Club Dead (Southern Vampire Mysteries, Book 3) (Mass Market Paperback)

~ (Author) "BILL WAS HUNCHED over the computer when I let myself in his house..." (more)
Key Phrases: Charlaine Harris, Bon Temps, Ray Don (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

Sookie Stackhouse is having man trouble. Her vampire boyfriend, Bill, has been distant and inattentive lately. Then he announces that he is going on a business trip, which clearly is more than it seems. After a werewolf tries to abduct Sookie at work, Bill's boss, Eric, tells her that Bill fell under the sway of his--Bill's, that is--ex, a sexy vamp named Lorena, and has been kidnapped. Eric wants Sookie's help in getting Bill back, and despite her hurt over Bill's betrayal, Sookie agrees to go to Jackson, Mississippi, to find her wayward lover. Eric has persuaded Alcide, a dashing werewolf, to get Sookie access to Josephine's, aka Club Dead, the local hangout of Jackson's supernatural element. In between dodging kidnappers, the advances of amorous Eric, and her growing feelings for Alcide, Sookie has to find out who kidnapped Bill and figure out a way to rescue him. With some droll touches--Elvis, now a vampire, is Sookie's faithful guard --Club Dead is ideal for readers who like their vampire fiction light, humorous, and fast-paced. Kristine Huntley
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Review

Horror and humor as seen from the unique perspective of rural America. -- Tanya Huff

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Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 258 pages
• Publisher: Ace Books (April 29, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0441010512
• ISBN-13: 978-0441010516
• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 4.1 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (230 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #3,390 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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• This is item 3 in The Southern Vampire Series.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

46 of 47 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Better than book two ..., September 21, 2003

By	Detra Fitch (USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

Sookie Stackhouse was only interested in one vampire and that was Bill, her boyfriend. However, Bill seemed to be putting some distance between them recently. Then he disappeared to another state! His sinister and sexy boss, Eric, said that Bill had been summoned to Mississippi by Lorena. She was a lady vampire Bill had lived with for some time before. That was enough for Sookie. She was on the way to Mississippi.

Alcide Herveaux was to be Sookie's contact/guide. He was a werewolf. With his help, Sookie could enter places that mere mortals seldom dared tread, such as Club Dead. The vampire king of Mississippi (yes, readers, you read that correctly) was Russell Edgington. Russell took interest in Sookie very quickly. Eric arrived on the scene, in disguise as usual. Several attempts were made on Sookie's life and Bill was caught in an act of serious betrayal against Sookie's love. Sookie was not sure whether to save Bill or sharpen a few stakes of her own!

***** Much better than book two. Again, this mystery could be read as a "stand alone" book. But the main and secondary characters remain the same. The love triangle between Sookie, Bill, and Eric gets much rougher. That triangle is enjoyed more by those who have read the first two previous books though.

This entire series, thus far, is humorous, fun, very sexy, and highly recommended! *****

34 of 36 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars I still love this series, but careful....rise of AB Factor, June 13, 2003

By	"romancewriter5" (Berea, KY) - See all my reviews

I can't tell you how much I looked forward to this book, more than I've looked forward to books in a long time.

However, I was not as happy with this one as I could have been.

Of course, I still enjoyed it, read it in one sitting even. And i absolutly cannot wait for the fourth book (Anyone know when it will be?

But, some things to consider:

Watch out for the AB Factor. The AB Factor is the Anita Blake factor. I used to love the Hamilton series about the Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter. However, after about oh, book four, Anita became quickly, EVERY other person's object of lust in the vicinity. Human, nonhuman, straight, gay, bi...whatever. EVERYone wants to *bleep* Anita.

Well, it appears in this book that this same factor is creeping into the Harris series. Please, oh please, Ms Harris...don't make Sookie the object of lust to everyone...please?

I wish the book had kept the men wanting Sookie to either Bill or Eric. Adding in Alcide, and the Weres, and such..well, it was just too much. Part of the charm of Sookie is that I can see her as EVERYwoman.

I loved that she sent both guys out of her house at the end, and I loved too that she acknowledged to herself that since dating Bill, she's been beaten more than any person ought to have to endure. That's a very telling factor of her life. It's gotten out of control.

I did get a tad annoyed that she's constantly being beaten up or threatened in this book....readers barely catch their breath before another attack happens.

I wanted more details too on Bill's infidelity....I'm shocked...what happened?????? What the heck is his deal? For an "old fashioned" vamp, he's definitely changed.

Please, hurry with the next one.....I need some closure...this book left me hanging and I need more :)

K.

33 of 37 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Club Inconsistent., May 9, 2003

By	M. Friday (K to the Ansas) - See all my reviews

The enjoyment factor on the Southern Vampire series is high. The consistency level on this particular novel is remarkably low.

The authoress, in her previous two novels, introduces characters that (I assume) are important to the progress of Sookie's life. In Club Dead, many of them are insignificant. Take Sam (my favourite Collie), for example- she spends two novels creating a grand tension between he and Sookie and then completely NEGATES his value in novel three. He makes more of a cameo appearance than anything else. Furthermore, we're introduced to Alcede (another lycanthrope), who acts as a sort of "red herring" in the romantic sense. We've still got Eric ( an old, lusty vampire) hot for Sookie's pants AND Bill to account for, not to mention the almost non-existent Sam. The threads begin to unravel at the onset of so many viable guys.

Which brings me around to another fine topic; what of Bill? Bill, Sookie's boyfriend and cheating, devious vampire lover (I've never liked Bill). He runs off to complete a secret mission (which is another definite lack of cohesion) and then-BAM-he falls back in love with an old flame-Lorena the Vampire. This is the second of a major incoherence-We're told NOTHING of Bill and Lorena's past. Since we aren't given an opportunity to understand the ties that bind them to one another, we're left in the dark about events that precipitate the motion of the plot. We only see Lorena, very briefly, when she and Sookie have an "encounter". So, to the reader, it seems as if Bill has simply run off (with no depth of complexity or reasoning) with some other chick. It's another loose thread that, sadly, accounts for many character motivations.

I can only hope Harris wraps Sookie's life a little tighter to home with the next novel. The charm is in the South, with familiar peoples, whom we've grown to know by now, and a tighter plot line. I'd love to see her easy, sweet style find its roots again.