Title: Eleventh Grave in Moonlight
Author: Darynda Jones
Series: Charley Davidson #11
Too much plot and a little frustrating
The eleventh Charley Davidson book is a good example of too much plot. The other books in the series have tread this line, but this is the first one I feel steps over it. While I love this book as much as I love all the others, I can still acknowledge that this novel was either a little too full of itself or scrambling to add length. This isn’t the first book I’ve complained about trying to tell too many stories at once, but this is probably one of the best examples.
When I say a book is trying to tell too many stories at once, I’m referring to one of two situations: Either the connection between the two plots is so loose as to have obviously been contrived, or the plot connections are strong/justified, but there are just too many limbs on the tree. This is the latter.
The main overarching plot was Charley finding a way to defeat the last god of Uzan to ensure Beep’s safety/destiny. Tied to that was: figuring out how Charley became the amalgation of beings and powers that she is at present, and who’s telling her the truth about it; learning what all can Charley do, power-wise, and what all she’s allowed to do according to Jehovahn’s “rules”; and Amber being a prophet and getting stalked and threatened.
The second overarching plot that found conclusion here was the mystery of the Fosters and Sean. Tied to that was a missing little girl, a woman being accused of murder, and Reyes.
There was one thread whose only purpose I can think of was to demonstrate what Charley does as the Grim Reaper—taking care of a departed toddler boy climbing around Charley and Reyes’s apartment. It should have been made relevant to one of the overarching plots or removed. And Charley said she was going to try to get in touch with/support the boy’s mother; did she ever do that?
The business with the departed psychiatrist and the departed kid dressed like a vampire was less a plot thread and more a plot device. The purpose was to allow Charley to deliver a heap of exposition by way of hilariously divulging her secrets to a shrink. It was damn lazy writing, rather uncharacteristic of Jones.
Other completely unnecessary threads that added nothing to either of the two overarching plots:
Stopping Grant Garin from killing Ubie—which was actually only glanced over and took place off-camera despite being set up as an important plot in Ten;
And figuring out why Ubie’s acting strange, plus dealing with the gang—which I think was an extension of the suggested Grant Garin thread? Honestly, it would take more focused thought to figure out than I care to give it.
But wait, there’s more!
There’s also the mystery of what the heck happened to Officer Taft that caused him to more or less quit, apparently, four months ago and why Strawberry can’t see him or find him or whatever. Which I’m confused about, because Charley talked to Taft just a week or two before—at his work, I believe—in Book Ten (chapter ten). Editor really dropped the ball there. If you’re convinced Jones has had every detail planned from the start, explain that to me.
Aside from that headache, I was frustrated anew with Charley not knowing what she’s capable of. From book to book she advances then promptly regresses in the learning of her powers. Several books ago, before Beep, she learned about marking and unmarking souls; that was how Osh came into the fold. So how did she not know anything about the ability in this book? Jones liberally uses the excuse that Charley can’t do any of it deliberately, that when she does, it’s a product of heightened emotion. Maybe that worked back in the first few books, but are you telling me that in the eight months she and Reyes were holed up in a convent and bored out of their minds, it never occurred to them to use that time for practice?
And don’t give me that crap about Charley not being able to do the advanced stuff because she hadn’t heard her celestial name. Back in Book Two Reyes was nagging her to figure out what she was capable of, and he himself had relearned his abilities on his own without hearing his god-name. It took him years and years and years to do, though; it’s a bit ridiculous that he expects Charley to relearn in a matter of hours what took him decades to master. How come Charley’s human body never went into seizures when she first began relearning to dematerialize and straddle planes, like Reyes’s did? I believe I complain at length about “rules” like these in my review for Twelve, so I won’t go on.
BUT, of course, despite the convoluted plot and wishy-washy “rules” of this fictional world, I was very entertained by this book and liked it very much. It’s the characters; Charley and Co. are among the characters I care most about in all the books I’ve read. I’ll put up with a lot of crap writing (not that Jones puts out a lot of crap writing, only once in long whiles) just to spend more time with them.
I’ll reread or re-listen to Twelve again here in probably the next week, then I’ll be all caught up for Thirteen. *pants, breaks into sweat* I hope an email bearing Thirteen arrives soon. I may or may not be going a little crazy in anticipation.
I swear to Reyes’s Brother, if Jones kills off anyone other than demons, if Charley and Reyes don’t get Beep back and spend the next twenty years raising her in familial bliss, if they aren’t all so happy that they have rainbows shooting out their asses and trailing them around Albuquerque, I’ll—I’ll…
*lip wobbles*
*breaks down in sobs*
