From Dead to Worse (Southern Vampire Mysteries, No. 8) [Large Print] [Hardcover]

Charlaine Harris (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 2008

Telepathic barmaid Sookie Stackhouse returns to find herself facing danger, death and betrayal by someone she loves. The supernatural community in Bon Temps, Louisiana is reeling from two hard blows: the natural disaster of Hurricane Katrina, and the manmade horror of the explosion at the vampire summit in the up-north city of Rhodes. Sookie Stackhouse is safe but dazed, and she's yearning for things to get back to normal. But that's just not happening. Too many vampires - some friends, some not - were killed or injured, and her were-tiger boyfriend Quinn is among the missing. It's clear that things are changing, whether the weres and vamps like it or not. And Sookie, Friend to the Pack, blood-bonded to the leader of the local vampire community, is caught up in those changes. She's about to find herself facing danger and death and, not for the first time, betrayal by someone she loves. And when the fur has finished flying and the cold blood has stopped flowing, Sookie's world will be forever altered . . .

--This text refers to the Kindle Edition edition.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Starred Review. Harris outdoes herself in this pivotal eighth Sookie Stackhouse novel (after 2007's All Together Dead), packing the story full of romantic tension and supernatural action. Having barely survived a catastrophic vampire hotel explosion, Sookie's back at work in Bon Temps, La., serving vintage blood and waiting tables at Merlotte's, a vampire bar. Participating in a friend's wedding and fending off the advances of her vampire ex-lover, Bill, and her blood-bonded pal, Eric, leaves Sookie chafing over the recent lack of communication from Quinn, her weretiger boyfriend. When a violent Were power struggle erupts as Vegas vampires attempt to take over Louisiana from disgraced queen Sophie-Anne, Sookie dives into the middle of it, determined to help her shape-changing, blood-drinking friends. Harris provides many fun twists, most significantly Sookie's meeting with her fae great-grandfather, Niall Brigant, which paves the way for a shock ending that will delight longtime fans. (May)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an alternate Hardcover edition.

Review

--This text refers to the Paperback edition.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 471 pages
• Publisher: Wheeler Publishing; Lrg edition (August 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1597227773
• ISBN-13: 978-1597227773
• Product Dimensions: 15.8 x 10.6 x 2.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (472 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,252,307 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!

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

110 of 114 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars More like a series of vignettes than a novel to me, but I enjoyed the various parts (3.5 stars), May 10, 2008

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R. Kyle (USA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: From Dead to Worse (Southern Vampire Mysteries, Book 8) (Hardcover)

I honestly am such a fan of Charlaine Harris that I'd go just about anywhere she'd take me. "From Dead to Worse" wasn't quite all over the map, but there wasn't as much of a central them in this book as there was in her usual entries in this series.

We went from weddings, to family revelations, to were-wars--and there was so much more. While the varying parts were interesting and many did tie together, there wasn't the overall unity in this book I have expected from the series.

The beginning chapter where Sookie served as the bridesmaid for Halleigh's wedding was a spinoff from Ms. Harris' short story in an anthology collection, "My Big Fat Supernatural Wedding." I'm wondering if the rest isn't bits and pieces that have just needed resolving for some time.

I think you will see some answers to some interesting questions you've had as readers all along--like where did Sookie get her gift, what makes her different? And there are a few other surprises in store.

Interesting, in part, not as cohesive and riveting as her usual offerings are in a whole. "From Dead to Worse" is still very much worth the read if you are a die-hard Sookie fan like I am, but this is honestly the first of the series I can't simply rave about.

Rebecca Kyle, May 2008

221 of 244 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars from dead to worse, May 7, 2008

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Sarah Banks "sarahlen1980" (Madison, MS) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: From Dead to Worse (Southern Vampire Mysteries, Book 8) (Hardcover)

Let me start out by saying how much I love the Southern Vampire Mysteries. I was super excited for this book, yet I feel very let down after finishing. But I'll start with the positives. The characters were great. Bon Temps was great. I love immersing myself into Sookie's little corner of the world so much that I've read most books in this series at least twice. All of the characters were true to themselves; no one did anything out of the ordinary. No, the characters weren't the problem.

The problem with "From Dead to Worse" was the plot, specifically that there wasn't much of one. It seemed like there was a cameo from every character we have come to know. From Alcide & Sam to Amelia & Eric, they all came back to tie up some loose ends. There was no pacing or buildup to anything special, which brings me to another point. Isn't this series called the Southern Vampire MYSTERIES? Where was the mystery? Charlaine Harris is at her best when she writes mysteries as evidenced by her other series, so this book just seemed meandering & lost.

There were several plot lines that all seemed to get the same page amount as the other. There was no big story here. First, we start with a revelation about Sookie's family & her ties to the fairy world. Then, we move to the Shreveport werewolves who are having loyalty problems with their pack. That storyline is tied up in roughly 70 or so pages, & we turn the page to the vampires. Again, 70 or so pages are spent with Eric & Bill before we are thrust into the lives of Jason & Crystal. Finally, we end with Amelia & Bob.

I am upset with "From Dead to Worse" only because I love this series so much. I realize that many fans will feel differently, but I have tried to be as objective as possible. If this were my first book in the series, I would have put it down halfway through. I'll still continue to buy the new books in hardback, but I really hope that the next Sookie book has a little more bite.

73 of 83 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars From Dead to Worse, May 7, 2008

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fireandfog "fireandfog" (San Francisco) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: From Dead to Worse (Southern Vampire Mysteries, Book 8) (Hardcover)

No question, From Dead to Worse is a bridge book in the Southern Vampire series. I am one fan who thinks that is just peachy keen fine. I thought this was an excellent book, very engaging, by which I mean I read it all in one sitting, no stopping. While it's true that this book is episodic in nature, my feeling is that going along with the characters on these episodes is high entertainment. As I get older, I find it becomes harder to concentrate, and that Charlaine Harris continues to hold my attention eight books into this series is just wonderful. The truth is, if you are going to read this series, you need to start with the first book. Read them in order, and don't start with this one, because you need to know all the back story to fully appreciate how far the characters have come. (And can I just say: Sookie needs a vacation! Ms. Harris, send her off to a beautiful island where she can relax, forget her cares for a while, sip some rum punch on nice beach, and maybe go limbo-ing with some nice fella who doesn't want anything more than the pleasure of her company.)

I think this book is for the fans who have fallen in love with these characters. We've spent the last year since the release of All Together Dead wondering what was going to happen next, and musing about the paths the characters would take. From Dead to Worse tells us some great stories, fills in some of the personal details we've all been aching to know, and sets the stage for what will be I hope many more books to come. I think From Dead to Worse was fabulous. Brava, Ms. Harris!