Book Review: Dead Until Dark by Charlaine Harris

Review: Dead Until Dark
Series: Sookie Stackhouse - Book 1
Author: Chralaine Harris
No of Pages: 326
Release Date: 1 May 2001

Sookie Stackhouse is a small-time cocktail waitress in small-town Louisiana. She's quiet, keeps to herself, and doesn't get out much. Not because she's not pretty. She is. It's just that, well, Sookie has this sort of ‘disability’. She can read minds. And that doesn't make her too dateable. And then along comes Bill. He's tall, dark, handsome - and Sookie can't 'hear' a word he's thinking. He's exactly the kind of guy she's been waiting for all her life.

But Bill has a disability of his own: He's a vampire. Worse than that, hangs with a seriously creepy crowd, with a reputation for trouble - of the murderous kind.

And when one of Sookie's colleagues is killed, she begins to fear she'll be next.

My Thoughts:

Sookie Stackhouse is definitely odd, but I like her.

Sookie has grown up being thought of as either crazy or slow. Not because she is though, it is because she is constantly trying to stop the stream of chatter from people’s minds. Occasionally Harris gives us a peek into what Sookie is ‘hearing’.

Sookie is a down to earth lovable character. She is a little bit annoying and very helpless, but it only concretes the fact that she is realistic. A human among vampires who accepts that fact and uses it, somewhat, to her advantage.

Bill is definitely tall, dark and handsome (nothing like the character on True Blood). After getting into a spot of trouble at the beginning of Dead Until Dark he goes on to introduce Sookie to the vampire world, dangerous as it may be.

I love that Sookie isn’t some swooning woman infatuated with Bill, if he cheeses her off she leaves and will not talk to him until he apologises. She doesn’t put up with anything that’s not warranted and isn’t always the first to call.

For being so physically fragile, mentally she is one tough chick. Dealing with death threats, a whole new world with a different set of rules and the constant stream of chatter Sookie also holds up against all the death suddenly surrounding her and not just in the form of vampires.

Sookie's workmates are being picked off one by one and her brother Jason is a prime suspect, so it’s up to Sookie to help clear his name.

I love Harris’ vampires. They are very traditional in that they don’t like the sun and can be staked. They are also pretty evil with their loss of humanity and therefore don’t see death or horrifying wounds as anything worth worrying about anymore, unless of course they are the ones in danger.

Harris’ writing style was odd at the beginning, almost simple in a way with far too many words and then she fell into a good rhythm about half way through which helped the story flow much easier. I loved her use of southern language even though it wasn’t always consistent and her world building was clear and painted a beautiful picture.

Dead Until Dark threw me back into the world of mystery and suspense with a beautiful touch of old fashioned vampires to spice things up. Once it had me in the grips of having to know what happened it wouldn’t let go until the final page, and even then I can’t wait to get into Living Dead in Dallas.

Others in this series:
Living Dead in Dallas
Club Dead
Dead to the World
Dead as a Doornail
Definitely Dead
All Together Dead
From Dead to Worse
Dead and Gone
Dead in the Family
Dead Reckoning