All Reviews include SPOILERS!
To begin, I love Charlaine Harris, she is an amazing author. In fact the hardest thing about watching the True Blood series was that I felt they messed with so many of Harris's amazing story lines that I would get angry at the TV. Sure I have my favorites out of her 11 Sookie books, but overall I love her writing.
That being said, Dead Reckoning is not my favorite of the series. It's also not my least favorite, it falls somewhere in the middle for me. Often throughout the book I began to feel like she was putting various characters in the book just to let the reader know what they were up to and didn't actually fit into the story line. One such example of this is the 2 pages that Alcide makes an appearance in. His being at Sookie's house just felt forced and unnecessary. To be quite honest I felt that way about Bill to some extent in this story, although he actually played a role in the development of the story. Alcide and Bill both continue to proposition Sookie, Alcide with sex and Bill with love. But either way I personally found it more annoying that sweet.
Amelia is one character's reemergence that I felt fit. She had to arrive in order to break the blood bond for Sookie and Eric. But at the same token she also provides reasons for Sookie to realize she can't trust people as much as she wants to. Amelia is her best friend and she wants to tell her everything, only she knows now she can't do that, as Amelia has problems telling people she shouldn't about the inner-workings of Sookie's life. Sookie's life throughout this series has become increasingly more secretive, and it's important that it stay that way.
The arrival of Sandra Pelt back into the picture provides more humor than the other sub-plot points as well as keeps the story moving while other elements are developing. It was a nice tie of that story line while also allowing for the dynamic of Sam and his girlfriend with Sookie to develop, and for the reader to get a better feel for Sam's girlfriend.
The fae in this book I enjoyed, it's nice to see Sookie with her family, in spite of the fact they are just as secretive if not more so than the rest of the supernatural community.
One of the biggest problems I had with this book is the build up of the mystery regarding Sookie's inheritance from her great-grandfather Fintan. This is a mystery that progresses throughout the story but rather anti-climatically is not used and left open for the next book. I have no problem with cliff hangers, in fact in my opinion Harris left a fairly decent cliff hanger in regards to Eric, but this was neither cliff hanger nor did anything to progress the story. I am sure, without a doubt, that Harris is going to use this object as a plot point in the next book but I wonder if she could have held of introducing it until the next book as well.
Harris throws a hiccup in Sookie and Eric's relationship, although she does make it clear to the reader that the two of them are in love. Even with their love, their duo looks like it is about to become a triangle with some serious repercussions in the next book. It was good to see the to of them together and to see how they dealt with the conflicts that arose throughout the book.
It was also good to see Sookie go more on the offensive than before. She is the first one to really say outloud, "why haven't we killed this guy yet" She is also instrumental in the planning phases too. Although Sookie has become more involved in the supernatural world, and even more so the violence that it entails, she is still Sookie, and she still doesn't like the violence or want to be around it, the difference is that now she knows it is necessary.
Another minor point I loved in this book is the softer side of Pam. Pam is a character I have always likes, her hard-ass exterior often offers some comic relief, as well as being a fiercely loyal second for Eric. It has been nice to see her friendship evolve with Sookie, but even more so it was great to see her in this book be in love. The toll of her heart break is obvious as the story progresses. It really humanizes Pam more than she has ever been in any of the stories up to this point.
While there are most definitely have my bones to pick about certain elements of this book, I still liked the overall book as a whole. Once again it was a book I read in one sitting over a couple of hours. Overall the books fits in great with the series, progresses the series the perfect amount, and leaves the reader with a curiosity about what is going to happen next for Sookie and Eric with the cliff hanger. In the end I want to know how things with Sookie and Eric work out or if they work out, and I am most interested in getting more of a glimpse into the world of the fae. Harris does a great job of peeling the layers back slowly concerning the world of the fae, giving just enough to keep the reader wanting more but still enough to keep the reader interested. Can't wait for the next book.
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