Deadlocked by Charlaine Harris

Summary

With Felipe de Castro, the Vampire King of Louisiana (and Arkansas and Nevada), in town, it’s the worst possible time for a body to show up in Eric Northman’s front yard—especially the body of a woman whose blood he just drank.

Now, it’s up to Sookie and Bill, the official Area Five investigator, to solve the murder. Sookie thinks that, at least this time, the dead girl’s fate has nothing to do with her. But she is wrong. She has an enemy, one far more devious than she would ever suspect, who’s out to make Sookie’s world come crashing down.

Hardcover, 327 pages

Published May 1st 2012 by Gollancz

My Review

I am a huge fan of the Sookie Stackhouse series and it's fair to say I didn't enjoy the last book as much as I could have, but I have to say Deadlocked has put the series back on track, I thoroughly enjoyed reading this instalment. In this book I was reminded why I fell in love with this series in the first place, Harris' writing is as warm and inviting as ever, the suspense is back and the drama is bigger than ever. Yes it lacks some of the usual action but I really didn't mind as I think Harris took us back to basics here and it really did work. Sookie in the previous couple of books (for me) became quite indecisive and a little annoying, but I think in Deadlocked she is back to her fun loving, homely self. Yes, she still has a lot to contend with but the way she handles everything and her overall manner is why I still think of her as one of my favourite heroines in fiction. Hats off to Harris for this brilliant 12th instalment, I am nervously excited for the final instalment.

Sookie has a murder mystery on her hands and the prime suspect looks to be Eric. She arrives at a party to find Eric feeding from a young woman, who was suspiciously irresistible to him. Later that night police are called to Eric's place as the body of the same young woman is found in his back garden. No-one knows who she was or how she even got into the house. Sookie knows something fishy is going on and it's up to her to investigate.

But Sookie has other problems to deal with too, her fairy family are acting stranger than usual. Claude is away with no means to contact him, they don't even know if he will return, leaving Dermot to deal with the restless fey that are left in the club. There is someone or something after the Cluviel Dor, Sookie will have to decide what to use it on before it's too late....

So in true Sookie style, she has so many problems to deal with it's hard to know where to start. Eric's master setting up a marriage for him before he passed away (in the last book) does not help matters, the woman in question comes to visit Sookie, to tell her the marriage is still on and she won't give up without a fight. What is Sookie left to do, can she ever have her own happily ever after?

The ending is fangtastic, I was shocked, thrilled and excited all at the same time. I really, really cannot wait to see what Harris has in store for the final instalment in the Sookie Stackhouse series, it's going to be brilliant. I really don't want to wait until next may, it's far to long away.

4/5 Stars

Carly :)