“Dead Ever After,” by Charlaine Harris

FM’s ratings:

1. Premise 9
2. Prose 10
3. Plot 8
4. Characters 9
5. Overall 9

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I have a low tolerance for writing that drags, that get bogged down in details or side issues to the point where I want to take a break. That’s the main reason I love Charlaine Harris’s books so much; it’s always interesting enough to keep you turning pages. A book is either a “page-turner” or it isn’t. And there are plenty of authors out there that have that touch, but none better than Harris. This book is the 13^th in a 13-book series and as such, it wraps things up rather well. By itself, the plot is kind of patchy, only making complete sense in the context of the rest of the books in the series. The constantly high level of tension and exposure to danger in Sookie Stackhouse’s life finally seems to be resolved by the end of this book. Yes, for the romance-oriented readership, Sookie finally seems to have found her “true love.” That’s nice. But for the rest of us, she’s no longer in the thick of things regarding the “sup [supernatural] community” especially the vampires and fairies. All the baddies have been “taken care of” and life can return to a more manageable small town Louisiana pace. A good time for the reader to depart. There are still about a dozen or so Charlaine Harris books I have yet to read, fortunately, and she’s still cranking them out. But this series is fittingly put to rest, as wonderful as it is.