Review: “Dead and Gone” by Charlaine Harris

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Title: “Dead and Gone”

Author: Charlaine Harris

Format: Hardcover

Number of Pages: 320

ISBN: 0441017150

Publisher: Ace

Date of Publication: May 5, 2009 (Yesterday!)

5 stars: I’ve been waiting for months!

 

 

I’ve been waiting for this book for months, ever since it became available to preorder… and really I’ve been waiting for it since the end of the last Sookie book. And Charlaine did not disappoint with “Dead and Gone,” book nine in the Sookie Stackhouse series. (See below for titles and order in which to read the books)

This book featured all of the species we know and love. The vamps, the weres, and finally the fairies were all featured and all stirring up some sort of drama. The fairies are especially interesting, particularly Niall (her grandfather who was only seen briefly in the past). Eric the vampire is up to his old tricks, though he does appear to genuinely care for Sookie, which I was glad to see. Sam and the weres don’t really have big parts necessarily in this tale; however there is a death in the were community that really hits home for Sookie’s family.

I would definitely recommend this book. It arrived today and I put off food, work, and sleep to get through it as soon as possible. Now that I’ve finished it, I’m virtually stunned by the amount of drama that Charlaine Harris was able to pack into it- especially towards the end! I’m pretty sure I’ll be rereading this book tomorrow because it was that good!

Have to add though, I’m not loving the ‘sticker’ on the cover promoting “True Blood”. It’s not a sticker, b/c it’s actually part of the cover. And I don’t want it there! And I already watch “True Blood” so I really could have done without it. That said, it doesn’t really take away from the amazingness of the book….

New to the Sookie Stackhouse/Southern Vampire Mysteries ? Don’t start here! The Sookie books in order:
Dead Until Dark (Book 1)
Living Dead in Dallas (Book 2)
Club Dead (Book 3)
Dead to the World (Book 4)
Dead as a Doornail (Book 5)
Definitely Dead (Book 6)
All Together Dead (Book 7)
From Dead To Worse (Book 8 )

Stories by Charlaine Harris that fit into the Sookie universe (some of these contain important details!):

“Powers of Detection” ~Book 4.25 (Sookie short story)
“Night’s Edge” ~Book 4.5 (not a Sookie story, but in the same universe)
“Bite” ~Book 4.5 (Sookie short story)
“My Big Fat Supernatural Wedding” ~Book 4.75 (not a Sookie story, but in the same universe)
“Many Bloody Returns” ~Book 7.5 (Sookie short story)
“Wolfsbane and Mistletoe” ~Book 8.25 (Sookie short story)
“Unusual Suspects” ~Book 8.5 (Sookie short story)

“Blood Lite” and “Strange Brew” and “Must Love Hellhounds”- Not in Sookie Universe, but contain stories by Charlaine Harris; the last two have not yet been released.

Buy this book on amazon here.