Dead as a Doornail (Sookie Stackhouse, #5)

by Charlaine Harris

book data

8,717 ratings, 4.00 average rating, 487 reviews (more data...)

rating	frequency	%
5		30%
4		42%
3		23%
2		3%
1		0%

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published

April 25th 2006 (first published 2005) by Ace

binding

Mass Market Paperback, 310 pages

characters

Sookie Stackhouse

setting

The United States

isbn

0441013333 (isbn13: 9780441013333)

description

When Sookie's brother Jason's eyes start to change, she knows he's about to turn into a were-panther for the first time. But her concern becomes cold ...more

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12/16/08

Beth(MN) rated it:

bookshelves: 2008, fairies, shapeshifters, tnbbc-winter-challenge, urban-fantasy, vampires, werewolves

Read in December, 2008

Oh, Sookie Sookie.

Another fun read, but I’m not feeling as passionate about Sookie & Co. after this installment. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoyed it. Thoroughly. And you can bet your buns I’ve already requested #6 from the library and will be checking my account furiously for notification that it’s ready and waiting for me. But some of the magic was missing from this one.

In the beginning of the book, Calvin Norris and Sam Merlotte were non-fatally shot and an...more Oh, Sookie Sookie.

Another fun read, but I’m not feeling as passionate about Sookie & Co. after this installment. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoyed it. Thoroughly. And you can bet your buns I’ve already requested #6 from the library and will be checking my account furiously for notification that it’s ready and waiting for me. But some of the magic was missing from this one.

In the beginning of the book, Calvin Norris and Sam Merlotte were non-fatally shot and another female shifter, whose name I’ve already forgotten, was shot and killed in the parking lot of a Sonic. And a news report indicates that many other people in nearby areas have also been shot by a sniper in mysterious circumstances. Although the world at large may not realize the significance of the snipers victims, Sookie and several others in the community realize that all the targets have been shifters.

There were two bad guys in this whodunit. One of them I was able to guess right away, one of them was a surprise to me. After having read the first five in this series in a relatively short succession, this pleases me. Because if I was able to consistently guess them over and over, I might get bored and not want to read these books and that would be a bummer.

And like the previous four books, Sookie’s love life is generally a big factor in the plot. Even though she’s decidedly unattached and doesn't sleep with anybody this time around, she is being actively pursued by several men. This includes Bill and Eric. And Sam, of course. And Calvin Norris and Alcide Herveaux.

Sookie also learns quite a bit more about werewolf politics, learns how to file an insurance claim and what a gunshot wound feels like.

Lastly, I can’t end a Sookie Stackhouse review without pointing out the inconsistency du jour of this book: on an early page, Claudine the fairy is referred to as Claudine several times. But then whammo! In one paragraph she is called “Claudette” once before going back to being Claudine. If something this simple isn’t being caught, this probably gives you an idea about some of the other things that are sliding by the editors.
(less)

Like this review? yes (8 people liked it)

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03/19/09

Jessica rated it:

Sigh. Sookie, Sookie, Sookie, your fashion sense is still stuck in the eighties. I blame this on the author, who no doubt thinks she's writing you up to date. I myself, did a face palm, when I read about your lipstick matching your red earrings and your red socks with your black work pants. Yeah, I did that in junior high, too. Questionable fashion aside, I still really enjoy this character. She had some tough times this book, what with having no sexual escapades (the first time ever, alth...more

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08/14/08

Miina rated it:

Read in August, 2008

I cottoned onto the Southern Vampire Series because I saw the "True Blood" ad campaign by HBO. It markets a synthetic blood beverage, so natch, I was intrigued. Basically, I was led to this series which features a telepathic heroine by the name of Sookie Stackhouse. For whatever reason, I thought this was a young adult series (it is SO not, btw) and on shallow reflection, I think it's because of her name: Sookie. I mean c'mon. It sounds like a sound you make to call pigs to you. Howeve...more I cottoned onto the Southern Vampire Series because I saw the "True Blood" ad campaign by HBO. It markets a synthetic blood beverage, so natch, I was intrigued. Basically, I was led to this series which features a telepathic heroine by the name of Sookie Stackhouse. For whatever reason, I thought this was a young adult series (it is SO not, btw) and on shallow reflection, I think it's because of her name: Sookie. I mean c'mon. It sounds like a sound you make to call pigs to you. However, other than her weird name and some pretty bad editing, this series, thus far, is just good plain, slightly porno, FUN!
In a nutshell you have a 20-something virginal blond telepathic waitressing in rural Louisiana who hooks up with a sexy vampire. Trouble abounds in their relationship, and in the town, and complications arise due to the affections of another, more powerful vampire, a Werewolf, a nasty coven of Witches and two shape shifters. Our heroine goes from being perceived as being a freak of nature by her fellow humans to a truly hot commodity within the supernatural world. I find Sookie's struggle to deal with these attentions endearing.
It would have been so easy for the author, Charlaine Harris, to add a serious subtext to this series with the emergence of Vampires into human society and their struggle to mainstream as a metaphor for racism and the battle for civil rights. However, this story is told from Sookie's perspective and Sookie is a pretty simple, straight forward gal who just doesn't delve into murky socio-political territories. You could argue that Harris is taking the easy way but I'll just call it consistent characterization. Maybe Harris herself doesn't bother herself with such thoughts but why hold it against her? Not every book has to be a deep examination of the human experience.
I'll tell you what this book is though: a lively creation of an alternate reality where creatures humans always assumed were fabricated nightmares, have essentially "come out of the coffin." But Harris doesn't limit herself to vampires and I give her a lot of credit for that. She plays with other mythological beings and crafts these really fun murder mysteries set in the Deep South and throws in some steamy love scenes all the while. (Is it considered necrophilia if you do It with a vampire? Just wondering.) It's been a long time since I've had so much fun reading a story like this.(less)

Like this review? yes (3 people liked it)

1 comment

01/25/09

Shannon rated it:

bookshelves: 2009, mystery-suspense, urban-fantasy, vampires

Read in January, 2009

Someone's taking lethal shots at weres, including the leader of the Hotshot community, Calvin Norris and Sam, Sookie's boss. Calvin's people think it's Sookie's newly-turned brother Jason, but Sookie's determined to prove otherwise. In the meantime, she has to make a deal with Eric to get a temporary bartender to cover for Sam, and Alcide wants her help with the choosing of a new packmaster for the Shreveport werewolves. There's no rest for Sookie as her life is targeted several times, but thank...more

Like this review? yes (2 people liked it)

2 comments

10/02/08

Angela rated it:

bookshelves: fantasy

Read in October, 2008

The fifth installment of the Sookie Stackhouse series, Dead as a Doornail, was one I didn't care as much for the first time through. On re-reading it, I found I liked it quite a bit better. Someone is taking shots at the local shifters, and Sookie's brother Jason--newly made a werepanther--is under suspicion. The werepanther leader Calvin and the werewolf Alcide have not yet abandoned their interest in her, while her ex-lover Bill seems bent on making her jealous. Meanwhile, someone actively has...more

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09/30/08

Vegas Princess rated it:

bookshelves: fiction, read-in-2008, vampire-books

Read in October, 2008

I did not like this story as much as book 4, which is by far my favorite so far (I am a sucker for memory-challenged Eric), but it was still an interesting tale. However, after having too many suitors, Sookie is fast running out of potential soul mates. Eric is back to being his old arrogant self, Bill is sulking around with a realtor, Alcide is freaked out Sookie killed his ex and blames her for his father's death and Sam is incapacitated from being shot (although they did share a heated mome...more

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04/06/08

Cherie rated it:

(review of isbn 0441012795)

Read in February, 2007

A sniper has been targeting the shape-shifting population of Bon Temps and the surrounding communities. As a new were-panther, Sookie's primary concern is for her brother Jason. But as it turns out, she's also a target, despite the fact that she's only a psychic, not a shifter.

This is the 5th book in Charlaine Harris's Southern Vampire Mysteries, aka the Sookie Stackhouse books. I enjoyed coming back to this series after not having a chance to read them for the last year or so; it f...more

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07/17/07

Sherrie rated it:

bookshelves: 2006booklist, myfavorites, vampirelit

Read in January, 2006

recommends it for: vampire mystery lovers!

Book #4 of 2006 - Finished reading it on 1-26-06. Stay with me here…don’t run away! This book was GOOD! Fifth in the series of a Bon Temps, Louisiana waitress who lives in a town where vampires and werewolves are commonplace…and oh yeah, she can read minds. Sounds stupid, right? Just another one of those vampire-genre books? Not at all! The main character, Sookie, is witty, strong and smart. The writing is quick-witted and fun. I soon found I have to go back and read the entire s...more

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11/18/08

Lori rated it:

bookshelves: farbetterthanmost, fiction

Read in December, 2008

Thank goodness Ms. Harris laid off the hot-n-heavy sex stuff this round! But my oh my, does Sookie get all the men....

In this 5th installment of the Sookie series, we are reaquainted with Sookies past flames, Bill and Eric, my current favorite wanna be-squeeze Alcide, and introduced to Quinn, who I think Harris is setting up for a bit of Sookie-lovin' in future novels. Sam is still trying some smooth moves on our favorite mind-reading waitress as well...

This series is lik...more

Like this review? yes (2 people liked it)

1 comment

11/06/08

Jim rated it:

bookshelves: fantasy, paranormal

Read in January, 2009

I'll give this pretty much the same review as I gave the 4th book. 3.5 stars again, so I'll give this one a 4. The series is still humming right along with a slightly more complicated plot & a deeper look into the hidden world that Sookie is getting more aquainted with. Again, it was a fast, easy read. I have to say I'm tickled that I'm looking forward to the next book.

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01/13/09

Toni rated it:

bookshelves: fiction, silly-series

Read in January, 2009

recommended to Toni by: my mother
recommends it for: fantasy lovers, urban fantasy fans, sookie fans, vampire lovers, fairy lovers

Vampires, and werewolves, and fairies! Oh My! This was incredibly enjoyable to read. I was almost in disbelief at how very magical Bon Temps has become. This book, thankfully, has much less shameless sex, and much more content. I am really starting to enjoy Harris' voice.

The intense conversations between members of the "outed" paranormal community, and "secret" societies is brilliant. I loved the references to huge events such as the fairy war of Iowa, and encoun...more

Like this review? yes (1 person liked it)

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02/16/09

Jerry Dazzlepants rated it:

bookshelves: vamp-fiction

Read in February, 2009

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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01/13/09

Anna rated it:

bookshelves: vampire-fiction

Read in January, 2009

At this point, the novelty of little Southen Sookie is starting to wear thin. Harris has clearly established that "any woman worth her salt" does sensible things, is tough, doesn't put up with anyone's crap, and can clean a mean house. Thank you, 1952!

But I think if one looks deeper into the story (assuming this is even possible), the entire series can be viewed as an allegory for women's liberation. In book 1 Sookie starts out as a piece of eye candy. The Bon Temps natives...more

Like this review? yes (1 person liked it)

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02/25/09

Jennifer rated it:

bookshelves: 2009

Read in February, 2009

I got through this one too quickly. I'm reading this series with a co-worker of mine, and she is chiding me for going so fast. Oh, well.

Sookie, oh, Sookie. It must be a tough life having all of these supernatural men throwing themselves at you. Bill, Sam, Alcide, Eric, Calvin, and now, Quinn. I'm foreseeing lots of shananigans in the future. However, this book felt like a bit of a placeholder. Sure, there was the mystery of the sniper. Unlike good mysteries, there were no good clues ...more

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12/01/07

Lain rated it:

I thought I'd heard of all the "good" mystery series with female protagonists... but somehow, this one slipped by me! I was more than pleasantly surprised by this book, #5 in Harris' "Vampire" mystery series about Sookie Stackhouse, a "gifted" waitress with a penchant for danger and deadly (or should I say, dead) men.

Gothic appeal aside, this book was full of interesting characters, inventive plot twists, and out-of-the-ordinary occurrences -- including...more

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04/01/09

Lighthearted rated it:

bookshelves: humorous-fiction, mystery, romance, supernatural-fiction, vampire-fiction

Sookie’s life is complicated. Her brother is showing all of the signs of becoming a were-panther and the timing couldn’t be worse—a sniper has apparently set sights on the shapeshifting population of Bon Temps. You would think that would be bad enough, but it isn’t—since Jason was ‘made’ a were-panther by a natural were-panther’s attack, the local shapeshifters think he may be the sniper.

In between pacifying the shapeshifters and trying to find the sniper, Sookie is...more

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02/24/09

Susan rated it:

This series is a flat-out BLAST to read. Harris does a great job with her dialogue--she has me talking, OUT LOUD, to my book as I'm reading (my co-workers think I'm nuts) but honestly, you can't help it at times! It's so easy to feel such a sense of immediacy with Sookie, you might as well be getting the dish from one of your girlfriends. I love that she doesn't have the details of "real world" vs. "supernatural world" cleanly worked out...it's messy, violent at times, cer...more

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02/18/09

Sarah rated it:

Read in February, 2009

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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01/17/09

Nymphsin rated it:

Read in February, 2008

recommended to Nymphsin by: Hunter's Haven!
recommends it for: Everyone

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07/02/09

Elizabeth rated it:

(review of isbn 1419337300)

Read in June, 2009

Dead As A Doornail by Charlaine Harris (pp. 292)

In the fifth installment of the Sookie Stackhouse series, Sookie resolves to stay out of trouble and then immediately finds herself in the middle of it trying to save some shapeshifters who have been targeted by an unknown sniper. Almost a continuation of the fifth novel, we find Eric trying to discover what happened when he had amnesia, Jason coping with new discoveries about the world around him, a growing divide amongst the shapeshi...more

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quotes from this book

""Did we have sex?" he asked directly. For about two minutes, this might actually be fun. "Eric," I said, "we had sex in every position I could imagine, and some I couldn’t. We had sex in every room in my house, and we had sex outdoors. You told me it was the best you’d ever had." (At the time he couldn’t recall all the sex he’d ever had. But he’d paid me a compliment.) "Too bad you can’t remember it," I concluded with a modest smile. Eric looked like I’d hit him in the forehead with a mallet. For all of thirty seconds his reaction was completely gratifying." More quotes...