Review: Dead in the Family by Charlaine Harris (Sookie Stackhouse #10) Audio Version

As you can see from my recent blog posts, I have spent alot of time recently getting caught up on the Southern Vampire Series by Charlaine Harris in preparation for the final book coming out next Spring. I promised my BFF that I would get them all read, as she did recently, so we cold discuss! Because I have so many other books I'm also reading it took me much longer than it did her. She is being very patient with me and I'm almost there!

DEAD IN THE FAMILY, which is Book 10 in the series was a real education in family history, and I'm not just talking about Sookie here. Area 5 Sheriff Eric Northman - and Sookie's current lover - spilled everything about his lineage in the vampire world in this book, which explained a whole lot about Eric and his past. For the first time, his maker comes into the story, as does his 'young' undead sibling. Just when things seem to get a little normal for Sookie and Eric, these two come a calling and normal goes out the window. They occupy much of Eric's time and Sookie notices right off that Eric is just not his usual sexy self. But she must be careful because if Eric's sire orders him to kill Sookie, he must comply or reap the consequences.

But other issues arise to keep her mind from over analyzing the situation with Eric. When the Were's converge on Sookie's property for a monthly ritual, and inform her that there is a fresh corpse buried at the back of her property, Sookie gets very nervous.  Thing is, Sookie already knows of one body buried on her property, but who did this new body formerly belong to?

My Thoughts

I have to say that this installment is one of my favorites of the series. What I like about this series as a whole is that eventually everything is out in the open. It may take a few books, but things do come out. The fact that there is another body on Sookie's property was a great way to remind the reader that there was already one body buried there from several books ago and with the discovery of this new corpse, it was inevitable that old secrets would rise to the surface.

I thought it was high time we learn more about Eric's past and boy, did we! The fairies were also a big part of this book as well as the budding relationship between Sookie and her young cousin, the son of her dead cousin, Hadleigh. The boy brings yet another supernatural element to the story because we've recently learned that as young as he is, he also has a 'disability', as Sookie calls her telepathy. I found the motherly side of Sookie to be very becoming and showed a whole other side to our heroine.

As I plow through these last books, I am wondering what my next literary guilty pleasure will be? I'm so glad I've taken the time to read these crazy books. They may not be your usual cuppa tea, and that's why I put off reading them for so long but now I accept them for what they are and just have fun with them. I call them my 'in-between' books. Because sometimes we just need something light and fun in our lives!

As usual, Johanna Parker does a great job with the narration. I never thought I would enjoy listening to books as much as I have been lately. Choosing the right reader is the most important aspect of an audio and they picked the perfect one for this series!

DEAD IN THE FAMILY, Sookie Stackhouse #10
Author: Charlaine Harris
Publisher: Recorded Books
Published: May 2010
Length: 9 hr 32 min
Rating:: 4 out of 5 Stars
Source: Audible.com

Review: Dead and Gone by Charlaine Harris (Sookie Stackhouse #9) Audio Version

Charlaine Harris has provided me with my favorite guilty pleasure for a few years now, as I've read through the Southern Vampire Series and followed Sookie through her trials and tribulations of living her life among the Supe world. That's why it is quickly becoming bittersweet as I get closer to the inevitable end. 


In DEAD AND GONE, the ninth book, Sookie's brother, Jason, suffers a terrible loss, along with a heartbreaking betrayal and once again, Sookie finds herself in the middle of all of the turmoil. Not only are the Were's dealing with the repercussions of coming out to the rest of the world, the faeries are in an all out war amongst themselves. Since Sookie's newly discovered great-grandfather is the very powerful leader of one of the gighting groups, she is put smack-dab in the middle of it and is likely being used as a pawn. And now that she and vampire Eric Northman, the Sheriff of Area 5, have come together again as a couple, it is taking some getting used to for alot of people, including Sookie.. 


My Thoughts:


As with the previous books, I found this one to be equally as entertaining and I loved finding out more about the fairies that are now in Sookie's life. I also love seeing Eric and Sookie together, even though I was a huge Quinn fan. But back in Book 4 when Eric had lost his memory due to a witch's curse, Eric won me over with his love for Sookie. I was so happy when he remembered everything and now they are in a real relationship...or are they? Hmmm...you never know when there's a blood bond involved.

What impresses me about Charlaine Harris and this great series is that she keeps coming up with new ways to keep the story from getting repetitive. Mainly with how she keeps coming up with new supernatural beings that bring even more excitement and wonder to the story. And the most impressive thing is that these new beings fit right into existing stories and make them even better and more interesting. Nothing is ever out of sync and it all melds together perfectly. Bottom line - she weaves a great tale!

I listened to this installment on audio through my Kindle and as before, I was completely satisfied with it. The narrator, Joanna Parker, does such a fabulous job and her southern accent is perfectly done. That is a big pet peeve of mine. 

For those of you who have yet to pick up this series...What are you waiting for?! It's fun, quick and so entertaining! And if you are a TrueBlood watcher and you're afraid it's going to ruin the show for you, there is no need to worry!! I've seen a few episodes of the HBO series and I almost didn't recognize the story. Everything is so different - it's nothing like the book version, which in my opinion is the BEST version.

DEAD AND GONE (Sookie Stackhouse #9)
Author: Charlaine Harris
Publisher: Recorded Books
Audible Release Date: May 2009:
Length: 9hs 1mn
Rating: 4 out of 5 Stars
Source:  Audible.com