Background:

A few weeks ago I read the first book written by Charlaine Harris, 'Dead until Dark'. Following this I was keen to try another one from her, featuring Sookie Stackhouse as the heroine. So when I saw this one in my local charity shop I snapped it up.

About the author:

Charlaine Harris was born in Tunica in Mississippi on the 25th November 1951. Having spent her early years in employment as a Typesetter for Federal Express, she decided to try her hand at her big passion writing. Since then she has written 30 books of which eight have featured Sookie Stackhouse as her lead character. This novel I'm reviewing is the fifth in the series.

Synopsis of the book:

Sookie Stackhouse works as a Cocktail Waitress when she's not get into trouble. She is different from most as she is telepathic and can read other people's minds. This ability has bought her into contact with Vampires, Shapers, Fairies and Were's. Who like her are often treated with distain and distrust by the average person in her home town of Bon Temps.

Sookie's brother Jason has recently been bitten by a Were and as a result infected. This result of this means when there is a full moon he turns into a Panther. However within there is fear within the non human communities as several 'Shapers' including Sam her boss are shot by this sniper.

Sookie needs to somehow find whoever is doing this as some of the Were community are convinced Jason is responsible for them. As they believe he is bitter about becoming one of them and taking out revenge where he can. Sookie must sort this out before they take the law into their own hands. She must use all her influence with these communities and protect her brother.

My thoughts about the novel:

My overriding thoughts on this book were it was a fascinating and completely enjoyable yarn. I found I very quickly got into the story and then found it hard to put down. Indeed on one morning I was late for work because of this book. When I apologised to my manager and told her my reason she just shook her head in disbelief at me.

This is the fifth in the series that so far comprised eight books. It is an ongoing story about Sookie and her strange but fascinating life. Precisely for that reason the plot has developed and moved on as many more things have happened to her.

I was so looking forward to reading this novel, as I really loved the first book in the series. Although not a big fan of Vampires and other Non-Human beings, I found this very interesting. So in many ways this was never going to live up to my massive expectations, but I did enjoy it but not as much as the first one.

This I have to say in part is my own fault. As instead of following the logical process of reading the second book in the series I picked up the fifth in the series instead. Which in retrospect is a daft thing to do, as the story has moved on and it took a while for me to get up to speed as to what had previously happened.

That said I found it quite easy to pick up and get quickly into the plot again. As the author gave you short explanations as to how the story had developed and the mischief Sookie had got herself into. And by doing this she also gave me a mouth watering taster as to what I had missed.

In this book the storyline was very good, perhaps not as simple and straight forward as the first but still very enjoyable. In this there were basically two major storylines, which were both fascinating and worked effectively side by side to each other. But as well as these two there was several other developing plots, which either get resolved or will presumably be developed in the next book.

However as it is a Sookie Stackhouse novel nothing is simple, obvious or even straight forward. Which makes for a novel that is full of surprises to not mention humour, as the author uses sarcasm and wit for some great serious situations.

The author is an excellent story teller first and foremost. I really enjoy the way she sets an excellent scene. She gives you a taste of life in the heroine's world and continually makes dramatic things happen that leaves you on the edge of your seat.

I really like the way she uses both excitement and suspense throughout the book. She writes in such a way as the build up these features and in a way you are never have a clue as to what will happen next.

Any criticism I have in terms of the story is the addition of several other non human types to the book. The first concentrated on Vampires but in this one there were four types. This can get a little confusing and something I find difficult to get my head round. I am concerned if this continues in future books it could become not only confusing but silly.

I believe Sookie Stackhouse is a fantastic character. I like the fact she is nervous and sensitive at times and lacks believe and confidence in herself. Her character and personality are so well described and there is a consistency that I like in the author's writing when dealing with her. I get the impression the author likes her too.

The only criticism I have about her, having read two books on her is she seems to have so many near death experiences. In this book there were several, which can after a while turn you off as you could stop believing in her. I haven't got to this stage yet but if it continues I will and it could become boring.

The support characters are also very interesting and again well written for. Some just feature in this novel but some and these are the ones I prefer are the ones who feature is several of the books. These you can build up and understanding with and see how they deal with new situations. They are skilfully described and quite different in character and personality for each other.

I thought the book was consistently well written and about the right length. It seemed a logical place for the novel to finish in a well rounded polished way. I enjoyed the author's style of writing, not over elaborating on things just giving you a clear concise picture.

What also impressed me was the author's website. For a change it was full of information and very interesting. With lots of useful information on her and her novels.

Conclusion:

For me this is an excellent novel. The quality is in the author's writing and her ability to tell a fascinating story and make it all seem plausible. I'm sure I will read another one of her books very soon but this time I will read the next in the series. As a fantasy novel this is a wonderful piece of literature.

Pages: 295
Publisher: Orion Books
Price: £5.69
ISBN: 978-0-575-08043-0
About the author: www.charlaineharris.com

Thanks for reading

@CPT Daniels November 2008