Dead Reckoning by Charlaine Harris

Published: May 2011

Publisher: Ace

Pages: 325

Copy: Library

Summary: Goodreads

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...

How many of you are fans of the TV show True Blood?  I'm sure there are quite a few of you.  How many of you read the Sookie Stackhouse books before you watched the show?  How many of you watched the show and then decided you had to read the books, and then thought What the ....!  Yep.  Books and show - completely different aren't they?

I've been reading  about Sookie since her first book (Dead until Dark) came out in 2001.  The whole series is short, quick reads, full of fun and mayhem, with vampires, shapeshifters, fae and all manner of interesting things going on.  Blood and gore - yes there is some, but nowhere near as much as we're seeing on TV.  The TV show started following book 1 quite closely, and then somewhere towards the end of the first season it took a life of its own.  The characters have the same names as the books, and some of the story lines are the same, but the weirdness quotient went through the roof on TV.  Anyway, the purpose of this little rant is to say that if you watched the show first, you may be a tad disappointed in the books.

For those of us who have been following along from the beginning, this new story, Dead Reckoning, does not disappoint.  Sookie is once again trying to avoid being killed - for such a nice girl, it's amazing how many enemies she acquires!  This time around she is avoiding fire bombs, kidnappings, muggings and Eric.  Vampire politics once again play a huge part and Sookie is knee deep in them, whether she likes them or not.  There are some fae goings-on with Claude and Dermot and some shape-shifter shenanigans with Sam and Jannalyn.  Mr Cataliades pops in for a short visit, and some other old friends put in their 2 cents worth. 

In short, you cannot jump in and start reading this if you don't know the back story.  You'll enjoy the story, for sure, but you won't have a clue about what is going on in the background.  This is the 11th book in the series and if you want to get maximum enjoyment out of it, you just have to start at the beginning.  Aw come on, you guys are major readers, what are 11 books in a series to you?  Start now and you'll be done by the end of the summer.  As I said all the books are quick to read, and perfect for summer reading.  I read this one in 1 day, so pack a few in your suitcase and enjoy sun, sea, sand and Sookie!

*Please note tho' these are definitely not YA books although older teens shouldn't have a problem.