Charlaine Harris – Dead and Gone

149. Dead and Gone by Charlaine Harris (2009)
Southern Vampire Mysteries, Book 9

Read my review of book:
1. Dead Until Dark 2. Living Dead in Dallas 3. Club Dead 4. Dead to the World 5. Dead as a Doornail	6. Definitely Dead 7. All Together Dead 8. From Dead to Worse Short Stories. A Touch of Dead
.

Length: 312 pages
Genre: Fantasy, Mystery, Romance

Started: 14 December 2009
Finished: 16 December 2009

Where did it come from? The library.
Why do I have it? Because I’ve really enjoyed the rest of the series; I’m sure I’ll be buying this when it comes out in mass-market paperback.

If fairies are the
new vampires, what are they both
doing in this book?

Summary: After seeing the (relative) success with which the vampires have come out into the open, the shifters and weres have decided that the time is right to reveal themselves to the public. Initially, all seems to go fairly well… until a were is killed in a brutal hate crime, right in the Merlotte’s parking lot. While Sookie is dealing with the ramifications of that grizzly event, she also has to figure out where she stands with the new power structure of the Louisiana vampires – and with one particular tall, blond Viking vampire to whom she is irrevocably bonded. And, on top of everything else, the fairies have started a dangerous and bloody civil war – one that puts Sookie squarely in the crossfire.

Review: There’s always a lot going on in any Sookie Stackhouse novel; that’s part of what makes them so fun, so attention-grabbing, and so quick-moving. But I think in this case there was a little too much going on to properly develop all of the pieces. The fairy war dominates the last section of the book, which, while it was certainly interesting, means we don’t get to see quite as much of the fallout from the shifters’ revelation as I would have liked. Too, I think the fairy war was more complex than it needed to be for the space it had to fill – too many new characters with varying motivations and allegiances in too short of a time. On the other hand, it did answer a few questions and confirm a few suspicions I’d had since early in the books, and the action scenes were very exciting and well-done.

One thing I had absolutely no problem with was the vampires. If this were a straight-up romance, I’d complain about the glacial pace of things, but Sookie’s relationships move at about the same speed as they have throughout the books, and there are some interesting new developments that have yet to fully play out. Eric, as always, is magnificent, and Harris is even trying to rehabilitate Vampire Bill. Although I don’t think he’s ever going to fully win back my affections, there were a few scenes in this book where I did not entirely loathe him, so I guess that’s progress. All in all, I really enjoyed reading this book, and went into a bit of Sookie withdrawal as soon as I finished it. How many months do I have to wait for the next one? 4 out of 5 stars.

Recommendation: New readers don’t start here, and readers who have gotten this far, you don’t need my recommendation…

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First Line: “Caucasian vampires should never wear white,” the television announcer intoned.

Cover Thoughts: I like it, although I think it gives a sense of things being more evenly matched between Eric and Bill – or of them directly facing off – than I think is actually the case. Sookie holding the wrapped mystery package is a nice touch… plus her dress sparkles. :)

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