Dead reckoning (edition 2011)

I love the Sookie Stackhouse series but it seems to be going downhill, although I will keep reading them. I did enjoy this much more than the previous book. I haven't been a fan of the whole fairy aspect. There's a ton of foreshadowing involving her relationship with Bill and Eric. ( )

*sigh* Another Sookie book. :) Was so excited to get my hands on this one the day it was published!
This story begins with Sookie being at Merlotte's when it gets firebombed. Suspicion automatically falls on the so-called 'anti-shifters' since Sam has recently gone public as a shifter. More attacks occur; however, its realized that the attacks seem to be focused on Sookie rather than Sam. Sookie is also involved in the situation with Eric trying to kill his current 'master'.
As usual, Sookie's got some serious shit to deal with. And as much as I loved having another Sookie book to read, it was just okay. I was disappointed with the revelation between her and Eric and what he'd been keeping from her (because I love Eric-will be very disappointed if her and Bill end up back together *blegh*) and Charlaine Harris's quirky statements were oftentimes cringe-worthy. The one that comes immediately to mind is Sookie's need of an ice pack after sex with Eric. I mean REALLY? Come on. Being the loyal fan I am, I will still be waiting anxiously for the next one. ( )

CAREFUL - FILLED WITH SPOILERS!!














What a twisted, thoroughly wild ride! Sookie got Amelia's help to get rid of her bond to Eric, and that made her both sad and happy, and it pissed Eric off for quite a while. Victor continued his ministrations to get Eric to do something stupid so he could kill him without consequences. Sandra Pelt came back with a vengeance, and Sookie found out more things about herself as part fairy, her grandma, and quite a few other things.

So many things happened in this book, and far from all of them were happy! There was a really fast rythm, and I still was very happy with the way Sookie was feeling and acting, and how she was standing up for herself.

There were a lot more violence than usual (or have I forgotten how much happened in prior books?) Sandra tried to kill Sookie several times, first by using other people, then, by trying to do it herself, and being caught by the police only to escape again.

Some other tugs tried to kill Sookie as well, and we got a very humorous moment when Sookie was able to escape to Bill's house, find his daytime sleeping place and hide there - all naked :D

Amelia did some stupid things to interfer in Sookies lovelife, and Sookie came back home from a night with Eric to find Alcide sleeping in her bed :O

Finally, Sooke came up with a plan to kill Victor, and it totally worked, after a long fight, and most of the casualties on the 'bad' side.

There was all the sweetness with Tara's baby-shower, then some explanations with Cateliades in the kitchen before he had to run off from his own potential killers.

At the very end, Sandra came back, having taken Janalynn and Sam hostage at gunpoint, but she ended up dead in a completely disgusting way at Janalynn's hands before she was disposed of through the fairy veil in the woods.

Claude is up to something for sure, but he really wasn't any more forthcoming than usual. And all the men are still in love with Sookie! Eric (though he has been promised in marriage to the Queen of Oklahoma - hello future tangles!) Bill, Alcide, and now, maybe even Sam, as he seemed really shocked with Janalynn's violence.

There were more things happening, but I won't get into them right now. And this is more than full enough of spoilers anyway! ( )

Very, very interesting. It looks like Harris is up to her old tricks, blending the uncertainty of real life with the relationships and day to day struggles of her characters. Nothing lasts forever. There was some sexual chemistry from some very unexpected sources, and the supernatural jockying is building to an unexpected chreshendo for the next book. Can't wait! ( )

Rating: 3.5 of 5

While Dead Reckoning had (mostly) everything I expect from and look forward to in the Sookie Stackhouse novels, there seemed to be a whole lotta nothing going on. There were even a few times when the same details were relayed between the same characters. For example, Sookie telling Bill about Eric's marital predicament in Chapter 13 and then again in Chapter 16. Perhaps just one too many info dumps, for me anyway.

Having said that, I will read Dead Reckoning again whenever I do a marathon re-read of the entire series. It's just, the earlier entries are better: meatier subplots, stronger character development, and more consistency between main plot and subplots.

Note to self: In order to remember the small details and exactly where the storyline left off, I re-read Dead in the Family on April 1st before I read Dead Reckoning for the first time on April 2, 2012. ( )