Tuesday, May 14, 2013

Dead Ever After by Charlaine Harris *HERE THERE BE SLIGHT SPOILERS*

There are secrets in the town of Bon Temps, ones that threaten those closest to Sookie—and could destroy her heart....

Sookie Stackhouse  finds it easy to turn down the request of former barmaid Arlene when she wants her job back at Merlotte’s. After all, Arlene tried to have Sookie killed. But her relationship with Eric Northman is not so clearcut. He and his vampires are keeping their distance…and a cold silence. And when Sookie learns the reason why, she is devastated.

Then a shocking murder rocks Bon Temps, and Sookie is arrested for the crime.

But the evidence against Sookie is weak, and she makes bail. Investigating the killing, she’ll learn that what passes for truth in Bon Temps is only a convenient lie. What passes for justice is more spilled blood. And what passes for love is never enough…

~~

The final Sookie Stackhouse book. I feel like there should be a drumroll or some suspenseful music to herald in this book, since it's been released with so much damn fanfare. Yes it's the end of a hugely popular series that has spawned a mostly hugely popular TV show. Are violence and death threats necessary? Absolutely not. They are never EVER necessary because you know whose book this is? THE AUTHOR'S. And she can damn well do whatever she wants with it.

Sigh.

The book itself in my opinion? Mediocre. It read as if Harris felt she needed to bring back every bad guy or suspicious character for one final showdown - or showdowns - and Sookie's personal story suffered for it. What you end up with are a lot of characters, a lot of unseen actions, and suddenly everything's just over. I was 80% of the way through when I realized that all of this other crap had gone down but Sookie was no closer to her HEA than before. Maybe it's my personal preference for romance, even/especially if its of the paranormal variety, but things ended up rushed and while I applaud Harris's choice to end her novel on a 'maybe' note instead of having Sookie jump in with both feet into another relationship, there could have been much more finality for all of the characters we've known and loved instead of all this 'whodunnit' stuff.

Overall Feeling - C+

Series - 11) Dead Reckoning 12) Deadlocked 13) Dead Ever After