The Reading Date

Dead Reckoning is the 11th book in the Sookie Stackhouse series. In this installment, Sookie finds herself facing her enemies as she puzzles over her love life. On the cover Sookie is pictured alone, which is appropriate for Sookie’s story this time around. She spends a lot of time on her own reflecting on her life. She is at a turning point and life’s challenges are bringing her down.In general, I still enjoy this series, but not nearly as much as the first few books. There seemed to be a shift in my interest in the books when the True Blood HBO series began. At this point in the series, it feels like it is time for the series to wind down. And it seems per Ms. Harris that in fact the series will come to an end after two more books.Reading this series is comforting like visiting an old friend. It is nice to revisit Bon Temps and all of the quirky characters. Pretty much all of the characters make an appearance in this book. On the one hand it’s great to have cameos from so many favorites, on the other hand the story felt a bit disjointed as it jumped around quite a bit.One of the storylines that interested me the most is about the faeries. We learn more about the faeries and the relationship to Sookie’s grandmother. I am really curious to see what will happen with Sookie, Claude and Dermot in the last two books.The story was good, but the pace was sluggish in parts, especially the first half. The mood of this book is dark and sad, without the more humorous parts I wanted to lighten up the story. Some of the scenes that I think were supposed to be funny (Bill/Sookie for example) did not come across that way to me. I would have liked to see more of Pam as well. Hope there is more action and humor in book 12.I listened to the audiobook version this time around. The reader Johanna Parker does an incredible job bringing the characters of the book to life. She sounds just how I’d imagine Sookie to sound.I’m curious to see how this series ends, and who Sookie will end up with. It feels like Sookie is getting tired of being in the middle of the supernatural politics and getting blood on her hands. Will she decide to spend her life with Eric, Bill, or Sam? Or someone we haven’t met yet?Dead Reckoning should please the die-hard fans of the series. It is obvious that we are getting to the end of the series, and the pieces of the puzzle are coming into place. Look for book 12 to be released around May 2012.