Charlaine HarrisReviews

My preferred genres to read tend to be contemporary and historical fiction...romance, especially paranormal romance, isn't really up my alley at all (with the exception of the Twilight series). So I was surprised by how much I really enjoy reading Charlaine Harris' Southern Vampire Mysteries series, but enjoy it I do. For those who watched the show (True Blood), Sookie Stackhouse in the books is a different (and much more compelling) character than she is on TV, so if you're thinking you might not want to read these because Sookie annoys you, don't let that keep you away. Book Sookie is stronger, sassier, more independent. She does have the same kind of improbable love life (even more suitors in the books than the show, actually), but hey, it's a romance series.

Harris has stated that she ended the series, which was still quite popular, because (to paraphrase) she was just not really feeling it anymore. And to be honest, it's pretty obvious over the course of the last three or four books that her interest was waning. The "mystery" at the center of the story doesn't build a ton of tension, but it serves okay as a framing device. There was a lot of storyline tying up going on here, and token final appearances by Sookie's exes...it very much feels like a "farewell" to the series.

As for the final resolution of Sookie's love life, I know a lot of fans pitched a fit at who she ends up with, and while that wasn't my personal OTP for this series, it's Harris' story to tell and I didn't feel like it came out of left field or anything like that. It's hard to evaluate the final book in a series on its own merits. You can take it on its own to a certain extent, but it's inextricably (to me, at least) tied in with how you feel about the entire series and how the whole story was told. In the end, I feel like my fondness for the series is likely overshadowing the weaknesses of this individual volume. I did really like reading these books, and I'd recommend them even for those who don't usually dabble in this genre. They're quick and entertaining, and I think of them kind of as literary snacks, like maybe a Hostess cupcake or something. Not a lot of nutritional value or lasting fullness there, but every once in a while it's a fun way to indulge a little.

This one was fine. I liked it - but haven't made up my mind if I really liked it yet. I enjoyed the alternate-history-world-building once I got where the story was going - and that might take me happily into a sequel.

Another good installment in this new series. I look forward to the next one!

I have been an avid reader of the Sookie Stackhouse books for about 5 years now. I was late to the game and caught up with everyone right before "True Blood" came to TV.
I fell in love with the first 8 books, but lately it seems that Mrs. Harris is just filling the books with whatever she can. I have read books 9 and 10; and will continue to read any of the books that she puts out in this series, but I can't seem to get as excited about a new book as I used to.
In the 11th installment of Sookie, we see a person from her past come back, even though I had really forgotten about the Pelt's, I actually had to skim through a few books to get updated on the back story there.
I liked that Mrs. Harris brought back Amelia and Bob, but I was not in the least bit happy about them figuring out how to break the bond between Sookie and Eric. And don't even get me started on the whole Eric being arranged for with the Queen of Oklahoma!! I swear, Sookie just can't catch a break with the vamps in this series!!! Maybe she should actually give a were a shot!

The conflict with Victor was brought into this book, but I felt the demise of Victor and his "crew" was too fast and way too neat. I mean really, I understand that the scene couldn't last for that long, but it wasn't even a full chapter; or so it seemed to me.
I was left wondering about a lot of things through out the book, and I feel that a few things could have been cleared up in this book; like really, what was up with Claude and Dermot? I understand that Mrs. Harris needs to leave some things up in the air so that she can continue the series, but still, some things could have been either cleared up as I said earlier, or answered altogether. I felt that the book just really dragged on way too much.

Took me a lot longer to get into it than i would have liked. I think I had a hard time because i watched the tv show before reading and i just couldn't reconcile some of the characters in the book with what i "thought" they should look like based on the show. And the whole twist at the end was a complete shock to me!

Why did I even think this was a good idea
Absolute garbage
Why

I like vampires
I like romance
I like mysteries
I did not like Dead Until Dark

It's so much fun to get lost in Sookie's world! I highly recommend chiseling out some time to do a binge reading of Dead books.

I already love this series and this is only book 2!

This one made me laugh out loud and cry. Both while wedged between people on an airplane! Fave thing about this series is how the author allows major life changes from book to book. Following Aurora's life is a journey.

Excellent way to spend a Friday/Saturday!

This review is for part three of Dynamite's graphic novel adaptation of Grave Sight by Charlaine Harris. Parts one and two opened with flashbacks. Why should the final part be any different?

The flashback is from two years ago, outside the city of Beatrice, Nebraska. Harper locates the body of a missing old woman. Her widower is very grateful.

Then we're back in Sarne, Arkansas, in the present. Harper has run out on Deputy Hollis Boxleitner because she doesn't feel right about having sex with him in the house he shared with his murdered wife. She goes back to the motel where she and her stepbrother/manager, Tolliver Lang, are staying. She's attacked when she enters their room. It's Scotty, that teen jock from part two. Harper is fighting back when Hollis reaches them.

The next morning, Harper has a visitor. It's Mary Nell Teague, daughter of Sybil Teague, the widow who hired Harper to find her murdered son Dell's girlfriend, Teenie Hopkins. Mary Nell wants Tolliver out of jail, as Harper does. Mary Nell had called a lawyer named Toby Buckell, but he wanted an adult. She didn't call her mom's lawyer, Paul Edwards, because he and Dell had a big argument.

Visiting hours at the jail are two to three o'clock, so Harper decides to get some information from the Teague family plot. She's about to do a reading on Dick Teague, Dell's father, when a shot chips the tombstone and cuts her cheek. She calls 911. Unfortunately, it's Officer Marv Bledsoe, the jerk who arrested Tolliver in part two, who shows up.

Harper visits Tolliver and tells him she's got an attorney from Little Rock: Phyllis Folliette, a friend of their regular attorney.
Afterward, Mary Nell shows up and takes Harper for a ride, during which they discuss Mary Nell's family and the murdered Helen Hopkins, whom Mary Nell liked, but her mother wouldn't rehire after Mrs. Hopkins sobered up. She thinks Miss Helen stole something from her mother.

Harper meets Phyllis Folliette the next day. Phyllis asks Harper if she's related to the Cameron Conelly who went missing in Texas, and if Cameron was ever found. (Harper is her sister and she'll find Cameron some day.) They wait for Tolliver's cas to come up. The case is quickly over and Tolliver is free.

Despite the fact a storm is coming, Harper and Tolliver leave Sarne for Mount Parnassus. It's not a real place in Arkansas, but Mount Parnassus in Greece is where the Delphi Oracle was located. They're eating when they get a call from Sybil Teague, with a claim about Mary Nell and an urgent request they come to her house. This inspires Harper to figure out what the mysterious letters that the murdered Sally Hopkins Boxleitner found meant.

The Teague house is dark when they get there. Harper calls for Boxleitner, but he and the other police are dealing with two crimes. Harper and Tollver enter separately and stealthily. Someone shoots at Harper. Harper downs the shooter. The confrontation is on. It's ugly,

The bonus materials in this volume starts with an interview with Charlaine Harris herself. Cool! That's followed by reproductions of all of the covers, including the variant cover for volume one. Then there are general notes, a two-page tryout script, and two pages of pencils. The last page is head shots and brief descriptions of eight cast members. It was nice to find out who Mr. Vale was.

I like the art, the adaptation gives a good idea of what happened in the original book. I wish that some locations had been captioned so I didn't have to infer where they were for the important places section, but that shouldn't be a problem for the casual reader.

Do I recommend this adaptation for graphic novel mysteries, Charlaine Harris, and Harper Conelly fans? Yes,.

I waited until I had been able to buy all three parts of this graphic novel adaptation of Grave Sight by Charlaine Harris before I read them. Just because I have a copy of the original book didn't mean that I was willing to wait between parts.

Harper Connelly has been able to find corpses and know how they died since she was struck by lightning when she was 15. Now she uses that power to make a living. Her stepbrother, Tolliver Lang, who saved her life when the lightning struck her, is now her manager. This book opens with a flashback to seven years ago. It's about how Tolliver found Harper when she was walking around. Her older sister, Cameron, went missing. A crying Harper wonders she can't find her.

Back to the present, Harper is practicing her gift in a cemetery outside of Sarne, Arkansas. Tolliver is with her. Deputy Hollis Boxleitner shows up. He warns them about the hard-type state police that have just come. The biggest state officer is quite rude to Harper after the questioning in town. He even called her a vulture.

Tolliver and Harper find Mary Nell Teague, daughter of the Mrs. Teague who hired Harper to find her dead son Dell's girlfriend, Teenie Hopkins, waiting by their car. Three teen boys across the street come over. The biggest is Scotty, who is apparently sweet on Mary Nell and doesn't like her asking Tolliver if he wants to have a coke with her. (Scott goes so far as to say that people who talk to the dead have the devil in them. Harper doesn't talk to the dead, she merely knows their last moments.)
Harper invites Mary Nell to have dinner with her and Tolliver.

At the restaurant, Mary Nell drops a bombshell about Dell and Teenie. During the dinner, Harper gets a call from the deputy. They meet for a drink. She talks about her dream house. Hollis asks her about her worse case. It involved a tornado. She asks him about himself. When they part, they kiss.

Harper is jogging the next morning when Scotty nearly runs her over and then comes out of his truck to confront her. Good thing Harper is prepared. Sheriff Branscom shows up and helps.

Harper goes to a local funeral home, where she met Elijah Gleason, so she can get a reading on the murdered Helen Hopkins.

Harper and Tolliver have burgers with Deputy Hollis Boxleitner. It turns out that Helen, Sally, and Teenie Hopkins used to clean at the Teagues' house. Sally had found something there before she was murdered, but Hollis doesn't know what it was, only what Sally wanted to look it up in.

Harper and Tolliver go see Jay Hopkins, Helen's ex-husband, bio father of Sally, treated Teenie as if she were his own. They need something from him and he agrees.

A police officer named Marv Bledsoe arrests Tolliver, claiming there's an open warrant for him regarding the Montana incident that opened book one. He makes another claim that's just as shady.

Harper discusses this and what Sally discovered with Deputy Boxleitner. Harper finds it, but the clue makes no sense.

Part two ends with Harper and Hollis getting frisky. Its' a good continuation of the story. I'm pleased I managed to get the Sheriff's last name and the first name of Mrs. Teague's husband from this one.

This time the bonus material isn't just about the art. Wiliam Harms writes about adapting the book to a graphic novel format.

3.5 Nostalgic Stars

I haven’t read a Charlaine Harris novel in a little over ten years, and what stood out to me the most is that her female protagonists are still sensible and resilient. What also remains the same is her simple storytelling that just pulls the reader along easily with no fuss.

Here, Lisbeth Rose is a very good gunslinger, and she knows it. So when she takes a job escorting and guarding two wizards across the southern US and into Mexico, she does it not only for the money but to also ensure some secrets remain hidden. As Lisbeth and her two companions travel across the brutal landscape, one knows that their journey will be anything but easy.

This series is an untamed alternate history Western, where the US has been devastated by disease, loss, and an unraveling of the government and its territories. Toss in the Holy Russian Empire who now rules from California, along with plenty of magic and shootouts, this is a world where everyone’s just trying to survive any which way they can.

Overall, Lisbeth is an unconventional heroine, competent and deadly when needed, older than her young 19 years, firmly grounded in practicality, and not prone to nonsense from herself and certainly, not from others.

I enjoyed exploring Harris’s latest creation and plan to come back to see what’s in store for this shrewd heroine soon!

The main character, Aurora Teagarden, is a librarian in a little Georgia town, although she doesn’t spend much time in the library in this 9th installation of the Aurora Teagarden Mystery series. Soon after learning she is pregnant, the settling in of her recently arrived younger half-brother, who has run away from his dysfunctional home in California, is interrupted when he and a few of his peers go missing and one turns up dead. The dichotomy of character types is well portrayed and I remained engaged throughout the story.

It has been years since I'd read my print copy of Dead Over Heels, the 5th Aurora Teagarden mystery, but I had remembered the opening because Angel was NOT behaving as a bodyguard should. Bad enough that her hearing would have been impacted by the sound of the lawnmower, to be listening to music as well???

The other thing I had remembered was why the killings, but not who was doing them. The most important subplot is that the downside of Aurora's fairytale marriage to rich Martn is being shown.½

The issues of Dynamite Entertainment's graphic novel adaptation of Grave Sight by Charlaine Harris was reprinted in hardcover and three softcover books. I have the softcovers. This is a review of part one.

Harper Connelly and her stepbrother, Tolliver Lang, make a living using the gift Harper gained when she was struck by lightning when she was 15. She can feel corpses when she gets near them, so she gets hired to find missing persons. What helps with the plot of Harper Connelly mysteries is that Harper can see how a person died, but if it was murder, she can't see who did it. Tolliver, who saved her life when the lightning strike stopped her heart, is Harper's manager.

The opening is a flashback to an incident in Great Falls, Montana, where Tolliver is arrested for physically attacking a man who threw a rock that hit Harper.in the head.

It's now a year later, and Harper has been called to find a missing girl in the small town of Sarne, Arkansas. The client has changed her mind, so Harper and Tolliver drive away from the sheriff's office. Harper finds a corpse and phones it in. She's right. This gets the client to agree to let Harper search for the missing Monteen 'Teenie" Hopkins, the girlfriend Mrs. Teague's son is accused of having murdered after his body was found. (If you feel incredulous that anyone could think a boy shot twice could have done it himself, I remember a newspaper article from decades ago in which a soldier's death was ruled a suicide despite about 20-25 knife wounds, five of which would have been fatal in themselves.)

Harper finds the girl's body. Later, Deputy Boxleitner hires Harper to read the grave of his wife, Sally, who was Teenie's older sister. Yes, she was murdered.

Harper is paid by Mrs. Teague's lawyer, Paul Edward. Then she and Tolliver meet with Sally and Teenie's mother, Mrs. Hopkins, before they go to the next assignment in Ashdown, Arkansas. A widow is certain her husband's first wife murdered him. Harper tells her how her husband died.

Harper and Tolliver are called back to Sarne because someone has murdered Mrs. Helen Hopkins. After they leave the Sheriff's office, the step-siblings go back to the motel where they stayed before. They have a visitor, Mary Nell Teague, sister of the murdered Dell. To be Continued...

The bonus material allows us to see a few of the pages as script, pencils, and and inks without colors.

I have read all of the books, but I must confess that actually seeing Harper's piercing was a bit of jolt.

Well, at least Sookie learns why she's telepathic.and a couple of important things happen in her love life. Oh -- and the Pelt problem is solved. Good thing I hadn't read these books in awhile so that I'm not liking Eric Northman. The Bubba appearance was nice.½

Do not know why I keep reading these. Nothing happened in this installment that I couldn't have guessed from the last -- one, two, three? -- books. I must have been insane to pick it up at the library. Somebody slap me if I do it again.

Dead Until Dark is the first book in Charlaine Harris’s Sookie Stackhouse series. Sookie is an ordinary waitress at a bar in the small town of Bon Temps, Louisiana, but she has the ability (or as she thinks of it “disability”) to read minds. Most of the time, it’s more of a curse than a blessing. Although she’s learned how to put up a guard against other’s thoughts invading her mind, she still can’t always control it very well, which has made dating extremely difficult. Recently vampires “came out of the coffin,” so everyone now knows of their existence. When vampire Bill Compton comes into the bar one night, not only is Sookie physically attracted to him, but all she can hear from him is blessed silence, something that’s very appealing. When she learns that Bill fought in the Civil War, Sookie’s grandmother wants her to ask him to speak at one of her historical society meetings, which leads to the start of a romantic relationship between Bill and Sookie. But there’s a serial killer on the loose who’s been murdering women in the area, and after finding one of the bodies herself and discovering that the women had ties to vampires, Sookie asks Bill to help her do a little investigating. Some of the townsfolk think that Bill or others of his kind might be responsible for the murders, although Sookie is all but certain that isn’t the case. Then her own brother, Jason, who also has ties to all of the women is implicated, but again Sookie is convinced of his innocence. When Bill needs to leave town for a while on business, though, Sookie herself could become the next victim.

Aside from her ability to read minds, Sookie is a pretty ordinary and down-to-earth young woman. Orphaned at a young age, she and Jason were raised by their grandmother, and Sookie still lives with her in the house she grew up in. She works as a waitress at Merlotte’s Bar and Grill, where she’s made friends with some of her co-workers. However, Sookie’s love life is basically non-existent. She tried going out with guys a few times and found that hearing all her date’s thoughts made it far too awkward, so she’s decided not to date at all. As someone who has a strange ability herself, she’s been somewhat curious about vampires ever since their existence became known. When Bill comes into the bar and she can’t hear any of his thoughts, it’s a real gift. As she gets to know Bill a little more and discovers that he’s having difficulty getting workmen to fix up his house, which happens to be almost nextdoor to Sookie’s, she offers to help. Between that and his speaking engagement at her grandmother’s group, they grow closer and eventually start a romantic relationship, something not everyone in town is thrilled about. When the killer starts picking off women not unlike Sookie, one by one, and Sookie herself appears to be a possible target, Bill makes every effort to keep her safe, but when he has to leave town to secure their future, she could be the next victim. I really liked Sookie. She shows kindness and compassion toward others and is very relatable as the girl next-door type. She’s accepting of Bill and vampires in general, but she’s not foolhardy when it comes to the danger they can present. When it comes to the killer, I like that she uses her head and doesn’t take unnecessary risks.

Since the book is written in Sookie’s first-person POV, we only see the supporting characters through her eyes. Bill is the consummate Southern gentleman, but as someone who’s been alive for 150 years, he struggles a bit with finding a balance between being protective and respecting Sookie’s autonomy. It’s clear that he can be a dangerous creature when provoked, but at the same time, he has a gentle side with Sookie and is far more self-controlled than some of his so-called friends, who don’t seem to have any compunction about killing humans. Overall, Bill is a good guy for a vampire and a character that I very much liked. In addition to Bill, there are several other secondary characters that we get to meet who play important roles. Sookie’s boss, Sam, is a little sweet on her and also protective of her, but he’s keeping a very big secret. Sookie’s brother, Jason, cares about her but isn’t always in tune with her needs. He isn’t the sharpest knife in the drawer and he’s a total a man-whore, which gets him pegged as a prime suspect in the murders. Sookie gets to meet Erik, a very old vampire who can pull rank on Bill if he chooses, and his business partner, Pam, who run the vampire bar, Fangtasia. Then there’s Sookie’s friend and fellow waitress, Arlene; Arlene’s ex-husband and current boyfriend, Rene; Andy, the detective investigating the murders; and many other quirky small-town cast members to round things out.

I’ve known about the Sookie Stackhouse series for a long time, as many of my romance reading friends on GoodReads had recommended it. For some reason, though, I wasn’t certain whether I would like it, so I put off reading it. Instead, I ended up watching the television show, True Blood, that’s based on the series first, which is a rarity for me. After enjoying it, I finally decided to put the books on my TBR list. Dead Until Dark ended up being a very good read and a good start to the series. I’d heard that the show was quite a bit different from the books, so I was bracing myself for disparate story lines. However, I was pleasantly surprised, based on what I recalled of the first season of True Blood, that it seemed to follow this first book fairly closely. There were some differences, but most of them weren’t jarring to me. I realize this may not continue as the series goes on, but I’m still eager to keep reading. I admit that because of watching the show first, there was little suspense for me to the mystery portion, because I remembered who the killer was. But I still think it was done well and probably would have kept me guessing if I didn’t already know. Another thing that I enjoyed was the romance between Bill and Sookie. I think one reason I’d been reluctant to read the books is that I didn’t know if they’d have enough romance to suit me, but this first book definitely did. Some readers classify the books as romance and I’m also comfortable calling Dead Until Dark a romance. I don’t know if that will be the case as I continue, but in this one, Bill and Sookie’s love story probably constituted roughly half of the book and it does have an HFN ending, with Bill taking steps to make the future of their relationship more secure. Everything taken together, I very much enjoyed this first foray into the Sookieverse and look forward to reading more soon.½

This book was pretty much the same as the first season of True Blood. There were a few differences, but for the most part, it was the same. Some scenes from the book, it felt like they were taken out perfectly and put into the TV show.

But, I do have to say, all in all, I enjoy the TV show better than the book. I love how Lafayette and Tara have a bigger presence in the show. Tara is totally absent from this book.

This only gets two stars because it's part of one of my favorite series. Otherwise, one it would be. I don't know what happened with this book. Did she just write this one because she HAD to? I was happy to be done with this. Hopefully when I get around to reading the next one, it will be better.

This book kept me on my emotional toes. Sookie is growing up and I can't wait to see what happens next.

I will review when I reread this one, but my advice today is to buy it. My next read will be audio only.

More of a romance novel than I expected. And I'm about as interested in hetero romance as I am in vampires. But not bad. I'll probably read some of the others.