This review does not have spoilers, but Book Six in the Sookie Stackhouse romance-mystery-vampire series definitely does: it is full of revelations about the characters and events taking place in the previous five books.

Sookie Stackhouse, the hottie waitress in Bon Temps, Louisiana, finds herself still without a beau. Bill, the vampire who is her ex-boyfriend, is dating someone else. Alcid, the werewolf who claimed to love her, is now also dating someone else. Eric, the powerful ex-Viking vampire, is not speaking to her. At least Quinn, the powerful weretiger, seems very interested, although Sookie no longer trusts her instincts when it comes to men.

Meanwhile, the vampire queen of Louisiana is about to make a political marriage with the vampire king of Arkansas, and Sookie is involved, since it turns out that her dead cousin Hadley had become a vampire and had a relationship with the queen. And as usual, someone is trying to kill Sookie, and she doesn’t know who or why.

Evaluation: This book is a must-read for fans of the series, since the truth comes out about all sorts of aspects of the plot. As Hamlet said to Horatio, “"There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio,
 Than are dreamt of in your philosophy." And this is the volume in which you’ll find out about them! The book even starts with a vignette in which Harris pokes fun at romance novels in general. She's a witty, clever writer, no doubt about it! ( )

Sookie Stackhouse has a complicated dating life, what with Vampires, Weretigers and Shifters all in the mix. This book follows Sookie as she packs up her cousin Hadley's apartment and attends a Vampire Wedding Party. And skirmish. Of course, people keep turning up dead, which puts a crimp in things. ( )

Summary: When telepathic small-town waitress Sookie Stackhouse has to go to New Orleans to deal with her (recently deceased) cousin Hadley's belongings and affairs, she knows it's not going to be a picnic. However, since Hadley was 1) a vampire, 2) a favorite consort of the vampire Queen of Louisiana, and 3) murdered for reasons that are unclear but probably have to do with the turbulent state of vampire politics in the South, Sookie winds up dropping herself right in the middle of a hornet's nest of dangerous plots... and all of this on top of her own supernatural social life, which is not what anyone would call uncomplicated.

Review: Confused readers, take heart! You are not alone! The events of Definitely Dead take place *after* the events of the short story "One Word Answer", which can be found in the anthology Bite, or in A Touch of Dead. I've been reading the Sookie Stackhouse books as a bit of fun when I'm tired, distracted, or otherwise having trouble concentrating. So, when this book assumed that I knew that Hadley was dead, and started bringing up events I didn't remember and characters I'd never heard of, after checking several times to be sure it really was the next one in the series, I assumed that I was just being thick . Not so! It wasn't particularly hard to follow the story even without the background information, but it would have been nice to know up-front that the reason it felt like I was missing something is because I actually was.

Other than that, though, I thoroughly enjoyed this book. A few sub-plots (including one or two of the supernatural guys who orbit Sookie) are finally resolved, and the pacing and plotting are much smoother here than in the earlier novels in the series. The mystery aspect of the story is not hugely mysterious, but there is plenty of action, plenty of humor, and the obligatory healthy dose of romantic entanglements. Like Living Dead in Dallas, because Sookie spends most of the book out of town, I wound up missing the characters from Bon Temps - Jason and Sam, in particular - but there were some interesting new characters introduced to make up for it. All in all, it was a fast and thoroughly enjoyable light read, which is what I've come to expect from the series. 4 out of 5 stars.

Recommendation: Fans who've gotten this far in the series will have just as much fun with Definitely Dead - but if you have a chance to read "One Word Answer" ahead of time, it's not required, but it will make the beginning of this book go a whole lot more smoothly. ( )

Definitely Dead is the sixth in the series. Sookie is being wooed by Quinn, the sexy were that was the referree at the Were packmaster challenge in book 5.

This book refers to the death of Sookie's cousin Hadley, a New Orleans vampire. It appears that the story played out in a book of Sookie short-stories. Book 6 appears to pick up where that left off. I would have like a little more background at the beginning but Harris does give us the details as the book plays out.

Sookie is summoned by the Vampire Queen of Louisiana, to clean out Hadley's apartment and help her as she has married the Vampire King of Arkansas. The Queen and Hadley were lovers, but the Queen is marrying for political purposes. Sookie meets Hadley's landlord, Amelia, a witch. Sookie has been accompanied to New Orleans by Vampire Eric and Bill. Her new boyfriend Quinn is also in New Orleans, concerned as he and Sookie have been attacked twice together.

Sookie learn more about her family history and perhaps why she is so drawn to the supernatural community. She also learns a secret about Bill, that breaks her heart and may put Bill out of the running for Sookie's affections forever.

This was another great Sookie book, though confusing at first, with the missing details. Sookie gets stronger with every book, not the innocent girl that alwaays needed saving at the bginning of the series. Sookie is indispensible to the supernatural community and she is quick to solve problems and help save the day. I also love that we meet witches again in this installment.



my rating 4/5 ( )

For me, the series has been on a slight downhill after the fourth book. Strangely enough, though, I can't stop reading these books because I am addicted to the supernatural world Harris creates! Yet again, Sookie captivates another supernatural suitor, Quinn. I enjoy his character quite a bit and would like to see him return in future books. However, Eric and Alcide are still my favorites. I can't get enough of Eric and his humorous arrogance. I'm hoping that the next book will focus more on Eric, and that Alcide returns to his charming self again. Bill still sucks. It'd be fun to see Eric use his vampiric Viking strength to beat Bill to a pulp. One can only hope! I have to say that, although cheesy, it was good to finally know why all these supernatural beings can't get enough of Sookie. I kept scratching my head trying to figure out why these incredibly sexy beings would find a smart-mouthed waitress so irresistible. I have a feeling Sookie will encounter the Pelts again in the future. Good thing she'll have the fabulous witch Amelia on her side!My one gripe with these books is the horrible editing. It detracts from the story as you re-read the same sentence over, and over, and over trying to figure out what the heck she meant to write. Otherwise, can't wait to read the next one! ( )

I thought I wasn't gonna like the story on this one but surprisingly I did. There were a lot of interesting developments, new characters, and the mystery why Sookie attracts vampires, supes, shifters and the like was solved. Charlaine Harris really put a twist to it and explained the reason for the attraction.There were also a lot of issues dealt with and in due time the loose ends were tied. The writing was flawless, I guess because of the readers response toward Bill's character were pure animosity, Harris added fuel to the fire that would easily have made me hate him to the nth degree, he tried to redeem himself but I was glad Sookie shut him out for good, and now she's really on the mending side.I know this is the sixth Sookie Stackhouse book I've read but it's only now that I would comment on the effectiveness of the first person point of view. I felt Sookie's feelings when she was hurt, it was vivid on the emotional plane. She might've gotten away from the rash violence in the previous story but in here she got injured again, and not by a bullet wound.I liked that she has a new relationship and that he's a were-tiger, he's not bad actually, except for his description which I peg for the Vin Diesel type, which was not really my type. There's still mystery around him and I'm looking forward to reading about his background.And finally, I can't let this go. I still love Eric, his character was still consistent and he still wants Sookie, most of all he's still hot. ( )

I really enjoy the Sookie Stackhouse novels, and I think that Charlaine Harris has come up with a great story line for her that continues through all of the books thus far. What I am a little upset about it the way Sookie went from being a virgin and in-experienced to the woman dating/ sleeping with all the supernatural entities in the books. In this book a new face appears for Sookie's love interest, Quinn. The plot of this book I based upon Sookie leaving Bon Temps to clear out a dead cousins apartment, she was a vampire. As always there is a mystery Sookie has to solve before she can go home. I read this book in one night, it was entertaining and will keep me reading.

TRUE BLOOD, IS THE SERIES ON HBO.... IT IS PRETTY DIFFERENT FROM WHAT I INVISIONED FROM READING THE BOOK. ( )

I enjoyed this as much as the rest of the series. It hasn't grown old at all. Again, no deep philosophy or anything. Just an enjoyable, fast & light read.I've read other comments about disliking Bill more & more. Without a spoiler, I'll just say that I personally like the guy. No, he hasn't always made the right decisions, but he's had some rotten options & isn't used to dumping to anyone. I think Sookie is too hard on him. He's tried to do the best he could by her. ( )

One of the best so far..Sookie has a new boyfirend, QUINN, A WERE-TIGER ! As usual, Sookie gets into a mess with the vamps & the Were's, The QUEEN of the VAMP's all combine to make this an exciting book....lots of surprises & heartbrake for Sookie. Would love to see her & Bill get back together...but I don't think so... ( )

Was a bit confused coming into this one, because I was not informed of the Hadley short story, but I found the brash of new characters interesting, plus a trip to New Orleans is always welcome. My only other reaction to this installment is Good heavens but Sookie's a bit of a tramp. ( )

http://angelofmine1974.livejournal.co... ( )

This book is actually quite good (relative to the others) and we are introduced to some characters that are genuinely interesting, like Quinn, the Queen of Louisiana, and Amelia the witch. If you're going to read only one of the Sookie-books (and you really don't need to read more), this is the one. Plus, in this one, for the first time, we actually get geographic descriptions and we can tell we are actually in Louisiana. I've been waiting for that! ( )

Sookie is once again called away from her little home town of Bon Temps on account of a vampire. Only this time it is to the city of New Orleans, and the vampire is her cousin, Hadley. Actually I should say 'was', for as we found out in the short story One Word Answer, Hadley had been killed, and Sookie is off to New Orleans to clean out Hadley's apartment and close out her estate.

But before Sookie can leave Bon Temps there is plenty to keep her occupied. Her ability is called upon to help a co-worker, and there are new people in Sookie's life. One is a new co-worker that Sookie is suspicious off, one is a new worker at Fangtasia, a vampire, who Sookie takes a liking too, and one is a man that Sookie takes a real liking too.

Once Sookie arives in New Orleans, things don't go as smoothly as Sookie hopes. There are surprises awaiting Sookie in Hadley's apartment. There are friends, and enemies, new and old. Kings and Queens, killers and kidnappers. There are obligations, revelations, allegations, confrontations, confessions, broken hearts, broken bodies and fancy dresses.

Sookie is shown New Orleans in all its forms, from the bright lights of the city, to the grand old Garden District, to the dark and damp swamps and bayous, whether she wanted to see it or not.

Sookie is learning more and more about the supernatural community everyday, and so too are we. Every moment brings new excitement and new challenges, this book will keep you on your toes and keep you guessing. I recommend reading the short story One Word Answer by Charlaine Harris, found in the book Bite, before reading this book as it provides a lot of background for this story, although I should say it is not entirely necessary. ( )

When I started this book, I was a bit worried, because I don't like the shifters. I don't know what it is, but in Twilight as well, I've just found the werewolf/shape-shifter plots to be excessively boring. But I was pleasantly surprised by this book. I like Quinn as a character, although I'm still very much an Eric/Sookie shifter. This book did suffer through Harris's habit of often making a huge battle scene at the end (not a fan of big battle scenes), but at least it was short and I didn't have to read about it for chapters and chapters. Looking forward to reading the next one! ( )

Comments and Critiques: After five books in the series, I’ve come to understand Ms. Harris’ writing style and know that her books really do take place in a very short period of time, with roughly several weeks separating one book from the other in the life of the characters. So imagine my surprise when I pick up this book and discover an entire storyline with which I was not familiar. I checked and double-checked the bibliography at the beginning of my book to find out if I accidentally skipped one. I even went back to my personal library to flip through the previous book, Dead as a Doornail, to see which book it says was the next in the Sookie Stackhouse series. While all my research indicates that I did not skip a book, Hadley’s story and the fact that we come in on it after her death, have already been introduced to several new characters, including the Queen, continues to rattle me. You would think that something like this was worth mentioning prior to this book, and I still believe that I must have missed something or that one of my books was missing entire chapters. I mean, it’s the Queen of the Louisiana vampires! She deserves a better introduction than in hindsight because Sookie’s already met her. So if anyone can shed any light on this little mystery, I would greatly appreciate it.

Getting that out of the way, Ms. Harris does it again! She continues to amaze, entice, confuse, and thrill me with this story. Battles and intrigue, mystery and blossoming romance – it doesn’t get any better than this. Quinn may just be my new personal favorite, and I am definitely anxious to see how their story continues. Sookie has been through the emotional wringer more times than is healthy in a very short period of time and deserves to find some long-term happiness. The confidence and self-assurance, and the fact that he won’t drink her blood, is definitely an attraction. Think Alcide, who I really liked, without all the attitude and issues over ex-girlfriends.

I’m still reeling from the announcement about Bill and his motives for moving back to Bon Temps. I finished the book last night, and I still feel stunned and more than a little betrayed. This might just very well be the first vampire book where I am not rooting for the vampires anymore, or at least one of them. It will be interesting to see if he continues to profess his love for her and if she can ever forgive him, as I can’t get over the idea that Bill and Sookie belong together. Angel and Buffy, Edward and Bella, Spike and Buffy – you can see where a girl might get such ideas. Still, Bill’s betrayal is unfathomably low. This continuing storyline alone will keep me coming back for more.

In spite of my concern that I skipped a book, I remain completely enamored with this series. I am still surprised by what the characters do, and I am rooting for Sookie to find less drama and more happiness with every fiber of my being. Bring on the next book!! ( )

I'm having a hard time with the multitude of characters and their insignificant roles in the books. New people are always introduced, but few are taken away. I get the feeling that I'm in a cluttered room with tons of attention hungry persons. My attention is always being pulled this way or that. I think this stems from the never ending story threads. I've received no closure in any plot thus far, and am getting anxious, and therefore ornery, about seeing it through to the end. For example: The whole Debbie Pelt sideline. I thought I'd been set free from this insignificant (but time consuming plot) with Debbie's death, but I was wrong. I hadn't anticipated the story being strung along with the appearance of Debbie's family. I can't help but feel that instead of coming up with new and exciting ideas, Charlaine is simply beating old storylines to death. Why do I continue reading this series, you ask? It's my fault really. I allowed myself to get drawn in and I'm trying to ride out the storm so I can get the closure I've been seeking. I'm on a roller coaster ride that I stopped enjoying some time ago, but I can't get off. Please Charlaine,...start wrapping some story lines up!!!! ( )

Definitely Dead (Southern Vampire Mysteries, Book 6) introduces readers to Quinn, the were-tiger and probably my least favorite character in the Southern Vampire Mysteries universe. Harris’ description of him doesn’t make him sound attractive at all, so what use is he to readers, right? I’m not a bra-burning feminist by any means, but even I couldn’t help cringing and feeling icky every single time he said “babe.” It wasn’t endearing at all.

Definitely Dead also goes into detail about vampire politics, which while intriguing while reading, only sounds ridiculous in hindsight. Yes, there is a Queen of Louisiana in this book. Starting from this book, I began to feel like there are just too many minor characters to keep track of and it’s unrealistic (yes, even for vampire romance novels) for everyone to be tied through Sookie Stackhouse. ( )

Book 6 of the Sookie Stackhouse series, and this one was my least favorite of all.

First off, the book starts with a curve ball discussing cousin Hadley and left me wondering what I missed, if there was a book somewhere out there that was misplaced or I forgot about. I spent most of the book feeling like I missed out on a great Sookie adventure where she learns about her cousin Hadley, and yet there is nothing there to back it up, except this book.

On the plus side, Sookie gets another adventure by traveling to New Orleans and exploring her new relationship, which I know plays a big part in the next few books. However, I was least impressed with this one overall and have had a hard time motivating myself to move onto book 7, All Together Dead, for fear it will follow in its footsteps.

This is probably one of the best books in the series though i think it was added at a later date. At the end of Dead as a Doornail Eric told Sookie to keep a few days in March free for a conference, and the double Bellefleur wedding was being planed. We don't see any until the next book.

This is one place that Charlaine made a mistake. She has even said so on her website. Sookie's cousin Hadley had been mentioned in the background once or twice and Sookie didn't know anything about her. Now all of a sudden Sookie has to go to New Orleans to clean out her apartment. Charlaine's mistake was writing a short story on how Sookie found out about Hadley's Death and her relationship with the Queen of Louisiana. But all is forgiven in this book.

Sookie once again goes on a trip. For someone who has never been out of Bon Temps, she travels a lot more now. (About half the books have her going somewhere.) Quinn is back and we get to see him as a tiger. We meet some witches and see and ectoplasm reconstruction of Hadley's death which sounds really really cool in a grim sort of way. Sookie finds out why Bill came back to Bon Temps. And she has to deal with the family of Debbie Pelt. She manages all this and becomes the only wittness to the death of the King of Arkansas. What a life for a barmaid for Bon Temps. ( )

Yet another great story by Charlaine Harris. I love how the cover is a scene from the book, I find myself waiting to find it - especially when it is implied. Charlaine builds such great characters that you find yourself getting lost in the story and hanging on for what comes next.

In book 6, Sookie finds herself dealing with the estate of her estranged, now dead (again) cousin Hadley in New Orleans. This book pulls Sookie even deeper (if that's possible) into vamp politics, introducing her to demons and the Queen of Louisiana. This book starts a series of events that continues on into book 7. Also, Sookie experiences a deep betrayal that hardens her outlook on love. This betrayal makes Sookie seem real in a way not realized before; it effects her in a very human way. The combination of vamp politics and betrayal makes for an interesting twist in future books. ( )

Title: Definitely Dead
Author: Charlaine Harris
Genre: Horror, Romance, Mystery
# of pages: 352
Start date: 05/24/09
End date: 05/26/09
Borrowed/bought: bought
My rating of the book, F- [worst] to A [best]: B+

Description of the book: In the sixth book of the Sookie Stackhouse novels, Sookie has to go to New Orleans, Louisiana to wrap up her cousin Hadley's affairs where she is confronted with a mystery of how there is a dead body soon to be Vampire in her apartment. Hadley is the queen's lover and soon she finds out much she hadn't bargained for.
Review: Ok, so she finds out something further that disrupted her feelings about Bill. Bill screwed up, let's face it. I'm losing faith that Bill and her will ever get back together, even though he probably deserves it. I like Quinn, but I miss Bill. And what's going to happen with Eric? So many men, so little time. I'm enjoying the storyline with the Queen of Louisiana, here's to hoping it continues.

http://leperdbunny.livejournal.com/27... ( )

Definitely Dead is book 6 in the Southern Vampire Mysteries. Sookie, weary and battle scarred, once again has high hopes that her life can return to normal. She has enough stress as it is between her brother’s personal life, rebuilding her kitchen, Debbie Pelt’s family’s meddling, her broken heart, the dead demon left on her lawn, and the murder of her cousin Hadley. As it turns out, Hadley was a vampire and a favorite of the Queen of Louisiana. Sookie must go to New Orleans to clean out her cousin’s old apartment, which means entering the paranormal world of the vampires once more.

On the bright side, she has a new boyfriend. Her new boyfriend is a were-tiger named Quinn. Quinn is tall, bald, patient, and seemingly without drama. Unfortunately for them, they are attacked by crazed bitten weres on their first date. It is all downhill for Sookie from there. Weres and vampires attacking from all angles, oh my. Additionally, not only does Sookie want to clean out Hadley’s apartment, but she wants to find out what truly happened to her cousin. That opens up its own can of worms to add to the already smoldering pot of problems simmering.

I’ll be honest with you guys. If this had been the first or second book that I read in the series, I wouldn’t have continued. Though it was good, I gave it a lot more credit because I already know and love the characters. If Definitely Dead were my introduction to the Sookie Stackhouse world, I wouldn’t have thought twice about not picking up the next book. Don’t get me wrong, Definitely Dead is a good book, it just isn’t the type of book that would capture my attention and make want to read again.

A lot of the book just seemed to be… out of character. Sookie is slowly exiting the world of being your average every day telepathic waitress who is cutely modest to being a supervixen special something who has all the guys stare when she flips her hair. And Bill did a total 180. Only Eric was the same, which was a relief because I would take it too hard if he changed at all.

It is disappointing that there is such an influx of new characters because the old characters, the ones I enjoy, are being pushed to the wayside. I don’t need a whole new league of witches and boyfriends and vampire buddies to enjoy The Southern Vampire Mysteries. I just want to read about the world of Sookie and her close companions. Adding too many characters makes things overly complex and complicated. Of course, fresh blood is necessary to keep a book active, and new people are always coming and going in life, but within the limited confines of a book they only end up pushing out other characters since only so many can be in focus at a time.

Also, a word of warning. If you’ve ONLY read the books, you will be confused. If this book is to make sense to you from the start, I suggest you read the short story One Word Answer from Bite. The events of that story come to fruition in Definitely Dead and are unfortunately never mentioned anywhere else. So, if you haven’t read One Word Answer, you are going to be very confused about Hadley and the Queen and the Queen’s request. It doesn’t make sense that the story wasn’t included as a prelude or a first chapter, but I suppose it makes more money selling in parts.

I have high hopes for the next one and can only cross my fingers that Sookie and her world will return to how it was when I fell in love with it. I want Sookie to go back to being a normal girl with a special gift, not some half-supernatural creature like everyone else. How can I relate to her that way? And I want more of the old characters, more Eric and Bill and Sam. ( )