Club Dead: A True Blood Novel [Paperback]

This is the third book in the Sookie Stackhouse Southern Vampire Mystery series. When reading the previous book 'Living Dead In Dallas' I wondered if Charlaine Harris would be able to find realistic ways of writing Sookie's boyfriend Vampire Bill out of the action. This is necessary because his powers would otherwise leave Sookie redundant. I didn't imagine Charlaine would have his disappearance as the central mystery. By concentrating on Sookie's perspective this book is a quick read, which is something to be pleased about, but sometimes I felt as if some of the most exciting stuff happens offstage. I like Sookie as a central character, but I can't quite see why she is quite so attractive to everyone, I'll be generous suggest it is a side effect of the vampire blood she has ingested. The closing stages of this book are the most exciting in the series so far, also the most horrifying as we glimpse at the darkness where a vampires' soul should be. There are some moments of great humour, particularly when Sookie takes a wonderfully mundane approach to solving a particular problem. It will be interesting to see if Sookie's morality clashes further with that of the vampires as she is dragged further into their world.

In Sookie Stackhouse's world, vampires and shapeshifters have become a part of her life, whether she likes it or not. Following on from two previous Southern Vampire novels, Dead Until Dark and Living Dead In Dallas, Sookie has had to face vampires (newly outed from legend) and shape shifters and other mythical creatures who are still secret from humans and waiting to see how vampires are treated by humans before making any moves for publicity. Her lover, a vampire called Bill Compton (they can't marry since technically he is still dead) has gone missing - leaving Sookie to worry about things like wondering why he was acting distant before he left and making ends meet. Bill's boss, another vampire, the rather sexy and powerful Eric (boss of Area 5 - each US state is ruled by a king or queen is spilt up into areas!) has an idea how to find him. Eric believes that Bill has been enthralled by an old flame and, oh yes, he might also be dead - as in terminally dead - not the best thing to tell a worried girlfriend - but then Eric has a fancy for Sookie himself. However, Eric is under pressure by the Queen of Louisiana to produce Bill who has been working on something secretive and Sookie is the perfect person to seek him out. Sookie has a special skill at reading minds, whether she wants to or not and so is ideal for a spot of undercover work. Thus she is persuaded to go to Jackson, Mississippi to mix with the underworld at Club Dead, an exclusive den for vampires to chill and sip their favourite beverage, 'type O' and to discover what happened to Bill. To keep her cover and help her into Club Dead, she is followed in tow by a werewolf pretend boyfriend and before long, she finds herself, not only mixed up with vampire politics, but also some werewolf disputes. Will Sookie find her beloved, and if she does, will she want to save him or stake him? Sookie Stackhouse is remarkably still a very human character (despite her self proclaimed disability of mind reading) amidst a cast of very otherworldly creatures and new experiences. She worries about human things - like paying the bills, keeping her job, when can she spend time with the one she loves and oh yes, staying alive. Book three delves deeper into the the world of the Southern Vampires with more details of their social system and heirarchy and mentions the activities of certain man from Memphis who has become part of this society. This is a very light hearted book compared to other vampire novels, yet it is still incredibly witty, full of intrigue and above all conveys Sookie's bittersweet feelings such as love, lust, anger and jealousy rather well. Its another excellent cosy vampire mystery novel - more please!

Sookie Stackhouse was only interested in one vampire and that was Bill, her boyfriend. However, Bill seemed to be putting some distance between them recently. Then he disappeared to another state! His sinister and sexy boss, Eric, said that Bill had been summoned to Mississippi by Lorena. She was a lady vampire Bill had lived with for some time before. That was enough for Sookie. She was on the way to Mississippi.
Alcide Herveaux was to be Sookie's contact/guide. He was a werewolf. With his help, Sookie could enter places that mere mortals seldom dared tread, such as Club Dead. The vampire king of Mississippi (yes, readers, you read that correctly) was Russell Edgington. Russell took interest in Sookie very quickly. Eric arrived on the scene, in disguise as usual. Several attempts were made on Sookie's life and Bill was caught in an act of serious betrayal against Sookie's love. Sookie was not sure whether to save Bill or sharpen a few stakes of her own!

***** Much better than book two. Again, this mystery could be read as a "stand alone" book. But the main and secondary characters remain the same. The love triangle between Sookie, Bill, and Eric gets much rougher. That triangle is enjoyed more by those who have read the first two previous books though.

This entire series, thus far, is humorous, fun, very sexy, and highly recommended! *****