Dead as a Doornail by Charlaine Harris

[slowfox]

I'm sorta getting into these, now :-P

These books seem to run directly on from one another, with almost no space in between to draw breath.

In this instalment, someone is trying to murder shifters, and Calvin (the leader from Hotshot) and Sam both get hurt but, fortunately, not killed. Suspicion falls upon... again, Jason, who seems to be Bon Temps Usual Suspect, worse luck for him.

There's also a new vamp in town, making Tara's life hard. This induces Sookie to call in a favour from Eric. Eric being Eric, he uses this to find out what went on between him and her in Dead to the World, which I thought was an excellent scene.

And finally, the Were community need to appoint a new leader, which leads to a certain amount of tension within the ranks. And Claude the Fairy proves he has a sense of humour :-)

Meanwhile, can I just say, Hot Damn! For a girly who'd not even been on so much as a date at the start of Book 1, Sookie's love life has certainly become complex since. Aside from Dull!Bill, Fun!Eric, Right!Sam, and Hunky!Alcide, Creepy!Calvin also expresses a keen interest in becoming spousal material. There's a dizzying scene fairly late on in this book where Sookie's trying to keep track of who owes whom what in terms of favours :-)

Serious lot of fun, these books are.

Comments

[glittertine]

Hehehehehehehehehehehehe. :D Read on, read on! Isn't this just so *not* the usual vampire fare? That's what I love so much about the series, that it doesn't take itself too seriously, and that it just feel so real. Even Sookie doesn't seem to be able to catch her breath.

I'm so glad you find Bill dull, at least in hindsight. It seemed that you liked him in the first two books, but he's just so MEH. I'm not a fan of Alcide's, either, though at least Calvin is pretty open about his appreciation of Sookie. And Claude!! *sparkles* I can't wait for him and Claudine to turn up in the series, I'm looking forward to it SO much!!

It's great that you like them so much!

[slowfox]

I am reading on! As fast as I can. I see my list of Sookie suitors wasn't exhaustive, now!

I also see why it's a bit difficult to engage in non-spoilery discussion about the books, because everything spins and changes so fast as you read on.

I did like Bill, at least initially, but that was before we really got to know any of the other characters better. Compared to them, he just seems ... well, monumentally dull. Although that's partly explained by the Queen's orders for him. Mebbe.

I'm not sure how I feel about Alcide - like I said before, he was a bit too perfect (aside from the Debbie blindspot, and he lost a lot of points with me by claiming that he must have been magically blinded to this aspect of her personality).

Claude is fun! And so's Pam, actually - I like how she sends Fangtasia's new bartender over to Merlotte's to plead with Sookie for her life :D

I'm not sure if I like Claudine so much, though. But I absolutely love how all the vamps start drooling, dreamy-eyed, whenever Claude or Claudine are on the scene :D

[carolanne5]

I think the main trouble with Bill is that Eric is so much more interesting. Then of course he behaves like a idiot with Lenora, which kills all possibility of a serious OTP.

I loved the concept of pirate!vamp and the twin fairies steal every scene that they are in. I'm not a fan of Alcide, he comes across as a bland football jock. Hunky, good hearted but without depth or snark.

I enjoying the expanding variety of supes too.

[slowfox]

Yep, 'bland' is definitely the word for Alcide... Just not really a fan of the guy :-/

Claude and Claudine are great - I particularly like Claude :-)

To be fair to Bill, he didn't have much choice with Lenora - she made him, after all, so he was compelled to answer her summons. Still, it does move him swiftly out of the door to allow Sookie to concentrate on slightly more worthy material :-)