Fourth Grave Beneath My Feet

Four stars (at least for now), thought it's probably closer to 3.5. Book 4 of this series and I still adore Charley. Well, mostly. I could have done without her sudden penchant for naming everything. and I mean everything. The fact that the author manages to cover so many story arcs without any of them feeling shoehorned in or tissue paper thin is a huge accomplishment. Really my favorite characters (and this happens a lot for me) are the side characters - Cookie, Aunt Lil, Rocket, etc. All of them were their usual fun selves this go round.

But here's the thing...I hate Reyes. Like A Lot. And that Charley follows him around like a lost puppy. Happy to get any scraps he tosses her way. Even those that include more pain and trouble than she shouldn't have to deal with. I'm not even sure what it is exactly about the guy that makes me hate him (well other than he walks all over our favorite PI and apparently enjoys being vague about everything). I like other male characters that this author writes - Garrett, Uncle Bob, Donovan, heck even Dylan the deaf teen in this installment was fun - so it's not that. I just don't like Reyes. And if he disappeared from the series tomorrow (I know, I know. NOT happening) I can't say I'd be sad.