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Dead Until Dark (Southern Vampire Mysteries, Book 1)
By Charlaine Harris
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Customer Reviews

I was charmed.
Sookie Stackhouse is your average southern gal. She’s a waitress and loves her job, she lives with her grandma, goes to church and doesn’t swear; she tells her brother he’s being an idiot when he’s being one, a pretty as a belle and stays out of any and all trouble. She’s a nice girl optimist with a quickfire temper with no prospects.

She can also pick up on people’s errant thoughts and read them if she really needs too. Mostly, she stays out of other people’s heads.

Then she meets Bill Compton, a very old, very worldy vampire (circa Civil War) who wants to ‘mainstream’ and live among the humans. She also can’t hear a word he’s thinking and it’s love at first silence. But as just as Sookie is finding the man she’s been waiting for her whole life, a series of ghastly murders disrupts the peace and they all have similiar backgrounds to Sookie. To add to the woes, Sookie’s life is turned upside down completely and Bill’s not-so-clean-cut friends begin to cause hell and havoc, fueling fire to the anti-vampire undertone that is as dangerous as the murderer that may be aiming for Sookie herself. In the small southern town of Bon Temps, there are more things that are going bump-clatter-roll in the night than Sookie ever imagined.

For a vampire mystery novel, it had creativety, lively writing with wit and humor, and interesting characters in a world that is as palpable as though it could really be. However, it’s slow going, even with its several violent scenes and well done surprises–Sookie gets to be a very busy girl. It had a consistent steady flow, trot-like in its pacing that many might find frustrating. You won’t really get through it in one sitting, but it’s one of those books you savor, because it requires more thought and attention to the details.

Sookie is quirky yet fiesty and she had a wonderfully rich personae that is memorable and well developed. The romance that blooms unexpectedly is both sweet and steamy, done just right. Sookie’s world is narrow but intimate and not overly complicated by the vampire society, yet. Which was smart because a lot of stuff happens.

Because it’s strictly from her pov, other chracters, while well written and not badly developed, seemed, at times, vague and distant, just not fully fleshed out. I didn’t mind that with Bill, because who wants a full reveal in the first of the story? Where’s the fun and mystery in that, eh? I trust Harris to divulge Bill’s mysteries and secrts in due time, and I can’t wait to find them out!

Also. There were some instances in dialogue or description that was…not clear, and even confusing. A few things were casually or oliquely conveyed, and left hanging and not clarified. Like, they were inside jokes or something. Which makes me think southerners would understand better. I didn’t mind per se, but it got a little annoying though it doesn’t slow down the plotting in any way, but it’s hard to not notice.

Overall, well worth the read and a keeper. So don’t let the slow pace of the book deter you, it worth the read.

So far so good
I really enjoyed this book. I was very much into the author’s take on vampires. I liked that it was a healthy mixture of fun, funny, light, dark, serious, and action. Can’t wait to read the rest of this series.

Loved this book!
I just heard about this author and purchased the book. I am now a big fan and got the complete series of 8 books. Now I can’t wait for the next one.