Dead to the World by Charlaine Harris

Book Details
Dead to the World by Charlaine Harris
Paperback, 320 pages
2009, Ace Trade
ISBN: 0441018289
Series: Book 4 of Southern Vampire Mystery

Synopsis

Fans of Laurell Hamilton's Anita Blake looking for a lighter version of the vampire huntress should cotton to Sookie Stackhouse, a telepathic Louisiana gal who really wants to be normal, but suffers from a huge self-confidence problem, a case of permanent bad luck, difficult relatives and a penchant for attracting unsavory characters of the not-quite-human kind. In this fourth quirky installment in this hitherto mass-market series (after 2003's Club Dead), Sookie finds that her bad luck has taken a new turn for the worse. Sookie's love interest, Bill the vampire, runs off to Peru to do research. In his place, Sookie is stuck with Eric, Bill's boss (and head vamp for the district), who appears out of thin air buck naked with no memory of who he is or what he does. Coincidentally, Sookie's brother Jason goes missing. Less coincidentally, but more ominously, a coven of witches (who also happen to be shape-shifters and vampire blood addicts) comes rolling into the nearest big city, looking for trouble.

Review
Dead to the World had all of the key elements (less Bill, more Alcide, more Bubba and a lot more Eric) that made me love Club Dead, but it just wasn't as stunning. I've come to realize I am very much a part of "Team Eric." His personality is such a force of its own, I can imagine how anyone could not love reading the character. Dead to the World has a massive amount of Eric, but we really don't get to experience his personality. While key to the storyline, it made me feel his presence was wasted and was kind of a letdown. If you can get past the lack of true Eric-ness, Dead to the World is another fantastic Southern Vampire novel.

Rating

Links

Charlaine Harris' website