Great review of Dead and Gone by Charlaine Harris

I know we've all read a lot of reviews of Dead and Gone but I really think this is one to read ...

I have a confession to make: Although I have been a long-term reader of this series, when the books started being released in hardcover first, I lost track of it while waiting for the paperbacks. So when I received a review copy of Dead and Gone, I had to catch up with All Together Dead and From Dead to Worse. Each book brings major changes to Sookie’s world and I find trying to pick up my place in the story without remembering what happened in earlier books disorienting so I wouldn’t recommend reading the books out of order or as stand alones.

This review contains spoilers from earlier books in the series.

Werepanthers and vampires and fairies, oh my!

Dead and Gone is the ninth book in the Sookie Stackhouse (aka True Blood, aka Southern Vampire) series and picks up two and a half months after From Dead to Worse. Sookie is in a relatively strong position, with favours owed by the new King of Louisiana and the local werewolf pack, as well as having her own fairy godmother, not to mention 2 powerful witches as housemates. And then there’s the added advantage of being able to read human minds. The story begins with the Great Reveal—in other words, the Weres are following the vampires’ example and are coming out of the closet to the human world.

The Great Reveal appears to have taken place smoothly and with a minimum of negative reaction (at least in Bon Temps anyway), but soon after, Sookie’s sister-in-law, the pregnant werepanther Crystal, is found in the parking lot of Sookie’s workplace, crucified while partially turned, and her brother Jason is the prime suspect.

read on