Deadlocked (Sookie Stackhouse #12) by Charlaine Harris
Publication date: 01 May 2012 by Ace
Category: Adult Urban Fantasy
Keywords: Urban fantasy, paranormal, mystery, vampires, shifters, weres, murder, fae
Format: Hardcover, eBook
Source: Library
Synopsis:
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.
Thuy's Review:
I think this is my least favorite Sookie Stackhouse book. Unlike a lot of people, I really enjoyed the previous book, Dead Reckoning. The series to me had been going downhill for the last few books. Perhaps Harris was losing steam or maybe I was just losing interest. But I felt like Dead Reckoning was finally getting the series back on track and I found myself once again engaged in Sookie’s world. So it was with anticipation and excitement that I opened up Deadlocked.
Unfortunately Deadlocked was not what I was hoping for. The first hundred pages or so were slow but I figured that the series has so many characters and crazy plot lines that Harris really needed to get us caught up with everyone. Finally they find a dead body and I thought, “Now things are going to start happening.” Only...they don’t. I mean, they do, but not in a way that moves the series forward. Like trying to walk through knee high wet sand, I felt like I was trudging through this book with little to show for my efforts. There were no sexy times, no fun times and even the murder mystery was uninteresting after awhile.
I also didn’t want to hear about every little detail of Sookie’s day. Sookie goes to the grocery store, she paints her nails, does the laundry, goes to work, goes to the grocery store again....You get the idea. Now I don’t mind a little taste of Sookie’s life. The series has always had little bits here and there about how Sookie goes about her day and I appreciate these small details. However, this book was filled with mundane tasks that added nothing to the story and only succeeded in boring me. And the endless recapping! Everyone was constantly recapping events to someone who wasn’t there who would then recap it to another person and then they’d go over it again themselves in case they missed something. I was almost hoping that someone would just send out a mass email or put it on Facebook to save me the trouble of reading it 5 different ways.
Now let’s talk romance, or the lack of it. I am in the minority here since I have always been Team Bill and that possibility died long ago. But that doesn’t mean that I want Sookie and Eric to go kaput. I actually like them together and it’s clear that they have strong feelings for each other, despite all the angst. Vampire politics once again rears its ugly head with Eric and Sookie caught in the middle. The politics only aid in showing how dysfunctional their relationship is and Eric has very little page time in this book. This book is also sadly lacking in any hot sex scenes. Perhaps Harris is slowly leading Sookie in another romantic path but the constant drama between Sookie and Eric is getting old and I find myself not caring one way or the other if they stay together or not. Sookie does have a few nice moments with Bill though I don’t think they’ll ever be together again (Bill, call me!). Sam is as faithful and true as ever and his taste in women still sucks.
The story finally picked up in the last few chapters but, by that point, I didn’t really care. This really felt like a filler book. I just finished it half an hour ago and already I am hard pressed to recall what happened in it. I am glad the series is coming to a close. I still love the series and the characters in it but I think Harris has done all she can with it and it’s time to move on. I look forward to seeing how Harris closes out the series and what the fate holds in store for Sookie and the rest of the Bon Temps gang.
Oh no! This is the first book in the series that I'm skipping - it is decided. Will check out the final book in the series next year though just to see how it ends.
ReplyDeleteSounds like this installment sucks for both Team Bill and Team Eric (I'm waving my flag.) Bummer that there's even more Sookie & her mundane daily tasks and recapping than usual. I laughed at your comment about making a FB update so everyone could be caught up at once :)
Let's hope that the series finale is not a let-down. (fingers crossed) Awesome review, Thuy!
yeah this one was a bummer for me, lucy. i so wanted to love it but i found it pretty boring. and no romance at all. boooo. i am hoping that the last book just wraps it all up.
DeleteI have not even started this series. It sounds like I might want to bail out before the later books. This is not the first time that I am haring about some of the points that you have made and am able to see your aggravation. It is a real snoozer to have to read through the doledrum of everyday life told in extensive detail. Thank you for the honest and detailed review.
ReplyDeletehi steph,
Deleteyes i think the books kind of lose focus after awhile. i still love these characters though and i think at least the first 5 books are solid. the rest kind of blur together for me.