Dead And Gone: A Sookie Stackhouse Novel (Sookie Stackhouse/True Blood) [Hardcover]

Charlaine Harris (Author)

Book Description

Release date: May 5, 2009 | Series: Sookie Stackhouse/True Blood (Book 9)

Visit our Sookie Stackhouse series feature page.

Now an HBO original series, True Blood-the New York Times bestselling Sookie Stackhouse series continues.

Except for Sookie Stackhouse, folks in Bon Temps, Louisiana, know little about vamps-and nothing about weres.

Until now. The weres and shifters have finally decided to reveal their existence to the ordinary world. At first all goes well. Then the mutilated body of a were-panther is found near the bar where Sookie works-and she feels compelled to discover who, human or otherwise, did it.

But there's a far greater danger threatening Bon Temps. A race of unhuman beings-older, more powerful, and more secretive than vampires or werewolves-is preparing for war. And Sookie finds herself an all-too human pawn in their battle.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Telepathic waitress Sookie Stackhouse braces herself for trouble when another group of supernatural beings goes public in her disjointed [ninth] adventure (after 2008's From Dead to Worse). Following the vampires' lead, the shape-shifters decide to step out of the woodwork and announce their existence to the world. While the initial reveal goes smoothly, the brutal crucifixion of a young werepanther behind the local bar makes Sookie wonder if the people of Bon Temps, La., are as tolerant as she thought. Meanwhile, the FBI is asking questions about Sookie's uncanny ability to locate survivors after an explosion, and trouble is brewing among the secretive fae. Harris tries to cram too much into a single story, and even die-hard fans of Sookie's adventures in print and on HBO's True Blood will complain about the plot gaps. (May)
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From Booklist

The Louisiana town of Bon Temps—along with the rest of the world—is about to be rocked with some big supernatural news: like the vampires before them, the Were people—humans with the ability to change into animals—are about to reveal themselves to humanity. Psychic barmaid Sookie Stackhouse is apprehensive about the revelation, given the way some people in the small town revile anyone with extraordinary powers, including Sookie herself. While the initial announcement seems to go over smoothly with most people, tragedy strikes when Sookie’s brother Jason’s estranged wife, a werepanther, is found murdered and nailed up on a cross. Jason is the prime suspect, but Sookie has even bigger problems to deal with when she learns that a vicious fairy prince is determined to kill her. Darker and more ominous than earlier entries in the series, Harris’ latest raises the stakes (pun intended) for lovable heroine Sookie and comes up a winner. With HBO’s True Blood, a series based on Sookie’s adventures, renewed for a second season, expect demand for this latest gripping installment. --Kristine Huntley

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 312 pages
• Publisher: Ace Books; 1st edition (May 5, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0441017150
• ISBN-13: 978-0441017157
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 7 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (892 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #75,455 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Charlaine Harris (born November 25, 1951 in Tunica, Mississippi) is a New York Times bestselling author who has been writing for over twenty years. She was raised in the Mississippi River Delta area. Though her early works consisted largely of poems about ghosts and, later, teenage angst, she wrote plays when she attended Rhodes College in Memphis, Tennessee. She began to write books a few years later.
After publishing two stand-alone mysteries, Harris launched a lighthearted series "starring" Georgia librarian Aurora Teagarden, with Real Murders, a Best Novel nominee for the 1990 Agatha Awards. Harris wrote eight Aurora titles. In 1996, she released the first of the much darker Shakespeare mysteries, featuring the amateur sleuth Lily Bard, a karate student who makes her living cleaning houses. Shakespeare's Counselor, the fifth--and last-- was printed in fall 2001.
After Shakespeare, Harris created The Sookie Stackhouse urban fantasy series about a telepathic waitress who works in a bar in the fictional Northern Louisiana town of Bon Temps. The first of these, Dead Until Dark, won the Anthony Award for Best Paperback Mystery in 2001. Each book follows Sookie as she tries to solve mysteries involving vampires, werewolves, and other supernatural creatures. The series, which now numbers nine titles, has been released worldwide.
Sookie Stackhouse proved to be so popular that Alan Ball, creator of Six Feet Under, announced he would undertake the production of a new show for HBO based upon the books. He wrote and directed the pilot episode for that series, True Blood, which premiered in September of 2008. It was an instant success and was quickly picked up for a second season.
In October 2005, Harris's new mystery series about a young woman named Harper Connelly debuted with the release of Grave Sight. Harper has the ability to determine the cause of death of any body. There are now three Harper titles (GRAVE SIGHT, GRAVE SURPRISE, AN ICE COLD GRAVE) with a 4th (GRAVE SECRET) to be released in 2009.
Harris has also co-edited three very popular anthologies with her friend Toni L.P. Kelner. The anthologies feature stories with an element of the supernatural, and the submissions come from a rare mixture of mystery and urban fantasy writers.
Professionally, Harris is a member of the Mystery Writers of America and the American Crime Writers League. She is a member of the board of Sisters in Crime, and alternates with Joan Hess as president of the Arkansas Mystery Writers Alliance. Personally, Harris is married and the mother of three. She lives in a small town in Southern Arkansas and when she is not writing her own books, she reads omnivorously!

Amazon Author Rankbeta 

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#37 Overall (See top 100 authors)

#4 in Kindle eBooks > Literature & Fiction > Fantasy

#4 in Books > Science Fiction & Fantasy > Fantasy

#6 in Books > Science Fiction & Fantasy

#9 in Books > Mystery, Thriller & Suspense > Mystery

#9 in Kindle eBooks > Literature & Fiction > Mystery & Thrillers > Mystery

#4 in Kindle eBooks > Literature & Fiction > Fantasy

#4 in Books > Science Fiction & Fantasy > Fantasy

#6 in Books > Science Fiction & Fantasy

#9 in Books > Mystery, Thriller & Suspense > Mystery

#9 in Kindle eBooks > Literature & Fiction > Mystery & Thrillers > Mystery

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

501 of 553 people found the following review helpful

2.0 out of 5 stars Beyond Disappointing...I feel so let down, I think I'm depressed May 6, 2009

By C. Wilson

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

I wanted to give the book atleast three stars bc i love the series so much, but I have to agree with the majority of the negative reviews on this one and say,"what happened?". The last book, from dead to worse, was so detailed and long, it was wonderful! I felt like I was reading a short hand version, or an extremely edited down piece that had to fit into a certain number of words. If CH had kept the same story line for this book and just given us the plot detail and character depth evidenced in the last book, this book would have been simply phenomenal! As a fan, I find that not only disappointing, but extremely frustrating.

ARGH!***BEWARE***THERE BE SPOILERS HERE**********************************

OK, so the two stars were basically for giving us atleast SOME progression with the whole Eric/Sookie relationship, although it still basically went NOWHERE. So he tricks her into what is basically a vampire form of marriage and she barely reacts - she had more of a hissy fit when he yelled at her for dancing with barry bellhop in rhodes! She blames her lack of anger on her blood bond, but she also states that she hasn't seen him for months and that should lessen a little over time...it just seemed weird. And as neat as that story line is, it wasn't even addressed or reacted to by anyone (except sam, but barely). I mean, come on! I don't know why it matters though, bc I figure in the next book she will find something to be mad at him for and he will be on the outs like bill, quinn, and everyone else she get's involved with - I just feel like the whole Eric thing has been building up over so many books that there should be more time devoted to finally developing that before it get's ruined for further plot development - we've been "teased" enough.... Give us something more than a few scenes!

Perhaps the most frustrating aspect of this book, for me, was sookie's lack of initiative in seeking supe support and protection for herself! Especially after the last book ended recapping her strong favor with the vamps and weres! It was ridiculous that she knew she was being targeted to be killed (or worse), actually ends up killing a fairy sent to kill her, and she takes days to ask for any real assistance or call in her supe markers with the vamps or Alcide. When she finally does ask for help, it's lame coverage that falls through and she doesn't ask for back up? The coverage doesn't tell their bosses that they have left her unprotected? She doesn't want to worry her friends, who could help her, or at the very least be warned that being around sookie can be dangerous,so she doesn't tell them? She doesn't tell her brother that he is also a potential target, until after that fairies approach him?!

And why does Eric leave her bed, knowing the issue of her safety is unresolved? Yeah, he suggested maybe she stay at his place, but the whole issue of her safey is sidetracked by "what are you looking for in this relationship", vs. "hey, killer fairies are out to get my lover whom i've just officially claimed in the supe community, even tried to murder her today, and I'm out the door with a 'see ya soon'?" That doesn't seem at all like Eric. Mister, possessive vampire guy who always sends Bubba over the moment he has ANY concerns?! I mean really he had Pam DATE Sookie's roommate Amelia, just to get Pam even closer to protect Sookie, but he leaves her completely unprotected after knowing a fairy tried to KILL her?? Why would he leave w/o having her safety arranged for? Why the heck hasn't Niall arranged safety for her from the beginning, or even after the first attempt on her life? Why doesn't Claudine, who shows up when sookie falls asleep at the wheel of a car, show up when faries are trying to kill her? What the heck? And why, in God's name, would you be out running errands when you need a body gaurd bc killer fairies are out to assassinate you - do you really need to go to the post office that badly? Come on!

Also, the violence. Torture? Killing pregnant women? That added nothing to the story and was simply disturbing and unecessary. The characters she killed off - why? And more detail was given to sookie's reaction to octavia leaving than to the second pregnant woman's murder, which was just completely a waste - what a loss of a great character under such horrible circumstances.

And then, to top it all off, the whole amazing world of fae is just closed down in the end anyway, after all that - what a waste of plot and characters. I'm hoping that's not the case, and more will be done with it in the next book? Honestly, I would have loved it if Sookie had called in her marks almost immediately and all her supe friends & fairy family took the threat serioulsy, but were simply smacked down by how ruthless the fairies were, resulting in Eric becomming uber protective and rallying all the supes to work and fight together against the faires as a common threat to their common bond, our gal sookie! Yeah!! Atleast there would have been more action and the character deaths would have felt justified!

Quinn is in one scene and then is gone for the rest of the book - why bother? Heck, how bout if he had found out that Sookie was in trouble and insisted on staying to gaurd her regardless of Eric - the guy's a weretiger and a pit fighter trying to prove himself! That would have been kinda cool, and interesting from a love triangle point of view too!

We were told Hunter was in this book - what, one mention in a phone call? And then sookie just assumes the kid's not a target bc she THINKS Niall doesn't know about him? Give the kid's dad a warning, something, "get the kid away for awhile, be careful, look out for bad guys, stock up on lemon juice" - something!

Ok, obviously I found this book frustrating and I think my review has turned into more of a cathartic threapeutic venting session than a commentary. I'm not giving up on sookie, just hoping this is an anomaly, and hoping for more of CH's great writing in the future (please). Although, if the book continues to average 4 out of 5 stars (geez, are we reading the same book here people?), I can't believe that would give the author any incentive to give us better in the future! Why put more work into something when the readers are 4/5 happy with less?

This is such a wonderful series, I'd hate for it to deterioate! Read more ›

59 of 62 people found the following review helpful

1.0 out of 5 stars Dismal Outing For Sookie May 7, 2009

By luv2read

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

I re-edited my original review for this book. Initially I gave this book a 2-star rating, but I've just finished a re-read of it today, 4/30/10, and I really had to change my rating to 1-star. I really hate this book; I've kept some of my original review and added new parts.

Spoilers may be present:

The book starts with the weres and shifters revealing themselves publicly, but then this revelation is mostly dropped. It's a prop to temporarily remove Sam, set up the first murder, and throw a red herring in later in the book. The murder victim dies in a truly grotesque manner; this person is also related to someone who the police chronically suspect of other crimes throughout the series. Been there. Done that.

The Were theme is basically dropped, and it's on to the fairy war. The fairies are divided between those who like contact with humans and those who want to close off the fairy world. In addition, the separatists want to eliminate anyone who is not purely fae. Of course, this means trouble for Sookie.

It's really difficult to care about this war. In DTTW, it was easy to emotionally vest in the witch war; you were on the side of the vampires/shifters since you had gotten to know them over several books. You also got to see the bad witches in a couple of scenes before the actual war so you knew who you were rooting against.

Niall and the fairy world haven't been developed enough. Enemy faeries are named and briefly appear, but who cares, there is no sense of identity. Even the "good" ones we know: Niall, Claudine, and Claude are wooden props. It's as if the author says "cue faerie" and *poof* Niall appears to explain another part of their boring war. Even a reveal about Sookie's parent's death feels forced.... And it doesn't help that most of the war takes place off page.

Sookie always suffers some type of physical injury in these books, but what happens in this one is over-the-top brutal. Don't worry it isn't described in blatant detail although the aftermath of some of her injuries are; it's just the idea of it. Why? Why? Why? Some people will say that this event will make Sookie "grow." Sorry if the only way to make your characters grow is to cause them physical suffering, then it's time to wrap it up.

Equally disturbing is that Sookie commits her first murder in this one. She turns a person who is partially involved in the death at the start of the book over to people who exact their form of justice. Yet it is revealed, and she believes, that this person wasn't really the killer. Instead this person's worse crime appears to be assault, and yet Sookie doesn't stop the violence that follows, and this person dies. Plus she gives no thought or care to what has just happened. Yet several pages before, we have to read through how she blames herself for people who die in a bloody shootout when she is not remotely responsible.

The total logic breakdowns are annoying. For example, Dermott, one of the bad fairies, looks like Jason, Sookie's brother. Dermott approaches Amelia and Tray, Sookie's friends, to have them arrange a date with Sookie. Now really if I had a friend, and a guy who looked like her brother wanted to date her, I'd have to say sorry, that's not going to happen. The psychological implications of dating someone who looks like your brother are astounding. Amelia tries twice to get Sookie to agree, and then throws out the resemblance issue. You can almost hear the dat-dat-dah music playing as Sookie realizes a) scary fairy alert and b) maybe she should start warning people - particularly people who live with her - that she is in danger.

Even worse logic: virtually everyone - Niall, Claude, Claudine, Diantha (on behalf of Mr C.) - warns Sookie that the fairies are loose, and she is in danger. Sookie kills a fairy assassin in her garden. Does anyone in her fae family provide Sookie with a bodyguard? No. Eric learns that she's in danger and has killed the fairy. Does he send anyone? No, not until Sookie asks. Really? Eric who sends Pam or Bubba at the least threat or hint of threat to Sookie has to wait until he's asked?

Sookie gets werewolf protection in the form of Tray as part of her friend of the pack status. Poor Tray gets poisoned and Sookie sends him home. Then she decides she can't ask for anymore Were help since Tray got hurt in her defense. Um, really?! Maybe this is an indication of how severe the situation is? Maybe Alcide and his pack would like to know of the danger or take care of Tray and/or avenge him?

Sookie agrees to meet Amelia at Tray's to check on his condition. She's delayed and when she arrives almost an hour later, Amelia isn't there. She gets Bill to come (who btw can enter Tray's house without invite; I'm not sure if I've missed something.) Amelia calls in the meantime; she's at Sookie's house taking a shower and assumed Sookie forgot or was delayed and assumed Tray went to a doctor. Really? She just assumes her POISONED boyfriend went to a doctor and isn't lying dead in his house? She assumes her friend and roomate who is being hunted by killer fairies didn't show up for innocent reasons?

Want more? Sookie doesn't bother to warn Jason that he too could be the target of killer fairies until Dermott the Jason look-a-like comes to Jason's house. Jason is part fairy too, and while not GGP Niall's favorite, he falls into the hate category that the separatists are trying to destroy i.e. part-fairy human. Maybe a head's up would have been in order.

Sookie losing Bill at the traffic light, Sookie carelessly running up to her house unarmed by her fairy-killing weapons, Sookie hopping out of the car to get the mail when killer fairies are on the loose are all examples of additional illogic. The fact that Sookie feels compelled to explain her idiocy to the reader is a sure sign that the author hadn't worked out this plot. The FBI disappears halfway through the book (yes, the FBI), and we never learn why. I'm hoping we find out that Eric had them glamoured away or something because I don't think they normally go away that easily.

The suitors: in my original review, I said I felt Eric was not himself. I still think so to some degree. He's very open about discussing his turning with Sookie and discussing his maker. Since the maker is showing up in the next book, I guess that's why it was brought up here. It's just very heavy-handed foreshadowing. Additionally the best protection Eric provides Sookie is Bubba. Why in these books is Bubba the go to vampire? Certainly killer fairies merit a Pam or a Thalia for protection.

Also Sookie allows Eric to manipulate her without a fight. For example, his day person has Sookie bring a velvet wrapped package to Fangtasia. She never opens it or questions why she has to return it to Eric, and of course, returning it is significant. Has he glamored her? Sookie always challenged Eric. I liked when these two argued or flirted. Where's the spark? (Btw she does tell us readers that maybe she should have questioned things.)

She's even very accepting about some blood exchanges where the old Sookie would have worried and questioned how it was changing her. She might as well hook a straw up to Eric's vein with as much concern as she shows in this one. A wish for the next book - make the blood bond go away! If I have to read another passage where Sookie can't figure out if her feelings for Eric are real or magically-induced, I'm going to scream. Certainly when Eric's not around or asleep during the day, she can take a few minutes and figure it out.

Quinn shows up for a nanosecond and is gone. Not sure why.

Bill - the Ashley Wilkes stalker of this saga - appears to redeem himself by the end since Sookie says she "loves" him again. You know a man willing to die for you is just so sexy. Let's not forget that Eric was fighting right along with him and had also given Sookie his blood to help her heal, but she does not have this thought about Eric.

I actually liked Bill better when you could argue his motives. Does he love Sookie? Is he still lying to her? How well does he know the Nevada vamps? Potentially deceptive Bill fascinates me more than noble Bill especially in contrast to Eric's manipulative but straightforward manner. The stalking thing has become so old now that I just keep hoping Bill is going to do something in one of these books.

Also the suitor thing really needs to be resolved. Yes, a little romantic tension can be fun in a story, but it is just plain wearisome now. My eyes rolled into the back of my head (again) when Sookie questioned which vampire GGP Niall referred to in his comment at the end of the book. That was the moment I no longer cared who Sookie ends up with. Maybe she should see if Catfish is still available?

Favorite characters die in this one so be prepared. One particular favorite dies off page, and it is treated so cavalierly that I can't imagine what the author was thinking. Just so and so's gone. Really?! Oh well! It's not the idea that characters die; I resent good characters being sacrificed for such a lame plot and not being given an appropriate sendoff.

The writing in this one is so heavyhanded. Beyond the above mentioned suitor issue, I felt manipulated when some of the death's were intensified. For example, "How can I make this death more emotional? I know I'll make so and so pregnant then when I kill her (off page to boot), it will be that much worse." "Or I'll reveal something about Sookie's parents that will make certain bad guys' deaths that more satisfying." "Will Bill live or die?" By the end of the book, I just didn't care. I don't think the author did either because the book ends abruptly.

The humor is non-existent; I usually laugh out loud at some of the lines and some of the scenes from these books, but not this one.

And where the heck is Pam? We could have used a little Dear Abby to make it through this one.

I hope book 10 recaptures the charm of this series, but I can't imagine how. There is so much physical and emotional trauma for Sookie to overcome that I'm afraid the next one will be Sookie's sojourn into therapy, and I really can't see spending cold hard cash for that. I've learned a lesson though - the library is your friend; pre-read before you buy. Read more ›

79 of 85 people found the following review helpful

2.0 out of 5 stars Where oh where has Sookie gone??? May 12, 2009

By J. Copeland

Format:Hardcover

I was so looking forward to this book! I love the entire series. I watch True Blood and enjoy it for what it is even though it has diverged so much from the books. I will also admit I like Bill better in on the tube than in the books and like Eric better in the books than on the tube.

Having said that, I am just at a loss for this latest book. What is going on? Or not. Sookie is just not Sookie. Not to mention, she is getting a potty mouth that is just so not her. Octavia's leaving was overblown and redundent. The love scene with Eric was so by the numbers. It had no magic or even real affection. Just a 'do-it-to-me'ness about it. ACK.
And then when Eric tells Sookie his backstory.... uh - okay, here it is. Let me read it off the teleprompter...

And killing pregnant women? What is going on here?

I've read a number of reviews where folks didn't like Dead to Worse because it seemed to be transitional. Which is sort of was. However, I was 3/4 of the way through the book before I realized that CH was tying up a bunch of loose ends and introducing G-Grampa Niall. But you know, I didn't really care, because everyone was IN CHARACTER and it was so well written. Sookie was her sassy sweet self. There was humor and pathos. We didn't have a lot of pod people & pod vamps masquerading as Sookie, Bill, Eric and Pam running around.

I just have to get this off my chest. Continuity has been an issue with this series from the beginning. I've read them all multiple times, and have all the audio books and have listened to them multiple times. In Dead Until Dark Bill tells Sookie he was made vampire when he was 30 years old and had 5 living children.... We get to book three, and looking at the famiy Bible he was not quite 28 when the was turned and has only three living children. In book two, I believe that he was 29 years old when he was bitten. Come on!! An editor/copy editor/Ms. Harris should have a spread sheet SOMEWWHERE that has all pertinent major character info, and they need to REFER to said spread sheet.

But I've also forgiven all that continuity stuff (one time Eric slides into a booth and then pushes his chair back...HUH????) because I love these books so much. Sookie is intelligent, smart, sassy and Southern. Eric is such a hoot, and even tho I liked the HBO Bill better (he's more of a tragic hero) I still miss him. Quinn I just never could stand (from his first decription I always thought of him as looking like a tanned Mr. Clean - sooo not sexy - and all that 'babe' nonsense) so was glad when he got the boot.

So that's my .02 worth. I'll still get book 10, but hope that Ms. Harris gets back on track, otherwise I'll just have to stake books 9 & 10 and leave them out in the sun...

ADDED 5.19.09 - CAUTION - EVEN MORE SPOILERS!!

Jeeze, how could I have forgotten Ms. H killing off Tray who was one of my favorite strong secondary characters! Sookie's world is classed as Urban Fantasy which means mostly darker stuff. BUT, having said that, I still can't believe CH killed off Tray! OY! Did she not watch Star Trek? Kirk, McCoy and Spock beam down with a landing party to the planet. They may get bent, spindled and mutilated some, but do any of them get killed? Ah - that would be a big NO! Ensign No-Name-From-Central-Casting gets his clocked cleaned. Not the regular folks!

And poor Bill! Granted I liked HBO Bill better, becuase I think he's more of a noble-tragic-hero. But he's proven numerous times in these last books in that he's willing to sacrifice himself to keep Sookie safe. But now he's on the verge of a second death and we're just left there. Some cliff hangers just ain't right and this is one of them.

I could go on even more, but you'd get bored, doze off or need to drink something stronger than iced tea to get you through the rest of my complaints. So, I'll just leave it at this with a sigh and, again, hope that book #10 gives Sookie some happy time and that the Bon Temps community, supes and otherwise get back on track. Read more ›