Club Dead (Sookie Stackhouse #3) by Charlaine Harris

SUMMARY (from Goodreads): Things between cocktail waitress Sookie and her vampire boyfriend Bill seem to be going excellently (apart from the small matter of him being undead) until he leaves town for a while. A long while. Bill's sinister boss Eric has an idea of where to find him, whisking her off to Jackson, Mississippi to mingle with the under-underworld at Club Dead. When she finally catches up with the errant vampire, he is in big trouble and caught in an act of serious betrayal. This raises serious doubts as to whether she should save him or start sharpening a few stakes of her own.

MY OPINION:

Club Dead is exactly what I expected it to be. It is an action packed mix of suspense, paranormal and romance. It is an easy and fast attention keeping read.

It has been over a year since I read the preceding book in the series, Living Dead in Dallas, so I liked that there was just enough recapping in to remind the reader of some facts and events from the previous two novels in the series but not too much to be over repetitive. The writing is undemanding with some flaws that bothered me, but includes some witty humour which I like.

Sookie is still the same Southern girl trying to stick to her beliefs and follow the moral code she has been brought up in, though this is hard to do when she is dragged into supernatural world. Nevertheless, she is not a girl who would easily become unscrupulous and I like that her conscience always has a more or less strong voice.

The one thing I dislike about Sookie is that she is portrayed somewhat stereotypically – a religiously brought up undereducated orphan, who has to struggle on the edge of poverty but is trying to educate herself through reading romance and mystery and expanding her vocabulary by a-word-a-day method. Regardless, she is such a warm-hearted and honest-bordering-naivety person I have to like her. Also, it is sad how she longs for a “normal” life away from the supernatural world, knowing she can’t have it because of her very nature.

The usual dangerous meddling with the business of supernatural creatures, which keeps popping up with new complications, makes the reader wonder how much bad luck a person can really have and how many injuries in a given amount of time a person can still handle.

Besides the action, Club Dead adds new aspects to the love triangle between Bill, Sookie and Eric. While the relationship between Sookie and Bill begins to crumple, Eric slowly starts to show himself in a different light. He is kinder and less bossy and frightening, so he becomes quite likable.

Overall, Club Dead is familiar in style but suspenseful and surprising in plot and characters development. I am already looking forward to the next book, Dead to the World.

RECOMMENDATION: This is a gripping paranormal novel, suspenseful from the first to the last page, with just the right quantity of romance. If you want something to relax and enjoy the plot and the characters, pick up Club Dead.