Shelf Candy Saturday is an awesome weekly meme hosted by Five Alarm Book Reviews where each Saturday bloggers defy the saying "never judge a book by its cover" and showcase one that really catches their eye. Covers play a huge role in the books I choose so it's great to have the opportunity to showcase the pretties :)
My shelf candy for this week is First Grave on the Right by Darynda Jones.
Private investigator Charlotte Davidson was born with three things: looks; a healthy respect for the male anatomy; and the rather odd job title of grim reaper. Since the age of five, she has been helping the departed solve the mysteries of their deaths so they can cross over. Thus, when three lawyers from the same law firm are murdered, they come to her to find their killer. In the meantime, Charley's dealing with a being more powerful - and definitely sexier - than any spectre she's ever come across before. With the help of a pain-in-the-ass skip tracer, a dead pubescent gangbanger named Angel, and a lifetime supply of sarcasm, Charley sets out to solve the highest profile case of the year and discovers that dodging bullets isn't nearly as dangerous as falling in love.
I've been on a bit of an accidental blogging hiatus lately with real life getting in the way of my book time, and I'm thrilled to have my first post back be for my favourite meme :)
I don't usually like covers with people on them as they can a) look really weird and b) not even vaguely resemble the characters. That said, I fell in love with this one to the point I bounced up and down in the bookstore and got my Dad to stretch and grab it for me (stupid high shelves - short people read too!).
While this isn't how I see Charley in my head, it does fit really well with the story. The skull ring is a great nod to her role as the Grim Reaper and the mix of shadows and light shows how dark and light interplay in the book, both with the story matter and the sarcastic humour.
I also love the marbled background and the smoke like swirls tie in perfectly to a mysterious smoke-like entity Charley refers to as Big Bad. All in all it is a beautiful cover that cleverly ties into the book itself.
So, what's your shelf candy this week?
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