Book Review: Dead and Gone (Sookie Stackhouse #9) by Charlaine Harris

Summary:

For Sookie Stackhouse, the day-to-day activities of the vampire and Were communities in and around Bon Temps, Louisiana, are of vital interest.  She's blood bound to the leader of hte vamps, is a friend to the local Were pack, works for a man who is a shifter, and has a brother who is a werepanther...

But for most of the humans in Bon Temps, the vamps are mysterious, seductive creatures---and they don't even know about the Weres.  Until now.  The Weres and shifters have finally decided to follow the lead of the undead and reveal their existence to the ordinary world.

At first it seems to go well.  Then the mutilated body of a werepanther is found in the parking low of the bar where Sookie works.  The victim is someone she knows, so she feels compelled to discover who---human or otherwise--did the deed.

But what she doesn't realize is that there is a much greater danger than the killer threatening Bon Temps.  A race of unhuman beings---older, more powerful and far more secretive than vampires and werewolves---is preparing for war.  And Sookie will find herself an all-too-human pawn in their battle...

Review:

This series keeps getting more and more exciting.  I love how many layers the story has now.  I love how wily Eric is but how Sookie doesn't give in to him.  I guess the reason why I like this series so much is that I just plain like Sookie.  She's sensible, caring, and is Harris' most endearing character to date.  She doesn't make the bad decisions like Kim Harrison's Rachel Morgan, and she remains true to herself, which I applaud.  True to form, Harris keeps you guessing until the end.  I think that Dead and Gone has more surprises in it than the other books in the series.  I definitely wasn't expecting the Mel twist!

Just One Gripe:

If I have to read one more time about how Sookie puts her purse in the empty drawer in Sam's desk before her shift at Merlotte's, I'm gonna scream!

The Best Thing About This Book:

The plot.

Appropriate for a younger audience:

No

Score:
Characters:  5/5
Plot:  5/5
Setting/Imagery:  4/5
Originality:  5/5

Ending:  5/5

Total Score:  24/25

I can't decide if it's simply because I've been waiting since last year for Dead in the Family and have had only the events of Dead and Gone to occupy my thoughts, or if it is simply a stellar book, but I'm calling Dead and Gone stalker worthy.  I've been thinking about the series for months, and reread all 9 books in preparation for the release of book 10.  I'd say that's the mark of a good series!

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