The Daily Bongo

Charlaine Harris's latest book in the Sookie Stackhouse series came out earlier this month. The book is Dead in the Family. In the last book, Dead and Gone, we saw the destruction of the Fairy War. Sookie had been captured and tortured to the point of death, Bill Compton had been bitten by a fairy with silver teeth during Sookie's rescue, fairy godmother, Claudine, was killed, and there was more death among other minor characters. The very last act of the book had Sookie's great grandfather, Niall, took over the fairy leadership and closed the entrance to the Fairy's world. I know that I had many questions about what would happen. Would Bill Compton survive? What would happen next to Sookie?

What happens in Dead in the Family? Sadly, not much. As I was reading through the book, I had this feeling that something was just around the bend. "Don't worry," I told myself, "the action will pick up soon. You'll find out what the dilemma is in this book." However, that really wasn't the case. Little minor things happened, but basically the book just felt like a recounting of a few days in Sookie's life. Some things did happen. The two-natured beings come out, just like the vamps. There was plenty of talk about how the weres and shape-shifters were campaigning against a registration program, similar to the vamp registration. Cousin Claude came to live with Sookie. Jason, Sookie's brother, has a change of heart and becomes a more caring person. Sookie continues her relationship with Eric. Bill Compton is near death, although in the end, Sookie even solves his problem. A freshly dead body is found in Sookie's woods, and only the intervention of Eric and Alcide save the day. Eric's maker makes an appearance along with Alexei, one of the Romanov children. Dermot, insane fairy who looks like Jason, also makes an appearance. All in all, little things happen, but the feeling that the story would be going somewhere never materializes.

Would I recommend Dead in the Family? Yes, just because it is a Sookie story. By reading the book, I got to spend a few hours in Bon Temps, Louisiana. However, it was the weakest of the books that Charlaine Harris has written in the series. It wasn't until I was more than half way through the book, waiting for something to happen, that I started to realize that nothing was going to happen. I'm not a huge fan of Sookie's relationship with Eric, and it looks like Bill might have another love interest. If anything the book seems to just promise that there might be action in the next book, with perhaps a conflict or battle between Eric and Victor, the vamp overseeing the Louisiana area for Felipe de Castro, King of Nevada. The book was a quick read and entertaining enough. I suppose that any Sookie is better than no Sookie.

May 31, 2010