Dead and Gone

Sookie Stackhouse #9

by Charlaine Harris

The vamps have been out for years, and now the weres and shifters have decided to follow the lead of the undead and reveal their existence to the ordinary world. Sookie Stackhouse already knows about them, of course - her brother turns into a panther at the full moon, she's friend to the local were pack, and Sam, her boss at Merlotte's bar, is a shapeshifter.

The great revelation goes well at first - then the horribly mutilated body of a were-panther is found in the parking lot of Merlotte's, and Sookie agrees to use her telepathic talent to track down the murderer. But there is a far greater danger than this killer threatening Bon Temps: a race of unhuman beings, older, more powerful, and far more secretive than the vampires or the werewolves, is preparing for war. And Sookie is an all-too-human pawn in their ages-old battle...

Genres: Fantasy, Vampires, Paranormal, Urban Fantasy, Romance, Fiction, Mystery

320 pages, Hardcover

First published May 5, 2009

About the author

Charlaine Harris has been a published novelist for over thirty-five years. A native of the Mississippi Delta, she grew up in the middle of a cotton field. Charlaine lives in Texas now, and all of her children and grandchildren are within easy driving distance.

Though her early output consisted largely of ghost stories, by the time she hit college (Rhodes, in Memphis) Charlaine was writing poetry and plays. After holding down some low-level jobs, her husband Hal gave her the opportunity to stay home and write. The resulting two stand-alones were published by Houghton Mifflin. After a child-producing sabbatical, Charlaine latched on to the trend of series, and soon had her own traditional mystery books about a Georgia librarian, Aurora Teagarden. Her first Teagarden, Real Murders, garnered an Agatha nomination.

Soon Charlaine was looking for another challenge, and the result was the much darker Lily Bard series. The books, set in Shakespeare, Arkansas, feature a heroine who has survived a terrible attack and is learning to live with its consequences.

When Charlaine began to realize that neither of those series was ever going to set the literary world on fire, she regrouped and decided to write the book she’d always wanted to write. Not a traditional mystery, nor yet pure science fiction or romance, Dead Until Dark broke genre boundaries to appeal to a wide audience of people who simply enjoy a good adventure. Each subsequent book about Sookie Stackhouse, telepathic Louisiana barmaid and friend to vampires, werewolves, and various other odd creatures, was very successful in many languages.

The Harper Connelly books were written concurrently with the Sookie novels.

Following the end of Sookie's recorded adventures, Charlaine wrote the "Midnight, Texas" books, which have become a television series, also. The Aurora Teagarden books have been adapted by Hallmark Movie & Mystery.

Charlaine is a member of many professional organizations, an Episcopalian, and currently the lucky houseparent to two rescue dogs. She lives on a cliff overlooking the Brazos River.

Reviews

[Jayson · Rating 3 out of 5]

(B+) 77% | Good
Notes: Slightly different writing style with heavier use of inner monologue and foreshadowing. Not really an improvement.

[Tatiana · Rating 3 out of 5]

It’s not the worst book ever written as some reviewers say, but it’s not that good either. Charlaine Harris failed to deliver what we all wanted to read about and over-delivered on what we didn’t really care for.

What I mean is most of us keep reading this series primarily to find out who Sookie finally settles with. No matter what team you were on – Eric, Bill, Quinn, Sam – you expected some kind of resolution, at least temporary, to her love life. We got none of it. There was so little development in Eric/Sookie (or for that matter Bill/Sookie and Quinn/Sookie) relationship, it was pitiful. Seriously, how many books will it take Eric to confess his love for Sookie? I simply don’t have this kind of patience.

What we got overloaded with was the entire fairy story line. The fairy “conflict” felt so forced and pointless! I thought it was manufactured just to create a dramatic violent stand-off which within the frame of Harris’s mythology could have been resolved with (literary) the help of a glass of lemonade! I am not sure why Charlaine chose this route instead of concentrating on much more interesting aspect of her mythology – coming out of were-animals.

There were some other things I didn’t really care for such as deaths of pregnant women or Sookie’s Christian musings.

After finishing the book, I felt like I was way too tired to follow this series any more because it was obvious that Charlaine was in it for the money only. I believe she will continue writing these books for years to come dangling Eric and Bill in front us to keep us interested. It is a little disheartening…

[Jess the Shelf-Declared Bibliophile · Rating 4 out of 5]

Most of the book I would have given 3.5 stars, but the battle and ending upped it to 4 stars. I've loved the fairy storyline, and also have really come to be Team Eric over Team Bill. On to the next!

[Sarah Elizabeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was an okay Sookie story, although it was a bit dull in places.

Sookie was once again in trouble in this story, although I have to say that putting lemon juice in water pistols to kill fairies was quite clever!

The storyline in this was about Crystal being killed, and someone trying to kill Sookie, as well as some romance with an old favourite! The first half of the book dragged a bit, but the second half was better, and I really liked the romance!!

The ending to this left Sookie still in danger a bit, and I’m interested to find out what happens in the next book.




7 out of 10

[Elizabeth (Miss Eliza) · Rating 5 out of 5]

In the 9th Sookie book we are basically facing the fall-out from 2 revelations: That Sookie's Great-Grandfather is Fairy Royalty, and that the Were's have finally revealed themselves. Each has results ending in not very good things for Sookie, mainly kidnapping from psycho fairies who are responsible for her parents deaths (I always knew there had to be more to the flash flood) and Arlene plotting with the Fellowship to kill Sookie and string her up on a cross. There is also requisite murder that shines a light on Jason (this time it's his pregnant ex), and of course really has nothing to do with him other than his lineage and a gay were-panther falling in love with him. Very enjoyable, though I felt the ending needed a little more explanation...how will Amelia handle Tray's death? Why does Sookie think that Bill was more willing to risk his life for her than Eric? Why was Eric detained? I don't like that these will hold over and therefore not be answered for at least a year.

Also 2 things I found odd: Being a pregnant woman in this book was not a good thing to be, both Crystal and Claudine died (Tara should watch out!) Also to indicate that Sookie was always on edge she was always "jumping an inch" or 2 or 6 to indicate how freaked she was and this was very repetitive, there are other ways to indicate the wariness and paranoia of people other than this hackneyed phrase.

Plus I loved the Vampire reality show (which you can read on her website already if you can't wait).

[Sarah · Rating 2 out of 5]

***Spoiler Alert***
I was okay with the book until about 20 pages to go and then all hell broke loose. What is the point of telling us Claudine is pregnant if you are going to kill her two pages later?!?! Just let Sookie, and us, think she is knitting a sweater for an elf, or gnome or whatever! We don't need two pregnant women killed in one book. I am not okay with how "eh" the deaths were taken in this book either. I hate the way Dawson's death was treated, and then the drug dealer rumor. Tray was a good man and should not have gone that way. Pin it on FotS freaks because he was a Were. And speaking of FotS, get rid of Arlene, I have been tired of that woman since book one and eight books later I hate her even more. Mel didn't technically kill Crystal, they admitted she died on the cross and that had nothing to do with the Weres but the damn Fairies, which is far fetched even for this series. OH If she breaks Eric's heart and gets back with Bill I am done with this series. The ONLY reason I gave it two stars, ERIC!!

[Jamie Collins · Rating 2 out of 5]

The best thing I can say about this book is that it has a lot of Eric in it. Otherwise I think it's possibly the worst of the series.

Charlaine Harris has a slow, rambling style of writing, which I happen to enjoy in a nice, fat 800-page novel. When you're publishing 300 pages of widely-spaced type in a large font, you need to be more focused in your storytelling.

This book seems like half a novel. There are several plot lines left hanging, and the ending is rushed, as if Harris saw her deadline approaching and decided to have somebody beat the living crap out of Sookie (yet again, with feeling this time) so that she can be rescued and the book can end.

I used to really appreciate the small-town Southern flavor of this series, but the author is laying it on too thick now. And while Sookie has never been the brightest bulb in the box, she comes across as positively stupid in this book. Her internal dialogue is really annoying.

It doesn't help that the plot revolves around Sookie's fae relations, and the fae are my least favorite paranormal characters. In fact, I'm beginning to despise them. They detract from every series where I've seen them included; they're too powerful and too other-worldly for urban fantasy.

One last petty complaint: the author's name and the title of the book are printed at the bottom of every page, and that got on my nerves after a while.

[Pam Nelson · Rating 5 out of 5]

❤ 5 Dead and Gone Stars ❤

This book is action PACKED, Sookie needs protection from the fairies.

Strange deaths, horrible deaths. And confusion of Love.

It’s weird read this series because somethings happened in the TV True Blood and somethings didn’t. And once in a while they sync up.

The whole fairies part still kind of baffles me. And why is Sookie still hung up on Bill only when he doesn’t something nice for her. Saving her life and all of a sudden he is a hero, Erik did that same thing and yet she still don’t know how she feels.

Erik has been nothing but honest and Bill has lied. She might not like that Erik is so forthright but then again she does. Sookie confuses me and she is confusing them.

I am sad about a few characters we have lost in this book. I really was a fabulous addition to the series. I can’t wait to see what the next few books will be like.

*You don't have to like my review but its 100% my opinion, and I am allowed to have it.*

[Geraldine O'Hagan · Rating 1 out of 5]

Book Nine. Sookie’s still going, even though nothing new has happened for at least five volumes now (being generous). This particular edition of her repetitive adventures recycles two oft-used Harris’ plot – a spate of random attacks and a war involving ‘Supes’. Both of these proceed as usual, although the latter does involve the hasty introduction of a horde of new characters, and a rushed explanation of their lineage. Given Harris’ has had eight previous books in which to launch some of these characters more organically, this desperate scrabbling to establish them is pretty poor. It also means that a good portion of events involves barely-differentiated characters in whom the reader can have little interest. Meanwhile Sookie is tricked into becoming Eric’s vampire bride, or summat of the sort. She’s mildly irritated by this, and shows her displeasure by sleeping with Eric repeatedly, drinking his blood and allowing him to drink hers; thereby strengthening the bond between them which she has been complaining about every ten pages for some while now. In all fairness, even fans would surely have to admit that Sookie’s motivations are a little on the contradictory side.

This novel also includes a description of a trowel of surely record-breaking length and staggering dullness. For aficionados of garden buildings the shed in which the trowel is stored is also described to a mind-numbing extent, as is the exact details of how Sookie weeds a garden. Why and how Harris imagines that anyone could possibly be interested in the fact that Sookie wields a trowel with her right hand and pulls up the weeds with her left is a mystery left unexplained.

Following this, Sookie kills yet another being by fortunate accident, thereby saving her life. Then two of her ex-boyfriends turn up at her home and beat each other up, due to them being idiotic obsessive Neanderthals. So greatly do they love Sookie that they manage to knock her out, meaning that we the readers miss the actual fight, but are treated to yet another sex scene immediately afterward, featuring Sookie and yet another ex, Eric. Charmingly, he waits until she is recovering from being knocked unconscious and stupefied by yet more of his mind-controlling blood before sleeping with her, making it strictly more of a drug-rape scene than a love scene. Fortunately Sookie is fine with rape, due to being an idiot whose author is a misogynistic bitch, so there are no consequences to these actions.

Then Sookie is nearly killed a few more times. A string of different supernatural beings are co-opted as bodyguards for her, in order that she can collect her dry-cleaning without fear of death. I myself would probably have abandoned the dry-cleaning in favour of my physical safety, but not Sookie. Eventually she discovers who the murderer is, which is in no way interesting because the fact that they were introduced and described in exactly the same way as all Harris’ previous murderers means it was less than a challenge to guess their secret identity. Sookie is then captured and horribly tortured for a chapter, before her boyfriend and great-grandfather save her. Then the usual battle concludes the novel; several characters die basically for the sake of Sookie, but all the main character are as usual fine. Then Sookie’s grandfather briefly pops up to tell her that the battle was a waste of time, as he’s decided that the now deceased leader of the opposition was right all along. Left alone, Sookie returns to her usual pastime: pondering her love life. The End.


Worst New Character Names
Devon Dawn
Whit Spradlin
D’Eriq
Duff
Antoine Lebrun
Ginjer Hart


Worst Musical Choice
Mariah Carey. Although I grant it is exactly the kind of crap you would expect Sookie to listen to.


Cruellest Post-Mortem Character Analysis

“I wasn’t amazed that someone would want to kill Crystal, but I was really horrified about the baby.”

Fair enough. Crystal was known to have cheated on her husband, so presumably the whole town was up for her ritual slaughter. Bon Temps is that sort of place.


Most Impressive Police Work
FBI Agent Weiss is able to identify from half-changed paws alone that a crucified body is specifically half were-panther. Given that the world only learnt about weres the previous night, she’s a quick learner.


Most Disgusting Faux-Childish Summary of a Serious Issue of Morality Involving a Recently Crucified Woman

“Yeah, it is. Cheating with your husband’s baby in your stomach between you . . . that’s just specially icky.”

Most Redundant Pronunciation Explanation
Sookie likes to thoroughly explain what pronunciation of each character’s name she personally approves of, often repeatedly. It’s one of her things, along with an obsession with the minutiae of her day-to-day life, a compulsion to detail every single item of clothing she and every other character wears, etc. It’s clearly symptomatic of a psychological disorder, evidenced by her inability to stop herself even when a pronunciation explanation is completely unnecessary as for example:

“Our father, Dillon son of Niall, and his first wife, Branna. Our mother is Binne. If Niall goes to the Summerlands, Dillon will replace him as prince. But of course he must wait.” The names were unfamiliar. The first one sounded almost like Dylan.”

So Dilllon and Dylan sound almost the same. Fair enough. How the hell else does Harris imagine I might think to pronounce Dillon?


Clearest Example of Cultural Ignorance

“Claude and I used to have Irish names. It seemed stupid to me. Why shouldn’t we please ourselves? No one can spell those names or pronounce them correctly. My former name sounds like a cat coughing up a fur ball.”

No-one? The Irish don’t count then? Many of them can both spell and pronounce Irish (or rather Gaelic) names. Particularly when they’re partly anglicised, as many of the names in this book are. There are plenty of places outside Ireland also where such names are common. Brendan, Niall, Dillon and Neave are pretty standard around my way. Plus, it seems pretty rich of Harris’ to start criticising unusual names, given the ridiculous appellations constantly appearing in her work.

It seems pointless to sum up this book, since I’ve already commented on an identical plot at least twice during this series. All I can say is that I still hate Sookie violently, and I can’t see any likelihood of that changing at this point.

[Jenn · Rating 3 out of 5]

will start off by saying I love this series. I started it long before the TRUE BLOOD HBO series came out so I have been faithful from the beginning, and have always waited anxiously for the newest book in the series. I also reread the series each time a new book comes out to keep refreshing. Most were great book. A few of her more recent ones left me a little hungry for more as they didn?t really hit the spot but they were OK. I was excited for this book hoping Miss Harris would really expand upon the work she had done in her previous books and tie up some of the loose plot lines. Sadly, I feel this book left me feeling both disspaointed and extremely hungry because it wasn?t even an appetizer.

Without giving spoilers and ruining it for others, like some of the reviewers I felt there was simply too much going on all at once. I love exciting plotlines and twists and lots of action as much as the next reader. However, I felt in this novel it was overkill. There was not one OK BREATHE moment in the book. Miss Harris opened 20 different cans of worms at once; exciting yes, but also exhausting and confusing. My mind was still literally trying to process one "OH CRAP!" moment, when I was tossed into two more "Double Crap" and "Holy Hell!" moments. There wasn't just one climatic moment; there were about 25 so each time made you wonder if this was it-except you still have 100 pages left.

The end I felt was almost anticlimactic and a little disjointed. CRAZY ending, big show down, throw down and then it just sorta stops? Not quite a fade but you finished the book thinking huh? Should it really have ended there? The characters were just put through some horrific and really tragic events (yes you will need tissues) and a lot of moments of enlightenment and none of that was really touched upon.
Several characters appeared and disappeared like Houdini and some of the more permanent "disappearances," one in particular, really left me with a bad taste in my mouth because it was really horrific and tragic and just was not addressed one way or the other. It was sort of thrown at us and then we were left to process it. Which would have been fine had you actually HAD time to process it. But soon after you are thrown into yet more action. All I will say not to give it away is it is in regards to Jason and the Werepanthers.

I also feel Harris didn't adequately give Sookie time to make emotional sense of everything going on around her. This novel like the others is written in first person narrative and when anything happens in our lives, our minds process things at a 100 miles an hour in our minds. Yet Sookie barely touches upon any of these events with much introspection.

(SPOILER) Sookie is captured by renegade fairies and tortured grotesquely-so much so that her mind and body even with the infusions of vamp blood should be in such a fragile state, we should have really FELT it through her thoughts, her words and we don?t. It?s sorta just blah. She mentions she would never see the world again but its literally one or two sentences and all "tell" no "show" about how she suffered. The book ended shortly after.

There was some expansion to the history of Eric which was interesting, but the blood tie between Sookie and Eric from the last book was never really discussed; can it be broken, is it permanent, etc. I am also a LEETLE BIT concerned with the introduction of the blood bond with Eric that makes Sookie feel always peaceful, almost complacent around him. Miss Harris added a new dynamic to that in this book that I wont ruin for you, and it just made me go..OYE...I am REALLY hoping she doesn't go the route that LKH went with the Anita Blake and the ardeur (compulsions to ?make" her do things)... LKH uses it a cope out and a crutch and Harris is simply too good a writer to go that route so I hope she steers back.

(SPOILER) I also felt the new "relationship" between Sookie and Eric was sorta baloney?we didn?t feel the tension that had been there in previous books because now Sookieis unsure whether her feelings are real or a result of the blood bond. So when she sleeps with him again we get the lust factor but not much else. She seems very detached almost clinical. she seems to WANT him but not need him anymore. And now he needs and wants her, but she is almost acting as if they are buddies with benefits and not much more

(Spoiler) And though she was hoping Eric would come and save her when she is tortured, one of her few coherent thoughts is of Sam, wishing he were there so she could be in the presence of someone who loved her; very odd. But there wasn?t much interaction with Sam in the rest of the book as per usual so it seemed disjointed. I did find Eric's quote of "You?re killing me.." after he spoke to Sookie following her rescue, interesting. He seemed obviously upset about not being able to rescue her himself...very interesting. Another layer of mystery but it was abruptly abandoned as well.

am going to give this 3 stars because it has promise. If Harris can get it together for the next book and write something LENGTHIER than this (this was a short book) and really tie up some loose ends and give us better character development and relationship building and expansion, it will be amazing. I am just HOPING that the next books bring back the storytelling and plot structure we've come to expect from Charlaine Harris.

[Lunasea · Rating 5 out of 5]

OMG OMG OMG!!!! This book is the reason I came up with six stars.

I love Sookie, she is one of my favorite female protagonists. She has just the right amount of supernatural abilities combined with just the right amount of struggles with that power. Her life is hugely out of her control, yet she manages to fight for what little she can have.

I love Eric. He is one of my three favorite vampires (the others being Thomas Raith from Jim Butcher's Dresden Files and Quinn from Keri Arthur's Riley Jensen series). The reason I started watching True Blood was Eric is cast perfectly. I LOVE Eric even more in this book. He has grown more than Sookie, which is pretty amazing for a vampire.

One of the nice things about this book is since all Sookie books were back on the NYTimes Bestseller list, the book wasn't bogged down by retelling what happened in other books. Harris brought up lots of stuff that happened in other books to grow the seeds planted earlier, not to give us backstory.

And boy do those seeds grow. We all know that Bill loves her (despite how they met) and is willing to lay down his life for her. We also know through what happened with Quinn that she needs to be the most important person in her man's life. She also believes Eric will always be number one in his life, which puts him out of the running.

or does it?

This book plants the seeds of doubt about Eric's self-centeredness and how he feels about Sookie. If I didn't love Eric already, I would now.

The question I was left with was what about Sookie attracts Eric? Whatever it is happens pre Dead to the World when Sookie finds Eric running naked with no memory. I can't wait for him to tell Sookie what he feels and why in later books.

[Allison · Rating 4 out of 5]

***Spoilers***

Well, I am thrilled that Eric and Sookie's relationship is back, sorta. But nothing is really ever how it appears in this series, and none of their time together seemed 100% normal to me, like there was something important we still need to know. The more blood they exchanged the more I worried that Eric will end up dying at some point. I hope not :( Although he is controlling to a degree that would piss me off royally in the real world...it fits his personality and job description as sheriff so well that its hard to question, anything else would be against his nature. I think Harris is slowly evolving him into his deep feelings for Sookie.

Bill...ugh. Is it sad part of me was hoping he WAS dead at the end? I just want to see what direction the series would go if Sookie WAS attached to someone (by someone I mean Eric of course), and the endless circle of "who will it be?" was over.

I am so sad Claudine and Trey Dawson are dead; Sookie needs all the allies she can get.

All right, now that is done. Time to wait another year for #10...

[Suz · Rating 4 out of 5]

I just finished Dead and Gone and I must say that I loved it. I agree with previous reviews that it was much darker than previous Sookie's but I see that as a good thing. Life is changing Sookie and she is shedding some of her idealism, which is something all of us must face to some degree or another to find our own truths.

This books has many painful losses, but it also has a significant amount of growth on the parts of many of our main characters. I too am anxious for the next book if for no other reason than to see the full manifestation of Eric's growth and feelings for Sookie (which are well touched on in Dead and Gone); and to see Sookie (I hope) reach a mature balance in her feelings for Bill. I predict she will love Bill but never again be "in love" with him - but Ms. Harris has more to say about that than I do. Time will tell.

CH has said that Sookie will find her love but she is undecided if that will be at the end of the series. I find there is still a lot of potential for story arcs if Sookie ends up with Eric. There is still much strife ahead of them to be dealt with, even if they do end up together (which is my personal preference). Even with all the plot points still left to be dealt with I agree that this addition to the series moved several plots along, found some closure with some, and left plenty of questions still hanging out there.

Brava Ms. Harris, it was worth the wait!

[Emily May · Rating 3 out of 5]

It wasn't a bad story, I'll say that much, but the series does seem to be weakening. The problem for me is the change in focus from vampires onto every other kind of supernatural being you can think of. In the first couple of books of the series, I loved the stories and characters, couldn't get enough of them... and then came werewolves and shifters, I didn't like them as much but I was just about willing to accept them. Then it just got worse and worse. I found that I didn't care about werepanthers or witches or fairies at all.

Unfortunately, this installment was almost entirely about the werepanthers and fairies. I honestly couldn't care less about Jason, Crystal, Calvin, Niall, Claudine or Claude. Really, I find none of them interesting or particularly likeable. By far the best part of this book was sexytime with Eric:



I will say, without giving too much away hopefully, that there is one main character who never really did anything for me and there is an incident in this book where they nearly die... and I suddenly liked them so much more! I went from being indifferent towards them to thinking: "oh god, you can't die!"

I'm just crossing my fingers that Charlaine Harris will bring the focus back to vampires. Some novels about werewolves and shifters and fairies do interest me but the Sookie Stackhouse stories should stay where they belong - with the vamps.

[Wanda Pedersen · Rating 3 out of 5]

2019 Re-Read

“I added to my mental list of the odd things I'd done that day. I'd entertained the police, sunbathed, visited at a mall with some fairies, weeded and killed someone. Now it was powdered-corpse removal time. And the day wasn't over yet.”

I’m enjoying the inherent humour in this series. Harris knows that she’s writing soap opera story lines and she’s enjoying it. Especially when Sookie arms herself to deal with malevolent fairies—with a garden trowel and a squirt gun of lemon juice! And Sookie saying to herself, “What had set the fae world off? I’d never seen one. Now you couldn’t throw a trowel without hitting a fairy.”

And once again, I’m carrying a torch for Bill:

“As I watched Bill, waiting with apparent calm for death to come to him, I had a flash of him as I'd known him: the first vampire I'd ever met, the first man I'd ever gone to bed with, the first suitor I'd ever loved. Everything that followed had tainted those memories, but for one moment I saw him clearly, and I loved him again.”

*****
Original review:

This seems to be the point in this rather long series where the author was losing interest in these characters but was still being encouraged to produce books by her publisher. While still entertaining, they are becoming cookie-cutter books, with predictable characters in predictable predicaments solving their problems in predictable ways.

This should have been the book to deal with the ���coming out” stories of the Were community, and instead it gets hijacked by fairy drama. So, while I would have liked more detail on Sam, for instance, instead we get a pointless war, complete with the death of Claudine, the only fairy character that I actually liked. The horrible death of Sookie’s shifter sister-in-law gets almost glossed over and it seems that no one actually misses the poor woman.

Eric gets much more attention in this installment, as he tricks our gullible heroine into a vampire marriage. Supposedly this is to protect Sookie from the new vamp hierarchy, but it seems pretty self-serving, especially when a quick conversation could have straightened everything out. By contrast, Vampire Bill comes out of this smelling like a rose, having proven himself devoted to Ms. Stackhouse.

One wonders how many more “wars” can be invented to be the centre of each new book. I do truly enjoy the setting and many of the characters, but can appreciate why others would quit reading around this point. For me, this was an easy read during a struggle of my own with a migraine headache (which may actually have affected my enjoyment and account for the crankiness of this review).

[Chanele · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is probably my least favorite of the Sookie novels, but that is not to say that I didn't enjoy it. Harris is back with her witty dialogue and elaborate cast of characters, but as the story arcs away from the vampires, it loses something.

The last 50 or so pages move so quickly and there are too many references left open for the future. I like that the previous Sookie books could stand alone. This one gave me the sensation that Harris is just priming us for the next book, which was a bit disappointing. I'll keep reading Sookie regardless, and I don't like having to ponder for a year on comments that may or may not have meant anything.

While it's a dark theme to begin with, the personal relationship with really dark material Sookie finds herself having left me feeling a little disconnected with this book. While I am glad Harris does not go into gruesome details, I miss the vampire wars and supe chaos more. The fairies are interesting, but I am glad it seems pretty sure they will not reappear in the future.

[Jilly · Rating 4 out of 5]

I would say that as a general "life rule" it would be a good idea to keep out of immortal wars when you are a human. You're gonna get your ass kicked while all the supernatural creatures can just heal, and can't easily die. Of course, Sookie is still kind of a dumbass, and finds herself in the middle of a fairy war. This is after being in a vampire war and werewolf war.

All we need to make this party better is a stupid redneck girl..

The best part of this book is that Sookie finally starts to come around to my point of view and gets together with Eric. And, of course, Eric is awesome! Even if he tricks her into a vampire marriage of sorts, he does it to protect her.

"Eric, when I'm back to being myself, I'm going to nail your ass for putting me in this position of being pledged to you."

"Darling, you can nail my ass anytime," he said charmingly...


some offers are just too good to refuse...

(there, I have included my mandatory Eric gif. And, yes, I made it mandatory myself. It's one of my "life rules".)

So, Sookie is knee-deep in fae politics, but don't worry, she filled a squirt-gun with lemon juice and carries it on her at all times. She's a badass...


or just annoying...

You didn't know that lemon juice will kill a faery? Neither did anyone else.

But, shockingly, the fae still get hold of her and torture her. I was very conflicted on whether or not I gave a crap about her being tortured. She's not the most likable heroine.


Bless your heart...

So, we'll see what happens to Sookie next. I'm guessing she will get involved with a Zombie War at the Piggly Wiggly or something like that.


well, at least Sookie will be safe

[~☆~Autumn♥♥☔ · Rating 5 out of 5]

The ending of this one is very painful as those sadistic fairies torture Sookie and kill a few of her friends. I sure enjoyed it five stars right up until near the end but when I read about Claudine dying and some others after being tortured its just too much for me. I guess fairies are the most vicious and evil creatures of all! I hope the door to Fairy is sealed permanently.

[Beth · Rating 2 out of 5]

100% my least favourite of the series so far, I was just so so bored, the only reason this wasn’t a DNF is because I’m in too deep now...

[Jennifer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh wow.

Harris certainly didn't hold back with this one! (And I'm happy to say that the taint of the awful Aurora Teagarden series I read to tide me over until this book was released is finally gone!) I can confidently say this is probably in the Top Three books of the series. Here are a few random thoughts.



- Eric continues to be a delight. I love him and Sookie together. And other than Sookie, I think Eric is the character that has developed the most over the course of the series.
- Claudine! *sniffs*
- Not enough Pam. Pam always brings an element of levity which is often needed in the series. She wasn't around much at all, and I missed her humor.
- This book is way violent. Torture, murder, you name it. Eek!
- I find it hard to believe that the Fae will disappear altogether. Dermot is still on the loose, so I suspect Harris will use that as a way to keep Niall and Co. around for another book ir so.

And finally, Bill. *sigh* I liked Bill. Then he went all sullen and jerk-like and it was really, really hard to like him. I was okay with the triangle between Bill, Sookie and Eric, but that was mainly because I never thought that Harris really had any intention of Bill and Sookie getting back together! I'm not really a big fan of the "you must choose between them" scenario that Sookie seems to be headed for, because I think she already chose *not* to be with Bill anymore. I would really like to see Sookie and Eric try and make a real go at a relationship, because I think they could make it work.

[Hope Corizzo · Rating 2 out of 5]

ay yi yi. I've been with Sookie since 2004 when I read the first 5 books back to back. Loved it. Quirky southern characters, good suspense plots and occasional steam thrown in for good measure. The last book (book 8) seemed to be a bridge book leading to an exciting turn of events in this one. No go. This book started funny (What Not To Wear for Vamps, lol), but soon got booooorrrring. Sookie is tired and 'blood bonded' to Eric (my choice for a mate, fo sho), so she never gets angry anymore. Perhaps a good thing, because she was always yelling in the older books. The were community decides to come out to the world, like the vamps, and, wait for it, there is NO backlash? huh? Instead, we're treated to a vague war with the fae where Sookie, having 1/6th blood is THE target? what? The whole war is over in, seriously, 3 minutes?

Shamefully, Charlaine Harris, you let HBO overblooded/sexed/drugged your charming southern vampire series and you've given your books ambien. Unless you pick up the responsibility flag and fix things, you've lost me.

[Ria · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sookie Stackhouse's All-Male Revue.

Bitch is fucking everyone.what an iconic thot.
Sooo this was good.thank god.i'm pretending like book 8 isn't a thing.what a pointless filler.the plot was entertaining and the mystery was interesting.side not,fuck Crystal?somehow i'm still invested in this series but i don't know when i will buy book 10 because the rest of the series isn't on sale.

-I am too big for some.
-Bring it on.
He shoved forward.

P.S. i can't read the sex scenes.i always skip them.they are just too cringy.

[Summer · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was kind of weird reading this book. Perhaps my memory is a little skewed but in most Sookie books there's always a lot going on and Sookie is hardly home. However in this book it was interesting in that Sookie was in Bon Temps the whole book. She went to work and tended the garden all while the supernatural stuff came to her. It felt a bit slow to me but Eric was in it a lot and that's more than enough to keep me happy. I'm certainly curious as to hearing his explanation for him being MIA in a certain point and waiting for the next book to come out will drive me crazy. Grrr.

[Jim · Rating 3 out of 5]

The scattered book 8 set up for this one nicely & much was resolved. This book was more on track, as usual & about the same caliber. It should be read in order. It's a soap opera, so you need the background to appreciate how our heroine works through her various difficulties. All in all, more fun reading candy.

28May11 - re-read the HB which I now own. Teresa loaned me the new book #11 & I've 're-read' the series up to this point in audiobook format, downloaded from the local library. Parker did an excellent job reading, but it is a lot faster reading.

[Alisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is going to kill me waiting..lol..





I HATE BILL with a passion that b urns brighter than the sun and I wish that she would have killed him instead of killing off Claudine whom was such a sweet and loving character. The end of the book.. Niall says, "The vampire is a good man and he loves you.." Sookie has the BALLS... THE BALLS to wonder which one he meant.. Eric or Bill.. OF CORSE HE MEANT ERIC ASSHOLE!!!!! What a slut..lol.....

I wonder if anyone can tell that I am totally for ERIC!!! He is so sweet and you can tell that he loves her and that he wants her.. not because of what she is ie. pretty, busty, telepath... he loves her for her.. and she is just a friggin retard..

Sorry.. I have waited so long for this friggin book and I was happy when she said that it was him and her an no one else.. that they were going to try and take the relationship where it needed to go... just to get aggrivated when she starts being all about Bill's welfare. I understand that he risked his life for her, and that he said he has always loved her.. but he is still just a lying bastard..and he has hurt Sookie. At least Eric has NEVER lied to her. He has never hurt her. He would do anything for her.... I just want to know what it was that kept him from her when the fearies took her.. they still need that talk.

OK.. my rant is over... for now..lol...

[Beth F · Rating 4 out of 5]

Holy heck on wheels, Vampire Bill managed to redeem himself! Who knew?!?

I felt like this was very much an "in-between" book that could send the series in any number of directions in the future, but it was still very entertaining and well worth the read for anyone who loves the series.

Since the book is so newly published, I'm reluctant to say anything more that might be too spoilerish so I'll leave it at this and strongly urge anyone who hasn't read it yet to do so as soon as possible!!! :)

[Anita Reads · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked this one a lot more than the previous book.

[Abby · Rating 3 out of 5]

Tensions rise as werewolves are now "outing" themselves to the world, especially when Jason Stackhouse's wife Crystal is found crucified in Merlotte's Bar. Add to that some fairy wars and Sookie's accidental marriage to Eric,and it's another Sookie Stackhouse novel! As always, I love the intimate scenes between Sookie and Eric. That man is the stuff of dreams and I could always use more of him. Many parts of this book made me mad, particularly those people who are prejudiced against "supes". But what would a book be without conflict? Werewolves being known in the world will certainly make things more interesting in this world, so I look forward to the next book.

[My_Strange_Reading · Rating 3 out of 5]

I like learning about all the fairies in this book. Their conflict and drama adds an interesting element. I love Eric forever, so the solidification of their relationship in this one made me happy....even though I know they aren’t great for each other...it’s just fun to ship them, okay?

I’m ready for Bill to just die. I’m so glad Bubba came back. Quinn and Alcide got such short ends of the sticks in the books. The best and healthiest guys in her life (minus puppy-eyed Sam) are the ones who get written out the fastest. Such a bummer.

[Ashley W · Rating 3 out of 5]

Seems like anyone close to Sookie suffers and she always comes off okay. It's a little frustrating. Obviously she doesn't ask for any of this, but it seems like everyone would sort of back off of her. Honestly, I think Quinn dodged a bullet in this one. I do hope he pops back up though.
So glad that Bill is okay at least though I felt so bad for Trey and Amelia. Especially Amelia. I can't imagine not blaming Sookie.

Notes in Updates.