All Together Dead: Sookie Stackhouse Southern Vampire Mystery #7 (Unabridged) [Audio Download]

"Being surrounded by all varieties of undead, changeling, and preternatural beings has gotten to be nothing out of the ordinary for Louisiana cocktail waitress Sookie Stackhouse. Still, even she has her limits. Betrayed by her long time vampire love, Sookie must now not only deal with a possible new man in her life-the oh-so-handsome shapeshifter Quinn- but also contend with the long planned vampire summit in Rhodes.

The summit, which has attracted undead power players from all over central U.S., is sure to be a tense situation. The vampire queen of Louisiana is in a precarious position, her power base weakened by hurricane damage to New Orleans. And there are some vamps who would like to finish what nature started. With secret alliances and backroom deals the order of the day-and- night Sookie must decide what side she'll stand with. And her choice may mean the difference between survival and all-out catastrophe..... "

I have been waiting for so long for this book to be published....and finally here it is !!! "All Together Dead" is book 7 from Southern vampire series. I loved the book, but there is a reason why I did not give it five stars. I loved going back into Sookie's crazy world of vampires and other creatures, but the story seemed a little too cluttered to me, all about vampire politics (a little dry). And I must admit that I missed Sookie's home town, her bar, Sam ....

All-in-all I loved the book but it did not have the same feel to it like the others in the series.

Sookie Stackhouse is back to investigate all things vampiric in this, the 7th book of the 'Southern Vampire' series. Almost all the action in this book takes place away from Bon Temps and so many of the regular characters are missing, or take a back deat - even Vampire Bill plays only a tiny role as the action focuses on Sookie, Quinn and Eric and their dealings with the Queen of New Orleans, her entourage and some characters familiar from other books such as fellow-telepath Barry the Bellboy. A more complex plot, and the unfamiliar location give this book a different feel to the others and it is certainly darker and less laugh-out-loud funny than the earlier ones. I liked the broader character development and particularly the revelations and insights into Eric's feelings for Sookie. I came across these books recently and after reading all 7 in the space of 4 weeks, I now find myself depressed at having to wait a year for the next one!

Sookie Stackhouse is a great character whose world has opened up in the previous six books of the Southern Vampire series. She's fallen in and out of love with various vampires, met various shapeshifters/werewolves, discovered that she's part fairy, got a housemate who is a witch and more. The last two books in the series had Sookie as rather a femme fatale and at the beginning of this story she's with Quinn, the Weretiger.

This book isn't one for a novice to the series - there are a lot of complicated events in previous books that are alluded to, or are foundational to plot or character, which aren't fully explained. The central part of the story is the big vampire convention at Rhodes where Sookie is attending, as a guest and helper of the Queen of Louisiana, to use her telepathic skills to help the Queen in her negotiations. However there is clearly more going on at the convention than Sookie first realised, with various trials, murders, bombs and more. Sookie's life is made more complicated by her exes, Bill and Eric, being at the convention along with Quinn. Somehow it seems that Sookie hasn't got over either Bill or Eric and that she's not yet sure about her future with Quinn.

The other books in the series have all been excellent but somehow this one was a little below par. Perhaps it was the plot which, although interesting, was also rather easy to see through. The huge roster of characters can make it a bit hard work to follow what's going on and although the underlying concepts of this series are excellent, I wonder if it's perhaps getting a little tired. Most of the action in this story takes place in the hotel in Rhodes, rather than in Bon Temps or Shreveport, which adds some more interest to the story - almost all the characters in this book are supernatural in some way rather than the usual mix of mostly humans with some vamps or weres. This serves to show how Sookie's life has become rather out of her control as she is subject to the whims and power plays of the various vamps around her.

For those who've enjoyed the previous books this is still a good read and one that most fans will appreciate. However it doesn't quite satisfy as the others did which might be a sign than the author is running out of ideas for this series or perhaps might just be a short blip. I look forward to the next book with great anticipation to find out!