Dead Reckoning (Sookie Stackhouse/True Blood, Book 11) [Hardcover]

Charlaine Harris (Author)

Book Description

Release date: May 3, 2011 | Series: Sookie Stackhouse/True Blood (Book 11)

With her knack for being in trouble's way, Sookie witnesses the firebombing of Merlotte's, the bar where she works. Since Sam Merlotte is now known to be two-natured, suspicion falls immediately on the anti-shifters in the area. Sookie suspects otherwise, but her attention is divided when she realizes that her lover Eric Northman and his "child" Pam are plotting to kill the vampire who is now their master. Gradually, Sookie is drawn into the plot-which is much more complicated than she knows...

New in the #1 New York Times bestselling Sookie Stackhouse series--the basis for HBO's True Blood!

Editorial Reviews

Review

“Doesn’t disappoint fans of the southern mind-reading belle who gets mixed up in the world of vampires and magical creatures…It’s the perfect poolside read.”—The Kansas City Star

“This was a fast paced and entertaining read that had me glued to my seat and turning those pages to see just who would show up and what was going to happen next.”—Fresh Fiction

--This text refers to the Paperback edition.

About the Author

Charlaine Harris is the author of several NEW YORK TIMES bestselling series. She is married, with children, and lives in Arkansas. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 336 pages
• Publisher: Ace Hardcover; 1 Mti edition (May 3, 2011)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0441020313
• ISBN-13: 978-0441020317
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.2 x 1.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1,041 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #20,220 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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#16 Overall (See top 100 authors)

#2 in Books > Science Fiction & Fantasy > Fantasy

#3 in Kindle eBooks > Literature & Fiction > Fantasy

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

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

#7 in Books > Mystery, Thriller & Suspense

#2 in Books > Science Fiction & Fantasy > Fantasy

#3 in Kindle eBooks > Literature & Fiction > Fantasy

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

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

#7 in Books > Mystery, Thriller & Suspense

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

344 of 359 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars I'll finish the series... May 4, 2011

By jehren

Format:Hardcover

Geez, where do I start? I know I'll finish the series, but like other reviewers, I'm disappointed with the unnecessary explanations that ultimately conflict with the timeline. There were also a couple of incongruous actions of the characters- leading one to believe that C.H. is going to arrive at her predetermined resolution, no matter how inelegant or contrived.
I really wish C.H. had done something like Orson Scott Card. During his 8 book series, he recruited a handful of avid fans to comb over drafts of upcoming books for plot holes.
Taken as a stand alone book, I really enjoyed it. But it isn't a stand alone, and we all know these characters, so when they do out of character things or we find out they've been doing things that don't fit the timeline... the magic is lost.
And now, MAJOR SPOILERS:
***SPOILERS***
Like other reviewers have pointed out, we find out that Niall and Eric have been in contact all along... and that just isn't possible. Goes against the timeline. I guess we're meant to understand (among other reasons, I'm sure) that Eric has had motives all along and is no better than Bill. I'm okay with C.H. tearing down some of what we know about Eric if that's the way she wants to go, but at least let it make sense.
Then there is Eric tearing into her neck after the major fight scene. What? Now Eric is manhandling Sookie? Can that be explained away by the bond break? Or maybe the heat of the moment? No, I just don't buy it. Eric has almost always worn kid gloves when it comes to Sookie. Yes, he has put her in danger before, but that's the world he lives in. Yes, they've had rough sex, but that has always been consensual and doesn't count. And yes, he has deceived her, which is wrong, but it has never been to injure her. If Eric isn't "the one," so be it. There are plenty of reasons for the Sookie/Eric relationship to fall apart, but revising his character, turning him into something readers don't recognize isn't necessary.
Then there's the betrothal to the Queen of Oklahoma that he can't undo. I'd be okay with this if it weren't for all the other slams against Eric, inciting us to believe that Eric will never be honest with Sookie and that until now, we haven't seen his true colors. This betrothal reeks of "it can never be," bc Eric will never put Sookie first, just like everyone else (except maybe Sam, of course). Does that mean that everything we've learned about these characters up til now has been wrong?
I will be sorry if C.H.'s ultimate message suggests that one should go with the easy, safe choice even if there isn't that attraction- the lesson being: this (drama, heartache, etc.)is what happens when you DON'T settle. (And btw, I like Sam).

1,133 of 1,203 people found the following review helpful

2.0 out of 5 stars Continuity Gets in the Way of a Good Read May 3, 2011

By H. Edwards

Format:Hardcover

I won't offer a synopsis of the book since others have done so. This book is much better than the previous two or three books; however, the continuity problems get in the way of really enjoying the book. At one point, I put it down and was disgusted with myself when I picked the book back up. If Charlaine Harris does not respect her audience and reread her own books before she writes a new one, why should I keep reading her books as she changes events that could not have possibly happened the way she says (in the most recent books) it happened?

One of the main issues with the continuity problems is the enlightening details regarding past events. If you have not read the book yet, I suggest you stop reading now because there will be spoilers. When Sookie is finally able to talk to Claude and Dermot, they tell her that Eric and Niall had had business dealings for quite some time and that Eric had kept Niall informed about Sookie and her goings on. First, Niall learns from Eric Sookie's special talent. Secondly, Eric tells Niall that Sookie is "withering," and Niall sends Claudine to help her. As for the first issue: Eric did not learn that Sookie was part fae until book 7, "All Together Dead." He was genuinely surprised when he found out. Granted, he may have had business dealings with Niall before learning of Sookie's heritage, but why would he talk about Sookie to Niall before he learned that she was part fairy? The second issue cannot be so easily disregarded. Eric tells Niall that Sookie is not doing well, and Niall sends Claudine. Claudine does not show up until book 4, "Dead to the World." Eric did not know who he was in that book; how in the world would he know who Sookie was (or Niall, for that matter) to tell Niall that Sookie was "withering"? Besides that, he shouldn't have even known that she was part fae at that point. I have overlooked many of the continuity problems in Ms. Harris' books, but this insults my intelligence. She obviously does not care enough about this series or her readers to do some research (or even remember what she had previously written) for the books she writes. She is changing her own history. Reviewers from other books of hers in this series have suggested that she is focused on the money, and I now agree. I won't even go into the re-telling of Terry Bellefleur and his relationship with Eric. It was completely pointless. (I also have to say shame on the people who edit her book: there are missing periods and verb tenses constantly shift.)

Outside of continuity problems, I still could not completely enjoy this book. The breaking of the blood bond is anti-climatic, and it is obvious that Eric is being phased out, and Sam phased in (I won't even talk about Bill-he is obviously a red herring to create conflict). I understand that she is trying to set up the ending of the series and needs to start putting Sookie's permanent love interest in the forefront, but does she have to be so obvious about it? Can't she use some literary techniques that add some mystery to it? Apparently not. I have heard that Ms. Harris is ready to move on and end the series. I personally think it is a good decision. There is no more heart or magic to this series.

I know that there will be some people unhappy about my comments and, to be honest, I am not happy about having them. I loved this series up until the 7th book, but it has gone downhill since then. I do understand that there is only so much that can be done in a series this long. However, Ms. Harris signed a contract for 13 books yearly, and so if she could not write them with heart, she should have given up a few books ago and returned some of the publisher's money. At this point, it feels like money is all she cares about. I understand that she is tired of Sookie, but she should at least appreciate the people who helped buy her house and put her kids through college--the reader.

141 of 148 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars Mournful and Disjointed May 5, 2011

By netherfield

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

I am truly disappointed in this entry in the Sookie Stackhouse collection. One major plot point is answered, but in an unsatisfactory way. The tone of the book was morose. Sookie is practically comatose in her behavior and attitude, not the firecracker we've come to know and love. The author seems to be showing that she is resigned to being a doormat for other "supes"; but she walks through this book with little emotion, even when big things happen.

For some reason, the same person keeps on trying to **Spoiler Alert** kill her in a half dozen ways throughout the book. This does not forward the story at all. Gang of thugs here, gang of thugs there, even one of her multiple escapes which is supposed to be exciting is very disjointed and bizarre. Charlaine Harris's usual style is to have a one or possibly two major incidents when someone is out to get Sookie with minor incidents to back up and question motives. This one is very overt and feels like the author made no attempt to integrate these incidents into what was going on. We know the attacker, we know what and why they are doing it, where is the mystery?

I was astounded that a major, major thing between Sookie and Eric is treated as an afterthought. Something that would, in the other books, have created all kinds of feelings and expression fall flat at a pancake. We've been building it up about for 10 books, but oh well, let's talk about it lamely over a coke and a True Blood and be interrupted within a few lines. They could have been discussing whose turn it was to take out the garbage. **Spolier Alert End**

I couldn't find one happy moment in this book. Not one. Sad and dreary is the order of the day.