Thursday Book Report: Dead To Worse

Charlaine Harris' Dead to Worse is the eighth book in her Sookie Stackhouse Southern Vampire Mysteries - and trust me, this is a series I devour as soon as I can get my hands on the book. Case in point - I picked the book up on Tuesday at the library after my knitting SnB, came home, cracked the spine at about 8:30pm... and read until I was finished all 359 pages of the books.

I love books you can lose yourself in.

Sookie is back in Bon Temps after the cataclysmic events of All Together Dead, recovering nicely, missing Quinn, and wondering when (not particularly if) people will come for her since her mind-reading abilities were made public. She hasn't since Quinn since the explosions; she knows he is alive, but not where and has exhausted all arenas of finding him. To make matters worse, a thorn in her side - Tanya Grissom, a were-fox - has arrived in town to stir things up.

Eric, the vampire sheriff of Shreveport (and Sookie's former lover), asks her to have dinner in Shreveport to meet someone - and the introduction of this character will change many things for Sookie. On one hand, a greater understanding of who she is and a stronger protection than anyone else could provide - but on the other hand, increased danger should the wrong people discover this connection. Eric and Sookie are attacked on their way home from this dinner, and while their first impression is that the dinner had something to do with the attack, they soon learn that there have been multiple attacks on members of the were community.

I won't say this book is the best in the Sookie Stackhouse series - there were some discernible detractions from the story for me - out of nowhere respective were and vampire wars - and Ms. Harris, please! What on earth was up with all the kisses on the cheek that Sookie was receiving (Eric, Claude, Claudine, Sam, Calvin...) ? She's a grown woman, attractive, has several people interested in her - couldn't there have been a romp or two - or at least a kiss somewhere else on Sookie's body? Sookie also came across as bitter and grouchy at times - character traits I had never thought ascribed to her before.

In the Sookie-verse this book takes place nearly a year after Katrina, and she presents a geography and people still healing from horrible wounds. Many storylines are tied up in this book (and I won't mention them because I don't want to spoil the book for anyone) - and some of these endings had me whimpering a bit. I know stories need to progress - but some things you just want to linger. Bill still loves Sookie, and his boldness in telling her what he wanted her to know had me squirming a bit. He did her wrong, yet - but oh my, hasn't he paid for it already?!?! Eric has a reveal for Sookie as well, one that has me clamouring to re-read Dead to the World, the most Sookie-Eric centric book in this series. But perhaps the best twist happens in the last few pages of this book - Harris has left the story wide open and I simply cannot wait to see what happens next.