From Dead to Worse (Southern Vampire Mysteries, Book 8)

This series has lost everything that pulled me into it. This book was all over the place and felt as if it was rushed to be published. The author went from a great supernatural series with a touch of romance to a romance series with a touch of supernatural. All CH seems to be doing with her last few books is to drag out Sookie's love life over many books so she can make more money from from people waiting to see Sookie in love again. She could easily write a good supernatural book and have Sookie in love (still with issues) and have great adventures exploring the supernatural world around her. This book is the worst. I am not buying the next one. The author has lost her touch and some of her fans.

I truly enjoyed the first four books in this series, then slowly things began to change and each of the next three just didn't hold my interest quite as much. Sookie is almost killed, Sookie is in a deadly battle, Sookie gets beat up and so on and so on and then always comes back for more. I keep wondering where the humor went and of course, the sex! In Book 8, where did the plot go? Book 8 should have been called "How many characters can you jam into one book without telling a story?"
I'm sure I will buy Book 9 because Ms. Harris is a talented writer but I will be praying that Sookie gets to enjoy life just a little so we can enjoy it with her.

I can't get enough of this series. It's one of the best I have read so far. I don't want to give away too much, but I will summarize. Bottom line, you won't be disappointed.

The vampires are dealing with the aftermatch of the Vampire Summit and reorganizing themselves. With the queen badly injured in the hotel fire, her partner dead and then recovering from the afternatch of hurricane Katrina, it leaves them very vunerable for a takeover. In vampire politics, there are always things that come up unexpectedly.

In this book, we do get more of a showing from Bill and it's nice to see him back. The story between Eric and Sookie moves along and you really start to see a softer, even more likeable Eric. (if that's possible as I also loved his "bad boy" personna in the previous books equally as much). Eric also gets enlightened on something that's been bugging him for the last several books, though I think we'll hear even more on that topic in future books. (at least I hope we do.)

Sookie has more attempts made on her life and finds herself in the middle of some stuff going on with the weres and shifters as well as the stuff going on with the vampires.

She also meets 2 relatives that she did not know she had, and has a couple of friends (who are witches) staying at her house.

The past 3 installments have focused more and more on shifters, were's, fairies and witches and I would like to see a little less of them and more of the vamps. Even with that statement, it's still a 5 star read....my 5 star reads are books that I would read more than once. (most of the books in this series fit that criteria, though book 4 is still my favorite.)

I loved the first three Sookie Stackhouse books but felt the series bogged down and started wandering aimlessly for awhile. Book 7 got things going again but Book 8, From Dead to Worse, truly felt like Charlaine Harris is back on top of her game. The plot was interesting, the characters continue to develop in surprising and satisfying ways, and Sookie's life gets ever more interesting. Glad to be looking forward to the new installment again!

I thought Dead to Worse was a big improvement over the formulaic All Together Dead. I was beginning to tire of the series with its vignette relationships for Sookie and its lack of meaningful conversation between characters whose actions suggest greater depth than their described discussions or relationships. Harris really enhances her characters in this book and shows us greater emotional complexity in all the supes, beyond their obvious powers. Sookie herself finds a greater depth and honesty and her character is finally able to reflect better on whether anyone is truly free from strife. She finally realizes her contact with the supernatural world has allowed her greater personal freedom, reverence and expression than she has realized. That realization seems to have enhanced her quality of life, as well as her value to all the characters in her world. The ending of this book leaves many avenues open for Sookie to interact more with newly discovered relatives, with Eric, and with the humans in Bon Temps. I hope that Harris keeps subsequent books more in line with the tone of this one.