Friday Reads: Dead Ever After by Charlaine Harris

The past few Sookie Stackhouse books have sucked pretty bad...so much so that when I saw this one had been released - I almost didn't care to read it.

But then I was in bit of a reading rut and needed something mindless and quick to get me over it...Enter: Sookie.  And the FINAL Sookie at that. And I must say, Harris kinda redeemed herself in this last book. (Kinda in the same way the HBO producers are redeeming themselves with True Blood this season)

I was a bit worries that I would be hopelessly lost on what had happened, but Harris wrote this one in such a way that her recaps were brief and didn't interrupt the flow of the novel.  As I hit a point where I might find myself questioning what had happened in an earlier book - I could quickly have my "oh yeah" moment and carry on.   Well done, Ms. Harris.

Now for the plot line (from Amazon, just because I think they did a good job of it):

Sookie Stackhouse  finds it easy to turn down the request of former barmaid Arlene when she wants her job back at Merlotte’s. After all, Arlene tried to have Sookie killed. But her relationship with Eric Northman is not so clearcut. He and his vampires are keeping their distance…and a cold silence. And when Sookie learns the reason why, she is devastated.

Then a shocking murder rocks Bon Temps, and Sookie is arrested for the crime.

But the evidence against Sookie is weak, and she makes bail. Investigating the killing, she’ll learn that what passes for truth in Bon Temps is only a convenient lie. What passes for justice is more spilled blood. And what passes for love is never enough…

This is a really quick read - took me maybe 2 days even with my having to care full time for my girls while on vacation those days. It is a perfect summer read for a Sookie fan (or a lover of paranormal romance) and I really like how she tied up the story at the end.  I also really liked was how many of the old characters passed through to both help and provide closure for their characters.  Honestly, as a reader, you probably could have anticipated where the story would end up...but it was really satisfying to see it actually go there...especially after the frustration of so many of the recent books in the series.