Dead Reckoning (Charlaine Harris)

Sookie finds herself once again in the middle of a lot of drama in the eleventh book in the series. She has two fairies living with her (they're family though). Eric, her vampire boyfriend, is in the middle of a power struggle with the new leadership in Louisiana. Someone throws a Molotov cocktail into Merlott's, and two private detectives let Sookie know that the last remaining Pelt family member has escaped police custody.

The bulk of the book revolves around Sookie, Eric, and Pam planning how to get rid of their enemy: the deputy sent to Louisiana representing the King of Nevada. This vampire has made no real secret of his desire to see Eric and his camp destroyed. Eric has no intention of letting this happen and Sookie will do what she can to help.

I did enjoy that Sam shows up a lot more in this book than he has in the past. Though he's a shifter, he adds a touch of humanity to Sookie that she seems to have started losing in more recent books. Of course she still has to watch her budget and she still works hard, but she has become more ruthless as the books have progressed. She has her reasons, but I still liked that she can have moments of normalcy.

In all honesty, this book did not impress me. I thoroughly enjoyed the first seven books in the series. Alas, the last two books in particular have felt like filler. I like Harris and I enjoy her work, but maybe her publisher should allow her to take more time writing her books. It's not absolutely necessary to have a new book every year.

At least some things do get resolved in this book. That didn't happen in the last one. Still, I think the rush to get a book out has caused some misjudgements. For instance, Alicide has an appearance in this book. That's great, since I really like Alcide. But he behaves in a way that seems completely out of character. I do understand that people sometimes behave in ways that don't make sense, but this just seemed to come out of nowhere. It just came across as ridiculous.

Will I read the next book in the series? Yes. After all, they are still entertaining enough to make it worth my while. Granted, it's a short while. If these books were longer I wouldn't stick with them. Still, I have faith Harris will have a rebound for the next one.

Next up: The Tower, The Zoo, and The Tortoise, by Julia Stuart.