Jones

Death and the Girl Next Door

by Darynda Jones

(Darklight # 1)

Darynda Jones is an automatic follow for me since reading the fantastic Charlie Davidson series.  I am not much of a Young Adult reader but I am glad I gave this book a try because I absolutely enjoyed it. 

Lorelei McAllister is a 16year old very quirky, very sarcastic and an independent girl with the ability to see visions with a mere touch.  With her BFFs Glitch and Brooke, they try to unveil the mystery of the two very hot boys who suddenly became interested in Lorelei…in a stalker kind of way.  She also discovers a few more things, such as her parents’ disappearance, her grandparents secret and the history of her ancestors that makes the very being that she is now…the history goes way back.

Lorelei reminded me of a young Charlie, both having natural abilities that goes hand in hand with death, sort of.  Jared aka Azriel as a young Reyes aka Rey’aziel also have some similarities.  Reyes comes from evil and Jared doesn't, but both are very mysterious and their main goal is their heroines' safety and protection.   I almost expected to find out that they were somehow connected.  Lorelei and Jared were great together but you can see that there will be a complicated relationship between them.  The steam factor between them is very mild but the attraction is definitely palpable.

Lorelei’s BFFs, Glitch, Brooklyn and friend Cameron definitely have some kind of love triangle there. And there is a big mystery between the tree boys that kept the mystery going through out the book.  The mystery goes on with the disappearance of Lorelei’s parents and the connection between the boys and the local town’s people. 

Darynda covers a good amount of Paranormal and bit of Christian mythology/biblical history in this book.  There are also demons, ghosts, and angels that kept me wanting to read more.  But what I loved most was that she kept the Charlie Davidson element in this book.  The humor, sarcastic banter, suspense and mystery was very similar but in a low tone, surely appropriate for the Young Adult audience.

*ARC provided by publisher

Purchase Links: Amazon