Dead Ever After (Sookie Stackhouse, #13) by Charlaine Harris

Dead Ever After by Charlaine Harris

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


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…

~~~~~



This was a good ending to Sookie's story. I think that she ended up with who she should have and the loose ends were wrapped up nicely. Been a very enjoyable sojourn in Sookie's life through this series. Glad that the author wrote a nice clean ending to Sookie's story.





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Deadlocked (Sookie Stackhouse, #12) by Charlaine Harris

Deadlocked by Charlaine Harris

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


It’s vampire politics as usual around the town of Bon Temps, but never before have they hit so close to Sookie’s heart…

Growing up with telepathic abilities, Sookie Stackhouse realized early on there were things she’d rather not know. And now that she’s an adult, she also realizes that some things she knows about, she’d rather not see—like Eric Northman feeding off another woman. A younger one.

There’s a thing or two she’d like to say about that, but she has to keep quiet—Felipe de Castro, the Vampire King of Louisiana (and Arkansas and Nevada), is in town. It’s the worst possible time for a human body to show up in Eric’s front yard—especially the body of the woman whose blood he just drank.

Now, it’s up to Sookie and Bill, the official Area Five investigator, to solve the murder. Sookie thinks that, at least this time, the dead girl’s fate has nothing to do with her. But she is wrong. She has an enemy, one far more devious than she would ever suspect, who’s set out to make Sookie’s world come crashing down.

~~~



This read a bit like a mystery and the pace was much calmer than recent Sookie books. Not to say that it was not enjoyable. I liked the fact that things were not so crazy and hectic. I can see where the author is cleaning up loose ends in preparation for the last book in the series and I look forward to seeing how she leaves Bon Temp and all of it's residents at the end.



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Wolfsbane and Mistletoe by Charlaine Harris, Toni L.P. Kelner , Kat Richardson, Alan Gordon, Carrie Vaughn , Patricia Briggs , Dana Stabenow , Nancy Pickard, Karen Chance, Keri Arthur, Rob Thurman

Wolfsbane and Mistletoe by Charlaine Harris

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


The editors of "Many Bloody Returns" deliver the perfect howl-iday gift, with new tales from Patricia Briggs, Carrie Vaughn, and many more.

"New York Times" bestselling authors Charlaine Harris, Patricia Briggs, Keri Arthur, and Carrie Vaughn—along with eleven other masters of the genre—offer all-new stories on werewolves and the holidays, a fresh variation on the concept that worked so well with birthdays and vampires in "Many Bloody Returns."

The holidays can bring out the beast in anyone. They are particularly hard for lycanthropes. Charlaine Harris and Toni L. P. Kelner have harvested the scariest, funniest and saddest werewolf tales by an outstanding pack of authors, best read by the light of a full moon with a silver bullet close at hand.

Whether wolfing down a holiday feast (use your imagination) or craving some hair of the dog on New Year's morning, the werewolves in these frighteningly original stories will surprise, delight, amuse, and scare the pants off readers who love a little wolfsbane with their mistletoe.

~~~

Very much enjoyed this anthology of Christmas werewolf stories. Of course with the line up of authors here I am not surprised. There were some great takes on Santa -- From Santa Claws(an evil werewolf hunting monster) to Santa (the Saint of many things, including werewolves (poor Rudolph though). A few vampires and lots of different weres made these stories wonderfully entertaining!



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Dead Reckoning (Sookie Stackhouse #11) by Charlaine Harris

Dead Reckoning by Charlaine Harris

My rating: 4 of 5 stars
With her knack for being in trouble's way, Sookie witnesses the firebombing of Merlotte's, the bar where she works. Since Sam Merlotte is now known to be two-natured, suspicion falls immediately on the anti-shifters in the area. Sookie suspects otherwise, but her attention is divided when she realizes that her lover Eric Northman and his "child" Pam are plotting to kill the vampire who is now their master. Gradually, Sookie is drawn into the plot-which is much more complicated than she knows...

ETA- I read this book in July of 2011

_____


As always I enjoy Sookie. The books are always quick reads and enjoyable. I had a little trouble with this one, only because I kept wanting to relate it to the television series. lol



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Dead in the Family (Sookie Stackhouse, #10) by Charlaine Harris

Dead in the Family by Charlaine Harris


Sookie Stackhouse has finally settled into a relationship with the Viking vampire Eric, and her errant brother Jason seems to have his life in order, too. But all the other people in Sookie’s life – Eric himself, her former lover Bill, her friend and boss Sam – are having family problems. Eric’s maker shows up with Eric’s ‘brother’ in tow, the ailing Bill can only be healed by a blood sibling, and Sam’s brother’s marriage is about to take place... or will it? The furor raised by the coming out of the two-natured has yet to settle; some people are just not ready to sit down to dinner with a man who turns into a dog. And Sookie herself is still recovering from her last ordeal. She’s definitely improving, physically and mentally, but she’s always going to have some dark moments now. The werewolves tell her that there have been strange and ominous passers-by in the Stackhouse woods; now Sookie is about to come face-to-face with one of her more distant relatives...

My rating: 3 of 5 stars
Somewhat disappointed in this installment of Sookie. I guess I am just expecting too much, but I felt like I had been cheated after waiting a long year for the next book. Too many politics and not enough action. Sookie's obsession with family bothers me. She needs to understand that family is not always blood relatives. Lots of bits of things going on in this book, but no closure on most of it.

Hoping that we see a lot more action in the next Sookie when it comes out, sigh, next year.

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Grave Secret (Harper Connelly Mystery, #4) by Charlaine Harris

Grave Secret by Charlaine Harris


Lightning-struck sleuth Harper Connelly and her stepbrother Tolliver take a break from looking for the dead to visit the two little girls they both think of as sisters. But, as always happens when they travel to Texas, memories of their horrible childhood resurface.

To make matters worse, Tolliver learns from his older brother that their father is out of jail and trying to reestablish contact with other family members. Tolliver wants no part of the man- but he may not have a choice in the matter.

Soon, family secrets ensnare them both, as Harper finally discovers what happened to her missing sister, Cameron, so many years before.

And what she finds out will change her world forever.


My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Quite an enjoyable Harper Connelly book. I am glad that we finally get some closure on the baggage that Harper has had to carry with her. Harper has never been one of my favorite Charlaine Harris characters. She is a little too damaged and needy for my liking, but I did enjoy the way that this book wrapped up a lot of the stuff that Harper has carried with her.
I like the way that Charlaine Harris left us with a possible opening for future books, but a conclusion that we can live with if no more come.

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A Touch of Dead (Southern Vampire Mystery Short Stories) by Charlaine Harris

A Touch of Dead by Charlaine Harris


Every Sookie Stackhouse short story ever written—in one special volume—from the New York Times bestselling author.

New York Times bestselling author Charlaine Harris has re-imagined the supernatural world with her “spunky” (Tampa Tribune) Southern Vampire novels starring telepathic waitress Sookie Stackhouse. Now, for the first time, here is every Sookie Stackhouse short story ever written—together in one volume.

Stories include “Fairy Dust,” “One Word Answer,” “Dracula Night,” “Lucky,” and “Giftwrap.”

My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Gotta love Sookie!! I got this book in the mail yesterday and finished it last night. It was great to get all of the short stories together in one place. I do have all of the anthologies that these stories appear in but it was nicer to sit down and read them back to back in one book. My favorite was probably the last one -- 'Gift Wrap' simply because it was a fun story. The story about Sookie's cousin Hadley filled in some of the background that I felt was missing concerning Hadley's death in the regular Sookie books. I really enjoy this series and loved reading this book!

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Strange Brew by P.N. Elrod (Editor / Contributor)

Strange Brew by P.N. Elrod


Today’s hottest urban fantasy authors come together in this delicious brew that crackles and boils over with tales of powerful witches and dark magic!

In Charlaine Harris’ “Bacon,” a beautiful vampire joins forces with a witch from an ancient line to find out who killed her beloved husband. In “Seeing Eye” by Patricia Briggs, a blind witch helps sexy werewolf Tom Franklin find his missing brother—and helps him in more ways than either of them ever suspected. And in Jim Butcher’s “Last Call,” wizard Harry Dresden takes on the darkest of dark powers—the ones who dare to mess with this favorite beer.

For anyone who’s ever wondered what lies beyond the limits of reality, who’s imagined the secret spaces where witches wield fearsome magic, come and drink deep. Let yourself fall under the spell of this bewitching collection!



My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Very enjoyable read. Some old favorite authors as well as an introduction to some new ones for me.

My 2 least favorite stories were Charlaine Harris's Bacon and PN Elrod's Hecate's Golden Eye. The rest of the stories were quite enjoyable.

I will add one warning. If you have any desire to read the 'Cin Craven' series by Jenna Maclaine, you may want to read them before reading the short story included in this book -- 'Dark Sins'.


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Dead and Gone (Sookie Stackhouse, #9) by Charlaine Harris

Dead and Gone by Charlaine Harris

Except for Sookie Stackhouse, folks in Bon Temps, Louisiana, know little about vamps—and nothing about weres.

Until now. The weres and shifters have finally decided to reveal their existence to the ordinary world. At first all goes well. Then the mutilated body of a were-panther is found near the bar where Sookie works—and she feels compelled to discover who, human or otherwise, did it.

But there’s a far greater danger threatening Bon Temps. A race of unhuman beings—older, more powerful, and more secretive than vampires or werewolves—is preparing for war. And Sookie finds herself an all-too human pawn in their battle.


My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Another great chapter in the life of Sookie Stackhouse. I have to say that I feel so sorry for Sookie sometimes. It just seems like she can not get a break. This was a great read with an action packed and sad ending. So much happened in the last chapter of the book that was heartbreaking. I can not imagine what will happen in the next book. A must read for all Sookie fans.

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Shakespeare's Counselor (Lily Bard Mystery, Book 5) by Charlaine Harris

Shakespeare's Counselor by Charlaine Harris


Synopsis
Cleaning woman and karate expert Lily Bard is a woman with a complicated past. Trying her best to cope with her terrifying memories and horrible nightmares, she decides to join a weekly group therapy session in her hometown of Shakespeare, Arkansas. At first, Lily can hardly believe the number of her fellow Shakespeareans that share her life experiences.

As it turns out, the group members' feelings aren't the only things that need sorting out -- they assemble for a session and find a woman dead, killed in bone-chilling fashion and deliberately left on display to send a twisted message. Who would commit such horrendous crime, and who is the intended recipient of the message?

Before long, Lily becomes embroiled in this disturbing murder and its aftermath, one in which the brutal killer's motives are entirely unclear. The truth is, the situation has dredged up more than a few of her own terrible secrets, and she may not be able to rest until she can untangle the who and why of this terrible crime. But can she accomplish this before the killer strikes again, and before her nightmares send her over the edge? Shakespeare's Counselor is the most complex and absorbing installment yet in Charlaine Harris's engaging, original, and more than slightly dark mystery series.

My review

rating: 5 of 5 stars
Another great read in the Lily Bard Mystery series. I am sad to see this series end as I have really come to like Lily, but this book was a good last chapter. As Jack and Lily become more involved, Lily realizes that it is time to confront her feelings concerning her attack. She joins a support group where she not only makes some progress dealing with her own personal issues, but is faced with another murder mystery.

I really enjoyed this book because it really focused on Lily and Jack's relationship as well as Lily's emotional state. I would love to see more of this series, but know that realistically we probably won't. A shame since I think that there is a lot more that Jack and Lily could accomplish together!

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Shakespeare's Trollop (Lily Bard Mystery, Book 4) by Charlaine Harris

Shakespeare's Trollop by Charlaine Harris


Shakespeare, Arkansas, is home to endless back roads, historic buildings, colorful residents--and the occasional murder. It is also home to Lily Bard, the local karate expert/cleaning woman with a particular knack for finding skeletons in closets.

But when the local woman of ill repute is found murdered, being familiar with her dirty laundry could make Lily the next Shakespearean to die.

My review

rating: 5 of 5 stars
Another great read in the Lily Bard Mystery series.

When Lily stumbles upon the body of Deedra Dean, she is thrown into the investigation of her murder. Lots of interesting characters as we get to know the residents of Shakespeare a little better. I figured out the who of the murder, but not the why. It was an interesting twist and I look forward to the next in the series. I am just sad that it is going to be the last one in this series.

I love where Jack and Lily's relationship is going.

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Shakespeare's Christmas (Lily Bard Mystery, Book 3) by Charlaine Harris

Shakespeare's Christmas by Charlaine Harris


ven in a sleepy Arkansas town, the holidays can be murder.

Lily Bard is going home for the holidays. More comfortable in baggy sweats than bridesmaid's frills, Lily isn't thrilled about attending her estranged sister's wedding. She has moved to Shakespeare, Arkansas, to start a new life, cleaning houses for a living, trying to forget the violence that once nearly destroyed her. Now she's heading back to home and hearth--just in time for murder.

The town's doctor and nurse have been bludgeoned to death at the office. And Lily's detective boyfriend suddenly shows up at her parents' door. Jack Leeds is investigating an eight-year-old kidnapping and the trail leads straight to Lily's hometown. It just might have something to do with the murders...and her sister's widowed fiancé. With only three days before the wedding, Lily must work fast to clean up the messy case before her sister commits...marriage!

My review

rating: 5 of 5 stars
Another great read in the Lily Bard Mystery series. I read this one immediately following #2 in the series, Shakespeare's Champion and am glad that I did. This one takes up right where the second one left off with Lily and Jack forging a new relationship.



In this book, Lily heads home to attend her younger sister's wedding. This is a tense visit after years of absence following Lily's horrible attack a decade earlier. While dealing with the rift between herself and her family, the difficulty of encountering people who know about her past and a string of murders that seem to be tied to Lily's new boyfriend Jacks investigation, Lily is thrust into the middle of a mystery that may involve her soon to be brother in law.



Watching Lily work out the mystery, while working out her feelings for Jack makes for a great read. I love the path that she and Jack are taking and cannot wait to start on the next book in the series, Shakespeare's Trollop!


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Shakespeare's Champion (Lily Bard Mystery, Book 2) by Charlaine Harris

Shakespeare's Champion by Charlaine Harris


No steel magnolia, Lily Bard is one blunt, tough Southern woman--a tiny, karate-chopping, bodybuilding dynamo who's come to Shakespeare, Arkansas, to restart her life after a series of traumatic events just hinted at in this second novel in Charlaine Harris's series (after Shakespeare's Landlord). When she slips into her gym for an early morning workout and finds Del Packard with a barbell across his throat, she doesn't think for more than a second that it's an accident. Not when it's the third death in a couple of months in a town hardly big enough for its own WalMart. Then the blue broadsheets with thinly veiled hints of white supremacist activity start turning up under the windshield wipers of every car on Main Street. Lily's a relative newcomer to Shakespeare, but as a cleaning woman for the local landed gentry, she's privy to many secrets that most outsiders never learn. When a handsome stranger keeps turning up at the scene of an increasingly bizarre series of events, including a burglary at one of her regular clients and a bombing in a black church, she suspects he may be more than an innocent bystander. Which is too bad, because he stirs up desires that Lily hasn't felt for any man for a very long time. Lily Bard is a complex woman who embodies many of the contradictions of the modern South--its dark side as well as its charm--and this suspenseful, deftly written novel will send new fans scrambling to read its predecessor. --Jane Adams

My review

rating: 4 of 5 stars
The beginning of this book was very disjointed and hard to get into for me. Maybe if I had read it immediately after reading the first book it would have been better. It kept referring to things that had happened in the first book. But about 1/3 of the way through it started to come together and it got good! I really like Lily, but some of her logic makes no sense to me. I am glad that she seems to have finally decided on a man that she wants to be with and I am looking forward to reading more in this series.


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An Ice Cold Grave (Harper Connelly Mysteries, Book 3) by Charlaine Harris

Synopsis
Hired to find a boy gene missing in Doraville, North Carolina, Harper Connelly and her brother Tolliver head there-only to discover that the boy was only one of several who had disappeared over the previous five years. All of them teenagers. All unlikely runaways.

All calling for Harper.

Harper soon finds them-eight victims, buried in the half-frozen ground, all come to an unspeakable end. Afterwards, what she most wants to do is collect her fee and get out of town ahead of the media storm that's soon to descend. But when she's attacked and prevented from leaving, she reluctantly becomes a part of the investigation as she learns more than she cares to about the dark mysteries and long-hidden secrets of Doraville-knowledge that makes her the next person likely to rest in an ice-cold grave.

My Opinion
This was probably my favorite of the Harper Connelly books so far. It is quite a bit darker than her previous books in the series but I enjoyed it more.

Harper and Tolliver are hired by the Police Department in Doraville to help find the bodies of 6 teenage boys who have gone missing over a the last 5 years. In doing so she and Tolliver are thrown into the middle of a horrific crime.

I was thrilled by the changing relationship between Harper and Tolliver and enjoyed the storyline.

Looking forward to more in this series.

Grave Surprise (Harper Connelly Mysteries, Book 2) by Charlaine Harris

Book Description:
While in Memphis, psychic Harper Connelly senses-and finds-two bodies in a grave. One of a man centuries-dead. The other, a girl, recently deceased. Harper's investigation yields another surprise: the next morning, a third body is found-in the very same grave.

My Oinion
Excellent book. I am really enjoying this series and look forward to reading the next right away.

When Harper arrives at a cemetery for a demonstration of her abilities to a college class, everyone is shocked when she discovers the body of an 11 year old girl whom she had been hired to find a year earlier when she disappeared. This leads to suspicion from the police and an investigation which keeps Harper and Tolliver in town.

I have to say that I really enjoyed the story as well as getting to know Harper and Tolliver better. I did not figure out who did it until the very end and while the ending was a bit rushed, it was still en excellent read.

Grave Sight by Charlaine Harris

Harper Connelly Mystery, No. 1

From the Publisher
Harper Connelly has what you might call a strange job: she finds dead people. The way Harper sees it, she's providing a service to the dead while bringing some closure to the living-but she's used to most people treating her like a blood-sucking leech. Traveling with her stepbrother Tolliver as her manager and sometime-bodyguard, she's become an expert at getting in, getting paid, and getting out fast. Because for the living it's always urgent-even if the dead can wait forever.

My Opinion
Like Harris' Sookie series this was a quick, good read.

Harper Connelly is a quirky character, but I suppose that can be expected when you are a walking radar detector for dead bodies. lol

I enjoyed the characters and the storyline was good. I figured out the ending for the most part about half way through, but it was still a good enough read to keep me reading. I look forward to reading the next book in the series as soon as I get my hands on it.

#37 -- All together Dead by Charlaine Harris

From the Publisher
Louisiana cocktail waitress Sookie Stackhouse has her hands full dealing with every sort of undead and paranormal creature imaginable. And after being betrayed by her longtime vampire love, Sookie must not only deal with a new man in her life-the shapeshifter Quinn-but also contend with the long-planned vampire summit.

The summit is a tense situation. The vampire queen of Louisiana is in a precarious position, her power base weakened by hurricane damage to New Orleans. And there are some vamps who would like to finish what nature started. Soon, Sookie must decide what side she’ll stand with. And her choice may mean the difference between survival and all-out catastrophe.

My Opinion

WOW!! What an excellent read. I think that the Southern Vampires Series just keeps getting better. In this one Sookie joins a group of vamps representing Louisiana at a Vampire Summit, where trials, weddings, and other vampire business is planned. She goes as an employee of the Vampire Queen of Louisiana who’s lands have been devastated by Hurricane Katrina, as well as having had a lot of personal problems.

In the midst of the summit all kinds of things go wrong, as the usually do and Sookie has to try to put the pieces of the puzzle together, while at the same time trying to juggle a budding new relationship with Quinn, the WereTiger, deal with her bond with Eric, and try to deal with her hatred of Bill, her first love. Add to all of this a plot to attack the vamps while they are all gathered together in one place and you get a non-stop roller coaster ride that you don’t want to end. I totally enjoyed it and can not wait till her next book in the series comes out as this one leaves a whole lot of loose ends to deal with.