Sunday, April 29, 2012

Definitely Dead (Charlaine Harris)

Summary:
Sookie Stackhouse is once again shoved unrepentantly into vampire business. Her cousin, Hadley, who was turned into a vampire a few years previously, was permanently killed, and Sookie was named as her benefactor. Sookie has to now go to New Orleans to get Hadley's affairs in order, and collect any belongings Hadley's left behind. For once, though, Sookie's got something good going for her. She's got a hunky guy drooling over her, and he's not even a vamp! Quinn is a weretiger (think werewolf, only he turns into a tiger instead) that spotted her in the prior book, and they developed an... interesting connection. Add in a witch landlady, a vampire queen demanding help, and Eric and Bill (Sookie's exes) still trying to vie for Sookie's attentions, and there you have the next chapter in Sookie's crazy life.

Thoughts:
I really enjoy this series. Often when I start a book, within the first twenty pages or so, I see how many more pages I have, so I know when things are really going to ramp up, and then finish off. For Harris's page-turners, it easily takes me eighty or more to think about the page check, and then it's usually more to see how far I got and less to see how far I have yet to go. Harris has a way of building characters that you become completely enamored of, and who you wish you'd see more. (Personally, I'm crazy about Eric's character, because he's predictable in his unpredictability. Gotta love that guy!) Sookie's making more of a stand this time around, and trying not to jump straight into another shaky relationship that's based mostly around lust, so she's trying to take it slow with Quinn, a trait I appreciate and admire in not only a fictional character, but in an actual person. Something to note about this particular edition to the Sookie books: It seems there is a short story that comes between the previous book, Dead as a Doornail, and this one. The story of how and why Hadley died is touched on briefly, but I'm fairly positive there is something more than just flashbacks to rely on for the full story. I'll be hunting for it, but I'm not sure if/when I'll find it. Just something to think about. Overall, barring the lack of info about Hadley's early exit, this was another great turn for Sookie, and for Harris.

Book 16 of 50

Pages:324
Genre:Mystery with a side of supernaturality
Grade:B+
Would I Recommend?:Yes, but please read the previous installments before you get here. It'll just be confusing otherwise.

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