Dead Reckoning by Charlaine Harris

Penguin, 2011
ISBN: 0441020313
Available: Hardback, paperback, new & used multiformat digital

My biggest complaint about the Southern Vampire Mysteries series so far has been the lack of detectiving. Sookie doesn’t so much sneak around to try to find out what’s going on as she ends up sucked into it, often by someone targeting her or someone she loves. But this book is different. The first chapter opens up with someone firebombing Merlotte’s. Then Sookie and Eric have a fight over vampire politics that might just be leading to a break up, and the vampire in charge of the area makes it very clear he wants Sookie, Eric and Pam all dead.

Sookie’s been on the edge of a paranormal burn out for a while, and while she rallied back from being tortured two books ago, she’s lost a lot of her tolerance with people lying and manipulating her, but unfortunately seems to be too weak to actually take control of her own life (and seeing as that life includes fae royalty, alpha werewolves and powerful Viking vampires, it’s not a surprise).
Dead Reckoning has a somber tone, as if Harris is headed for a wrap up of her series. Her strength is still in an amazing level of character building, often in sneaky ways. While before Sookie always seemed to land on the side of happy-for-now it almost feels as if she’s headed for a sad end, an element that will keep readers tuned in for more. Dead Reckoning deserves a spot in public collections not just because of the series’ popularity, but because it’s a good, off-beat tale with a fair amount of re-read value.

Contains: violence, sex, language