Harris, Charlaine: Living Dead in Dallas
Living Dead in Dallas
Writer: Charlaine Harris
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Pages: 291
It wasn't a hard decision to pick up the next book in the series, or the one after that. I enjoyed Dead Until Dark well enough, and that's saying something, as you all know how tired I get of vampires.
The premise: Eric holds Sookie to her word from book one when she promises to use her talent to resolve problems in the vampire community provided the punishment is humane (that means letting poor human witnesses go with an erased memory instead of killing them anyway). Her assignment takes her to Dallas, TX, to help find a missing vampire, who just happens to be gay. She learns far more about the supernatural community than she ever wanted to know, as well as the people who'd just rather see them dead. Problem is, those same people want to see Sookie dead too.
Spoilers, yo.
Living Dead in Dallas has a rather odd format. The main story, summarized in the premise above, is actually framed by another mystery: the murder of Lafayette (Merlotte's gay, black cook), how Andy Bellefleur is framed for it, and then the rather random appearance of a maenad in the woods who decides to send Eric a message by slashing the hell out of Sookie's back. There's also a steady undercurrent of tension with Bill, which started off rather randomly in my opinion with Sookie getting pissed about him letting her know that she can charge her purchases in the shopping center he bought to his account. It makes her feel like a kept woman, and she's too proud to accept and doesn't understand why Bill doesn't understand (honey, I DIDN'T UNDERSTAND). It also doesn't make a whole lot of sense in light of book three, Club Dead, but that's a different review.
I liked a lot in this book. Bill and Eric, in a way, appeared as peers/colleagues rather than superior/underling, though that may have something to do with Bill's actions at the end of Dead Until Dark. I also liked the fleshing out of Eric's character. He's become a lot more fun and a lot more agreeable, though he's still a leech because he wants Sookie's bod so bad he'll do just about anything to get it, short of rape obviously.
I also liked meeting Barry the bellhop who's also a telepath. That was a lovely moment in the book, especially when Sookie tries to call out to him so he can send Bill her way. The Fellowship of the Sun was also a nice, creepy touch. The cult vibe was immediate, and frankly, their measures are terrifying but appropriate to that kind of group. I can understand if they wanted to help reform vampires and encourage them to meet the sun, but to rope other vampires who don't WANT to and force them to, that's creepy. Even creepier was their plan for Sookie: because she hangs out with vampires, she deserves to be tied to one when the sun hits so she'll burn with it. Talk about an ugly fate.
The plot in Dallas was pretty solid and wrapped up pretty well, though it ended with Sookie mad at Bill (again) for something he promised back in book one that I don't remember. Oh, they make up at the end, but her temper with him is frustrating. Equally frustrating is his jealousy, because every time she smells like another man (meaning she's sat close to him, or kissed him in the case of Eric for the undercover assignment at the orgy), he gets pissy. Not the most healthy couple, here, though the very, very end was a lovely moment for them, when thanks to Sookie, he learns that the Bellefleurs are actually his descendants. Which was also funny too, since he'd been pretending to date Portia. I know they didn't have sex, but let's hope they didn't do anything else. ;)
I really hope we see more of the Dallas Supes, especially Luna, because I liked her a lot. Loved the concept of the vampire hotel in Dallas. Wasn't fond, however, of the attempted rape of Sookie. I'm glad she got out of it, albeit with Godfrey's help, but it's worth noting to those of us who are keeping count on the frequency that rape, attempted rape, and the like occur.
Godfrey, however, was fantastically horrible and creepy and sad. :)
My Rating
Worth the Cash: the mystery isn't quite as solid as it was for Dead Until Dark, in many ways it was split into two because there was the mystery murder and then the case in Dallas. Still, it's a solid story with good tension, good action, and lots of new characters. It's funny, as much as I complain about vampires, I'm not tired or irritated with these. Not yet anyway. We'll see how long it takes. ;) But in all seriousness, fans for the Dead Until Dark should go ahead and just get this one too. It's definitely worth the cash.
Next up:
Club Dead by Charlaine Harris
Reading Now:
Dead to the World by Charlaine Harris