Dead Until Dark

Dead Until Dark

by Charlaine Harris

4 out of 5

Synopsis
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 type of guy she's been waiting for all her life....

But Bill has a disability of his own: He's a vampire with a bad reputation. He hangs with a seriously creepy crowd, all suspected of--big surprise--murder. And when one of Sookie's coworkers is killed, she fears she's next....



Review
Sookie has been leading a very not-normal life, constantly exhausted by hearing everyone's thoughts and trying to block them out. When she meets vampire Bill, she gets to experience a new normal.

I watched True Blood when it came out, and I loved it (although I was very grateful to the radio presenter who mentioned who embarrassed she was to watch it with her parents. It meant I nicely side-stepped that awkward moment when Mum suggested we watch it one evening...).
I've been meaning to read the books for years, and finally picked up the Omnibus copy, with the first three books. I was on holiday at the time, going on a steam engine, and shopping in their charity bookshop. And yes, I did spend the rest of the day carrying around a big, chunky book about vampires and sex.

Anywho, I digress.
I really enjoyed the first book. It was a pleasant surprise to read how closely True Blood kept to the book (with the exception of Lafayette having a minor role, and no Tara - I missed those guys!), and I have to admit that I was seeing and hearing Anna Paquin and co. as I read on.

So, for anyone that has stuck their head in the sand for the last umpteen years, this is the story of Sookie. She's a waitress, who can hear the thoughts of everyone around her - until she meets Vampire Bill. She can finally relax in his company, and enjoy a little romance, without hearing non-romantic thoughts.
Vampires have "come out of the coffin", and live alongside humans now, although there's some humans that aren't happy about that. Cue murders in Sookie's little Southern town.

This story felt like the predecessor of paranormal cosy mysteries. It's got vampires, shape-shifters and magic. It's fun and light-hearted and sexy, too. And it made the True-Blood-fangirl in me very happy.
I really enjoyed it, and I've already started the second book of the series.

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