Dead Until Dark

Dead Until Dark is the first novel in the Sookie Stackhouse series by Charlaine Harris. I am always looking for a good series and although the Jessica Darling series did not pan out for me (I couldn’t even make it through the 2^nd book) I had high hopes for this one. In light of all the vampire popularity lately, this series was ahead of the curve as it began back in 2000.

Twenty-six year old Sookie Stackhouse lives with her grandma, Gran, in Bon Temps, Louisiana, north of New Orleans, her parents having died when she was younger. She’s a waitress at Merlotte’s, a bar in town. Vampires have just been legalized as public figures of society where they previously had to hide out. Bill Compton is one such vampire that Sookie eventually begins dating. Things start to turn south in Bon Temps when a string of strange murders occur and Sookie fears she may soon fall victim. Her brother, Jason, is a lead suspect as most of the victims are women that he has dated in the past. Bill does his best to keep her safe; Sookie does her best to clear Bill’s name (also a suspect due to the vampire nature of the wounds on the bodies). Will the killer be found? Will Sookie live? I won’t give it away for you but she’s the main character so, she lives. Oh yeah, Sookie also has a strange ability to read minds. Her clairvoyant ways are somewhat of a joke in Bon Temps but they often work in her favor. I should also mention her boss, Sam, is sweet on her too. I smell a love triangle in the near future!

I really enjoyed Dead Until Dark. I like a good mystery and this one was also somewhat humorous and contained a burgeoning love story that I think will continue throughout the series. I hope this will be a good series I can sink my teeth into. (Vampire Pun Intended – HA!) I also recently found out that the HBO series True Blood is based on these novels. The first season just happens to be on my On Demand so it looks like HBO wins again in the programming battle. (P.S. Big Love Season 4 starts on January 10^th. Praise be!)

Also, I ended up finishing Dead Until Dark on December 31^st but couldn’t review it until now. So technically, it goes on my 2009 count which means my total of books read was pushed to 51. Wheee!!! I’m nearly finished with my first book of the new year and have plenty more in my library bag.