The Sookie Stackhouse Series

By Charlaine Harris

Dead Until Dark (2001)
Living Dead in Dallas (2002)
Club Dead (2003)
Dead to the World (2004)
Dead as a Doornail (2005)
Definitely Dead (2006)
All Together Dead (2007)
From Dead to Worse (2008)
Dead and Gone (2009)
Dead in the Family (2010)
Dead Reckoning (2011)
Deadlocked (2012)
Dead Ever After (2013)

The Sookie Stackhouse series. The Southern Vampire Mysteries. True Blood.

Whatever you want to call this supernatural-romance-mystery hybrid series, it really doesn’t matter. None of the titles it has been given can even hint at how good it is. 

Most people know about the books through the HBO TV series True Blood which is loosely based on this book series. There were of course, umpteen changes from the books in transforming it into the sexy TV show people are most familiar with, however the basic premise is the same.

Sookie Stackhouse is a waitress in Bon Temps, a town in Louisiana. The world Sookie lives in is one in which vampires have made themselves known (“come out of the coffin” as it were) due to the invention of an artificial blood known by many names – one of the more popular brands being Tru Blood. Vampires are the new minority, discriminated against with as much vigor as African-Americans and homosexuals are in modern day real America. Sookie’s life is turned upside down when she becomes involved with a vampire, and various murders start happening around the small town.  From that point on she is mixed up in a world of supernatural creatures – shapeshifters, werewolves, fairies, demons and witches – and on the way she begins to learn she is far more than just a waitress.

I discovered Sookie’s world like many, through True Blood. I watched the first two seasons and was hooked. Impatient to see season three, I bought myself all the books to date and devoured them. They are a treat to read, with vividly drawn characters, interesting plots and a world you can really sink your teeth into.  Since then I have bought the books as they came out and the last book has just been released earlier this month.
Dead Ever After is the thirteenth book in the series and wraps it up nicely.

 I have included my review of the final book below, though I do plan on re-reading and reviewing all of the books on my blog, this is the one I have read most recently.

Spoiler free!

Review of Dead Ever After

by Charlaine Harris

Hardcover | 338 pages

It was not the ending I wanted, but it was what I expected and what Sookie deserved. And that is the closest to a spoiler I will write in this review. 

Charlaine Harris had the unenviable job of finding a way to end Sookie’s story and try to keep legions of fans happy. Her romances have been numerous, from vamps Bill and Eric, to the two-natured Quinn, flirtations with Alcide the werewolf and it all boiled down to who would she end up with? Would she become a vampire? Would she ever be free from supes?

I enjoyed this book and read it very quickly. There is something about Harris’ writing that is delicious and easy to read. I become absorbed in her prose immediately – the character of Sookie is so normal yet so not normal, she is a treat to read. It has been a while since I last read a Sookie novel and yet I felt I had never been away.

Those fans of the series will have picked up on all the signs, and read Harris’ notes on what she said was definitely NOT going to happen, which left it limited in what was going to happen. Though the relationship outcome is predictable, the enemies in the novel are not, so that aspect of the ‘mystery’ that started the series remained. I was surprised by the revelation of the ‘bad guy’ for this book, though it all made sense when you think about it.

Now all that remains is to wait for True Blood Series Six and see what happens there to get my fix of Sookie, Eric and their interpretations of the Bon Temps characters!

I will miss you book!Sookie. Have a nice happily ever after!

PS: I need me some more Eric. There was by far not enough of him in this book, though to be fair, there is never enough Eric!