And of course, more fun than a coffin full of lusty vampires IMHO.

Sookie’s one-eighth fairy heritage is the consistent plot point in this tale. She finds out a lot about her fae relations. Fairies Claude and Dermot are in and out of her house constantly. Eric (owner of Fangtasia) is still her lover/husband. At least for half of the novel. And Bill Compton is still out there in the woods (along with our dear Bubba). And to really stir things up, she finds a hidden and revealing letter from her grandmother and a fairy love token called a cluviel dor hidden in an old desk she’s about to sell to antique store.

Buff Viking Eric (and just about every other vampire in Louisiana) have had it with the high-handed Victor who runs vampire life as the King of Nevada’s regent. Victor really hates Eric and his vampires, even though Eric is officially Victor’s Sheriff. He’s made life miserable for everyone, including Sam, the owner of Merlotte’s. Victor has set up competition in the form of his own bar, Vic’s Redneck Roadhouse and it’s sucking the life out of Merlotte’s, as it were. What adds to the problem is that the weres (were panthers, were bears, etc)—those who are two-natured like Sookie’s friends Alcide and his clan and even Sookie’s brother Jason have come out of the woods and told the world about their existence. They were hoping that the human population would accept them grudgingly as they sort of have the vampires. But one more group of supernaturals added to the vampire population has made a lot of the locals in Bon Temps really uneasy. The crowds at Merlotte’s are thin and Sam is losing money.

And remember Sandra Pelt? The woman that really, really had it out for Sookie? (because of past altercations in a previous novel). Oh well, she’s out of prison and is completely focused on taking Sookie out.

Sookie, as you can imagine, really wants her life to quiet down.

But of course—it’s still entertainingly frantic and furious with vampire dealings and fending off attacks set up by Pelt. There’s also a climatic confrontation with Victor and his crew at Vic’s Roadhouse with dead bodies everywhere. Sookie also gets an unexpected visit from the demon lawyer Desmond Cataliades near the end who reveals to Sookie some very interesting facts about her family.

As always this is a great rip-roaring read, as smooth as syrup on Saturday morning pancakes.

Why wait for it to come out in paperback?

Sookie Bon Temps and the vamps are waiting! ~~ Sue Martin