Review: Deadlocked by Charlaine Harris

Title: Deadlocked Author:  Charlaine Harris Series: Sookie Stackhouse #12 Cover Art: Lisa Desimini Genre: Urban Fantasy Excerpt: Yes Source: Publisher Reviewed by: Abigail Reading level: Ages 18 and up Hardcover: 336 pages Publisher: Ace (May 1, 2012) ISBN-10: 1937007448 ISBN-13: 978-1937007447   Sexual Content: References to sex, references to rape Rating: Excellent - Loved it! Buy it now & put this author on your watch list.

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Description

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.

Review

The Sookie Stackhouse series is like an ice cold glass of sweet tea on a sweltering summer night with a werewolf howling in the distance and a vampire or two calling on the front porch. It’s Southern charm, supernatural suitors, murder mysteries, and characters that are impossible to forget.  I spent a whirlwind week earlier this year discovering all eleven previous Sookie Stackhouse books.  Yes, you read that right, I read them all in a week. Devoured is a better word.  And before that, I sat down and inhaled all four seasons of True Blood.  The end result is that I’m now a crazy obsessed fan of the Sookieverse, and after reading DEADLOCKED, my infatuation has only grown.

What is it about Charlaine Harris’s urban fantasy series that is so addictive?  Eric for one, and Bill, but it’s really Sookie. She’s unlike any other protagonist in urban fantasy.  Straight forward, sharp, shrewd, well mannered, and delightfully blunt.  In other series, I often roll my eyes when every new guy falls for the protagonist, but with Sookie, I completely get what makes her so appealing to everyone (and it’s not just her fairy blood). Of course it helps that she doesn’t automatically fall back.  In fact Sookie is one of the least romantically wishy-washy heroines in this genre, maybe to a fault sometimes.  

If the cover of DEADLOCKED didn’t tip you off, Sookie is flying solo for most of this book.  Eric is discussed more than he actually appears, which is always a shame in my opinion since I’m obsessed with him.  But even with less of Eric, crazy good stuff happens. Births, deaths, marriages, and much more heartbreak than Sookie has had to deal with in a very long time.  I’ll admit I choked up a time or two and I’m more than a little anxious for the future of several characters in DEAD EVER AFTER, which is due out in 2013. Fortunately, season 5 of True Blood premiers on June 5th on HBO.  And even though the story lines are quite different, the characters are extremely faithful to the books.  Bottomline, I’ll take the Sookieverse any way I can get it. Take my advice and plan your own trip to Bon Temps soon. It’s never a disappointment.

Books in Series	Also Reviewed By	Similar Titles
1. Dead Until Dark 2. Living Dead in Dallas 3. Club Dead 4. Dead to the World 5. Dead as a Doornail 6. Definitely Dead 7. All Together Dead 8. From Dead to Worse 9. Dead and Gone 10. Dead in the Family 11. Dead Reckoning	True-Blood.net - N/A	N/A