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26 of 28 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Sookie returns, 19 May 2006
Sookie Stackhouse is a small town cocktail waitress in Louisiana. Her telepathic abilities make her too scary for humans to feel comfortable around, much less date. However, the supernatural beings "sups" do not feel threatened by her at all. In fact, they seem drawn to her. Humans now know that vampires walk among them. That does not mean humans accept vampires though, many do not. And humans still do not know about all the other types of sups that exist.
Sookie takes time off from work and returns to New Orleans for various reasons. The more important one is so Sookie can go through Hadley's possessions. It is a task that Sookie has put off since her vampire cousin died - again. Yet someone is going out of their way to keep Sookie from doing it. It could be some rogue weres who reject Sookie as a friend of the pack, the vampire queen (Sophie-Anne) of Louisiana, the Pelt family (who still bugs Sookie about Debbie's disappearance), or even someone that Sookie still believes is a friend.
Whoever it is, they are out to stop Sookie from digging into Hadley's past. So once again, Sookie's life in peril.
**** To put it bluntly, you must read the previous novels before this one or you will be lost. Once the story gets rolling, it R-O-C-K-S! Until then, I was bombarded with characters as the author attempts to tell who is what creature, their history, etc. It got tedious to me at some points because many of these characters have nothing to do with this story. It's as if the author wants to give every character from the previous books a tiny cameo appearance. Telling about each character takes a lot longer than the actual "Hi Sookie. Bye Sookie." does. Once all that is out of the way, the plot takes off running and never slows down.
Rumors say this is the last book in the series. (That could explain all the cameos.) However, the author could decide to publish at least one more adventure. There is potential trouble at Merlotte's Bar, a vampire summit, and Sookie's soon to be new in-laws that could give lots of explosive material for the author to build on. I won't even go into how the local law enforcement would like to use her telepathic abilities or the sup-men in her love life. I can only hope that another novel in this series appears someday. I will certainly be keeping my eye out for one. ****
Reviewed by Detra Fitch of Huntress Reviews.
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15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
At last the answer to all our questions, 15 May 2006
As all the Sookie Stackhouse novels this book brings you back to small town America and the weird underworld that is rarely seen.
In this novel we follow Sookie as she has recently discovered her cousin, who had become a Vampire, is now 'definitely dead'. Sookie must go to New Orleans where she has to go through her cousins apartment, whilst dealing with a new boyfriend, and ex-boyfriend and an ex-lover who are all vying for her attention.
At last we discover the answers to some annoying questions like Who is Bill? and the Pelt saga finely comes to a close (I hope). This is a truly enjoyable read and picks up the pace where the last book left off.
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22 of 24 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Vampire Battle of New Orleans, 7 Jun 2006
Charlaine Harris's Southern Vampire series just keeps getting better and better. Many series cool to lukewarm after several installments, however this sixth volume is the best yet (and I thought #5, Dead as a Doornail, couldn't be topped - I was wrong).
Telepath Sookie Stackhouse pulls herself away from new love interest Quinn (a were-tiger), and travels to New Orleans to sort through her murdered cousin Hadley's estate. Hadley, a fairly new vampire, had been quite the bohemian goth-eccentric as well as lover to the Louisiana Vampire Queen Sophie-Anne. And now she is definitely dead - the non-negotiable finale to a vampire existence.
Ominous events shadow Sookie from even before she leaves her home of Bon Temps. Murder, missed messages, and mayhem presage the even greater dangers Sookie encounters in The Big Easy. Hadley's landlady, the witch Amelia, joins with Sookie to solve the mystery of the body they find in Hadley's closet. Forces conspire to stop Sookie from delving into Hadley's past, and her relationship with the Queen. Perhaps the most vicious blow is not physical, but emotional, as Sookie discovers the real reason her first love, Bill, came to Bon Temps.
Mystery, intrigue, and passion grow as events escalate into a war between the Lousiana vampires, loyal to the Queen, and the Arkansas vampires, loyal to the Queen's new consort Peter. Quinn, Eric, Bill, and others well known to loyal readers rally to save Sookie and uncover who is behind the plot to kill her. New characters, such as the Saxons Sigebert and Wybert, delight. Harris' storytelling skills are at a new high, as she weaves seemingly disparate plot lines into a tight, cohesive, and totally satisfying ending (although I didn't want it to conclude). I am eagerly awaiting the next installment.
Aside: Charlaine's tender explanation and tribute to the people of New Orleans, in a prologue, is a loving gesture, and doubtless much appreciated. Perhaps the publishers would consider channeling a small portion of the profits to a Katrina relief fund?
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by Charlaine Harris
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