Dead Until Dark (Southern Vampire Mysteries, No. 1) [Hardcover]

Charlaine Harris (Author)

Book Description

Release date: January 2, 2008

Visit our Sookie Stackhouse series feature page.

For years, Charlaine Harris has delighted fans with her mystery series featuring small-town waitress-turned- paranormal sleuth Sookie Stackhouse. Now, we are pleased to offer her first novel in the series in a special hardcover edition.

And with HBO launching an all-new show, True Blood, based on the Southern Vampire novels, the demand for Charlaine Harris and Sookie Stackhouse will be bigger than ever.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Wicked fun and romance ... Reader Johanna Parker will have you laughing out loud. DAILY EXPRESS --This text refers to the Audio CD 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 the Audio CD edition.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 320 pages
• Publisher: Ace Hardcover; Reissue edition (January 2, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0441015972
• ISBN-13: 978-0441015979
• Product Dimensions: 5.6 x 1.1 x 8.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1,079 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #83,824 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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#40 Overall (See top 100 authors)

#3 in Books > Science Fiction & Fantasy > Fantasy

#5 in Books > Science Fiction & Fantasy

#5 in Kindle eBooks > Literature & Fiction > Fantasy

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

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

#3 in Books > Science Fiction & Fantasy > Fantasy

#5 in Books > Science Fiction & Fantasy

#5 in Kindle eBooks > Literature & Fiction > Fantasy

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

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

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

396 of 426 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars This one grabs you by the throat... July 29, 2001

By Susan Shedd

Format:Mass Market Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

sorry, that was bad! I am a big Charlaine Harris fan and only mildly interested in vampires. But the combination of a an uncontrollably mind-reading heroine, newly legal vampires, a serial killer, a shape-shifter -- how could I resist? I find I don't want to say much at all about the plot, as it's too easy to give away some really exciting twists. It's fair to say that the story postulates vampires as a newly-emerged legal minority (word is they've been victimized by superstition, when really the poor people have been subjected to a terrible virus) with attendant vampire-philics and phobics roiling the waters of cultural change. Vampires can now subsist on artificial blood, so they don't have to be a danger to anyone. Harris has thought through vampire culture and the interaction of that culture with "normal" society to great effect -- the book would be fun to read just for that .

I have to admit, though, that nothing about the vampires interested me as much as the main character, Sookie. If you think you want to be able to know what other people are thinking, the limitations of Sookie's life will make you think again. She's brave, brilliant and decent and watching her (and her sex life) develop is a true joy.

Meanwhile, the book is tightly and extravagantly plotted and the psychological effects are fascinating and disturbing, absolutely gripping. Read it over a weekend or on vacation so you won't have to put it down -- you'll just have to know what happens next!

Harris has set this up to continue as a series, and if she can continue this level of quality, people will be lining up for each new book.

163 of 176 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A much better than average vampire mystery novel May 22, 2001

By K. Maxwell

Format:Mass Market Paperback

Sookie Stackhouse lives in a world like ours - except for one difference, 4 years ago Vampires "came out of the coffin" and are now a legal part of USA society. In this way it's somewhat like the situation in the Anita Blake (author Laurel Hamilton) novels, but in someways I think better written in this book.

Sookie herself is unusual with a disability that makes dating a virtual impossiblity until a vampire comes to town and she discovers he's her (almost) perfect man. Unfortunatley, at the same time people start getting killed, which most of the locals see as an unlikely co-incidence, and in a small town that can almost be deadly itself.

The author has written a very readable book here. I'm not sure if it's the start of a series or not - if it's not - then it's still an enjoyable stand alone novel. Her characters are believable and likeable, and I don't remember any slow patches that make your attention wander. In fact, I read this in a day - the sign of a very good book for me.

For those people who like fiction that covers, vampires, PSI, alternative realities or mystery fiction, this book pretty well covers all those areas. Enjoy:)

87 of 93 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars An Intriguing Blend of Horror and Mystery! September 26, 2003

By Fred Wiehe

Format:Mass Market Paperback

Sookie Stackhouse has what she calls a "disability." She's a telepath. Now reading minds sounds like it might be a good thing, but as she points out it sort of gets in the way of relationships, sexual relationships in particularly. It's hard for her to have sex and enjoy it when she knows the man she's with thinks her breasts are too small or maybe he's thinking of someone else. Besides, other people's thoughts bombarding her all day drive her crazy. She works as a waitress in a bar and comes in contact with many people on a daily basis. So for her own sanity, and because she thinks it rude to listen in, she's learn to block out the noise from the minds of others. Then Bill comes into her life. He's the perfect boyfriend because she can't read his thoughts at all. That's because he has a disability of his own. He's dead. He's a vampire. Vampires have recently come out of the closet so to speak and exposed their existence to the world. All of this came about because of the creation of synthetic blood, making it possible for them to exist without preying on unwilling humans. They are the new minority and now wish to coexist with humans. Of course, the vampires-like any minority-have those who hate them. But they also have those who admire and adore them as well. These people are called fang-bangers. Three female fang-bangers suddenly turn up dead, murdered, and the vampires are quickly blamed. Fear fuels the fires of hatred and violence erupts between the humans and the undead. This puts Bill at risk. Also, Sookie fears that she's next on the murderer's list since she has a vampire boyfriend. So, with Bill's help, she uses her "disability" to solve the mystery, and in the process she puts her own life on the line....
This is an extraordinary and original book; full of charm and wit, capturing small-town America to a T. Harris blends together several genres-horror, mystery, and a bit of Gothic romance-with ease and aplomb. She has a straight forward, just between you and me kind of style that's fun and easy to read. One minute she's making you laugh, the next she's sending chills along your spine, and the next she's got you wondering who done it. This book will entertain and keep you guessing until the very end. I highly recommend it. Read more ›

24 of 25 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars A cross between Janet Evanovich and Laurell K. Hamilton. May 28, 2002

By --corinne--

Format:Mass Market Paperback

Charlaine Harris offers up an original and fun vampire novel with 'Dead Until Dark'.
Sookie Stackhouse, a waitress in a small contemporary Louisiana town, has led her life trying to protect herself from "her disability"-- a telepathic skill so acute she finds it difficult to block out the thoughts of those around her.
One night when a vampire named Bill enters the bar Sookie is immediately drawn him. He's set apart from people just like she is and she's delighted to discover she can't overhear his thoughts at all. He likewise is surprised he cannot hypnotize her with his power. They find themselves in the awkward position of meeting on almost equal ground. When citizens of the town start showing up murdered, Sookie enlists Bill's help.
The style of 'Dead Until Dark' really reminds me of Janet Evanovich's Stephanie Plum series. 'Dead Until Dark' is a first person narrative and takes place in an area where everybody knows each other. Sookie also has a grandma who's a character. Sookie is, well, kind of goofy. Her talent for hiding her telepathy is about as great as Evanovich's Stephanie Plum's skill as a bounty hunter.
Bill is rather a "thinking" comtemplative vampire, similar to Anne Rice's Louis, except he accepts himself for what he is. He doesn't reveal much of his past which, no doubt, will unwrap in later installments.
Charlaine Harris portrays the vampire world to be as violent as that portrayed by Laurell K. Hamilton. However, Sookie Stackhouse is no Anita Blake. The novel does slow somewhat in the middle and wraps up rather peremptorily. However, 'Dead Until Dark' is an engaging take on 'life with vampires' and has consistent style. And Sookie is a fun character....
I look forward to Sookie & Bill developing more as characters in future installments and seeing their relationship grow. Read more ›