Book Review: Dead Ever After

Dead Ever After (Sookie Stackhouse #13)

By: Charlaine Harris

Published By: Ace

Publication Date: May 7, 2013

Page Count: 338

Buy it at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, or IndieBound

Source: Purchased by Reviewer

Audience: Adult - Paranormal

This is a book entirely destined to split the fandom. Whether or not you like it will depend mostly on your desire to see Sookie end up with Eric, Bill or Sam. I am not going to post any spoilers here to that effect, if I can help it, but what I will say is that I was 100% satisfied in the ending and it was as I thought it should be since about book 9 or so in the series. If you want to know which team I am a member of, and why I’m happy, a quick skim of my other Goodreads reviews will sort you out!

In Dead Ever After, Sookie once again has to deal with people trying to kill her. This is now a fairly everyday occurrence to her though, and she doesn't give it much thought in the grand scheme of things. Not when she’s been accused of murder. Of course, fans will know that Sookie has killed a few people over the years, so they will understand the heroine’s feelings that maybe she did deserve, on some level, to find herself sitting in a jail cell wearing a dreadful outfit. But this time she really didn't do it, and she needs to figure out who is so determined to frame her. She has plenty of enemies now, and, as she is touched to realize, a heck of a lot of friends too. One of my favourite things about this book was that a number of old familiar faces passed through its pages. It was like they’d all stopped by to say farewell, and lend a hand to Sook if they could. Gradually they pick apart the mystery, and all is resolved well enough. An awful lot of the detective work is done by other character though, leaving Sookie time to bumble about and clean/garden/tan... some find those bits tedious and like to skip them, but actually I kind of like those bits. The details of her outfits and the meals she likes to cook make me feel at home with Sookie, in a way that I don’t feel at home with many other characters. I have a good idea what her house looks like, and I share her frustrations every time her carefully looked after kitchen gets splattered with more blood. At least this time she has help cleaning up!

 

The only thing I really didn't like was a shout out to one of my other favourite authors, Karin Slaughter. Charlaine seems to have named a character after her, Karin the Slaughterer, and every time I read about that character it jarred me from the story. Maggie Stiefvater did that with Tessa Gratton in The Scorpio Races and it had the same effect on me. My feeling is that authors should of course do what they want; by all means name a character after a friend or admired colleague, but pleased do it in a way that I only know about it after I've read the story or if I've read an interview. Anything too obvious just ruins it slightly.

 

I read this book pretty quickly, as I always do with this series. It wasn't so much page turning as comfort reading. I love Sookie’s world, and I like to share the time with her. I was duly mystified by the mystery, but I didn't waste brain power trying to figure it out too much as there were so many variables. I was satisfied by the various bows tied up from the loose ends in the series though, and many characters stayed true to type. To those fans who really didn't like this book, all I will say is that Charlaine Harris was true to her characters; they made the choices they always would have made, based on who they were, and if people were expecting some to change with a waving of a magic wand, then they were bound to be disappointed. For me, the ending was exactly as it should have been and I leave Bon Temps with a smile and the resolution that the series hasn't been spoiled for me, and I’m sure I’ll revisit again in the future. 

Summary:

There are secrets in the town of Bon Temps, ones that threaten those closest to Sookie—and could destroy her heart...

Sookie Stackhouse finds it easy to turn down the request of former barmaid Arlene when she wants her job back at Merlotte’s. After all, Arlene tried to have Sookie killed. But her relationship with Eric Northman is not so clearcut. He and his vampires are keeping their distance…and a cold silence. And when Sookie learns the reason why, she is devastated.

Then a shocking murder rocks Bon Temps, and Sookie is arrested for the crime.

But the evidence against Sookie is weak, and she makes bail. Investigating the killing, she’ll learn that what passes for truth in Bon Temps is only a convenient lie. What passes for justice is more spilled blood. And what passes for love is never enough...