"Definitely Dead" by Charlaine Harris

I am loving each and every Sookie Stackhouse book, they keep getting better and better. "Definitely Dead" by Charlaine Harris is a great book in the series. Things are changing and more is being revealed at the same time more clues are popping up to what could be coming in future books. I love it! *warning some spoilers*

What's best about this book for me is, Eric, (of course). Eric just won't go away and he's still struggling with his very unvampyrish conflicting feelings for Sookie. He's drawn to her and she's special to him and he doesn't know why and it's driving him crazy (you see MUCH MUCH more of this in the next book "All Together Dead").

The story begins with Sookie and Quinn (a highly respected weretiger). These two are very sexually attracted to each other and want to spend more time together but Quinn is busy with work and Sookie is busy with her work and being called in by the vampires to help. The first time she tells Eric "no" when he "summons" her, she worries but she will not break her first date with Quinn, so Eric is just going to have to get over it. Well Eric doesn't see things that way. lol He shows up at Sookies house and drills her about her dating someone and informs her "You should be mine. I have slept with you. I have cared for you. I have...assisted you financially." (page 89, 'Definitely Dead' by Charlaine Harris). Sookie tells him off and calls him "buddy" to which he is absolutely flabbergasted that anyone would dare speak to him that way, but Sookie is ticked off and it's been far too long since she's had sex so she's horny and grouchy too. In the middle of their fight, Quinn the weretiger walks in (and out come Eric's fangs) and claims Sookie as his date and makes it clear to Eric that he has every intention of wooing Sookie. Eric is not happy at all but can do nothing about it at the moment. He tells Sookie that she is summoned to travel with him to a vampire conference, she wants nothing to do with it. Her focus is on Quinn and his hot body and what his kisses do to her.

During Quinn and Sookies date they are attacked by newly turned werewolves in public. Someone it seems is after either Sookie or Quinn, but why and who? That's what Sookie and Quinn have to figure out.

Back at work Sookie is being treated terribly by that no good ex-boyfriend Dull Bill. Dull Bill continues to bring in his new girlfriend who taunts Sookie and treats her like dirt. Bill does nothing to stop it, and instead insists on parading his newest bed buddy under Sookie's nose. I told you I hated this guy from book one!! He's a no good rotten creep!

And Sookie's co-worker friend Arlene has begun attending anti-vampire gatherings and is being taken in by the "Fellowship of the Sun" group (hate group that is growing in size and tried to kill Sookie in the "Living Dead in Dallas" book). The lines are being drawn and sooner or late Sookie is going to have decide which side she's on.

Then Sookie gets an unexpected visitor, Mr. Cataliades (demon who works for the vampire queen we learn about in the anthology "One Word Answer" that should be read before reading this book). The messenger sent to inform Sookie of the Queens request for her to come to New Orleans never made it to Sookie's house- soon they found out why. Sookie is not comfortable going to New Orleans alone to see the vampire queen and be with a bunch of vampires and demons so Mr. Cataliades suggest Bill and Sookie agrees to go to New Orleans if Bill goes with her. She's still ticked at him, but he does offer her some protection.

So off to New Orleans they go, with Sookie doing her best to ignore Bill and Bill making it clear he doesn't approve of Quinn dating Sookie. Sookie moves into her twice dead cousin Hadley's apartment and meets Amelia Broadway the apartment building owner who happens to be a witch. I LOVE Amelia. She is a great addition to the Sookie series and a colorful character. Amelia has sealed up the apartment since the night of Hadley's second death with a magical witch spell that keeps time frozen so everything will be "fresh" (no rotting garbage or plants dying etc.). Once Sookie comes Amelia removes the spell and time begins again in the apartment triggering a violent threat that neither Sookie nor Amelia knew was in the apartment. This was totally unseen by me too and it was an excellent story line that goes into the next book. I won't give any of that away. Lot's of action, suspense and mystery as to who does what and the why behind it.

Moving along...Sookie cleans out Hadley's apartment and gets her things in order as quickly as she can because she wants to get back home, but there's a problem (of course). The queen is missing some jewelry that Hadley took and the queen needs it back- fast or her husband will toss her and she will lose everything. Sookie needs to find the jewelry and then she can go home. While she's looking Quinn shows up and the two of them get hot and heavy in Hadley's kitchen finding pleasure with their clothes on -something Quinn hasn't done since he was a teen but he sure did love it with Sookie on the kitchen counter!

Quinn isn't the only one to show up. Eric is never far from Sookie. He honestly can't help himself. He is drawn to her. When Sookie lands in the hospital both Eric and Bill show up as soon as it's dark. This time Eric does something that he knows will hurt Sookie, but he believes she needs to hear it anyway. He (as Bill's sheriff) commands Bill to tell Sookie the truth about how Bill met Sookie and why he came back to live in Bon Temps.

**HUGE SPOILER WARNING**

Bill confesses to Sookie that he was following orders from the queen to meet Sookie, seduce her into bed then get her to do whatever the vampires wanted. Bill was on a mission and Sookie was just the means to an end. (I KNEW he was a no good son of a bitch!) Sookie is crushed that Bill had lied to her and used her and that she had given herself to him (she had been a virgin). Eric actually feels bad for Sookie and he can barely come to terms that he feels pain for her because he's not used to caring about humans at all. But Sookie is different and when she hurts he hurts. Sookie tells Bill she never ever wants to see him again while Bill tries to tell her that yes he was following orders but later he grew to have feelings for her (yay, my ass!). Sookie won't hear any of it, she's done with Bill and fed up with all the supernatural beings at that moment.

Almost all the supernatural beings. Claudine, Sookie's fairy godmother, shows up whenever Sookie really needs her and Sookie needs her now. Claudine is great. Another wonderful character in these stories. Claudine worries about Sookie because she feels something really bad is about to happen, but she can't be with Sookie to protect her (vampires can't control themselves around fairies - think living a year on bread & water, then walking into a room with wall to wall buffet tables loaded with all your favorite foods - that's what vampires feel for fairies). Sookie tells Claudine she has no choice but to do as the queen wants, so Claudine disappears.

Sookie and Quinn escape from being kidnapped then turn around and confront their would-be kidnappers. Because Eric has had Sookie's blood, Eric finds her and once again comes to her rescue *sigh*- though Sookie and Quinn were doing pretty well on their own. But Eric isn't done yet. During the King and Queens formal party there is more danger and violence and while Quinn takes off to pursue the bad guys it's Eric who throws his own body over Sookie to protect her- again. While Eric the Viking Vampire loves the violence and fight, he stops to protect Sookie, she comes first for him. When Sookie tells him she's OK and that his queen needs him Eric lets out a Viking war cry and gets back into the bloody fight by tossing a severed head. Soon Sookie is in danger again, this time Dull Bill terminates the threat while Sookie takes off for safety. Sookie takes refuge in another room just in time to see someone kill the King. She is the only witness - this is what the next book "All Together Dead" is in part about. Quinn finds Sookie and together (him in his tiger form) they get out of the bloodbath party and make it back to Hadley's apartment.

This book ends with a sort of cliffhanger about just what the hell is going to happen next. Sookie doesn't know, but she does know that she witnessed the Kings murder and that wasn't going to go away neatly.

I loved this book! Another easy 5 out of 5 stars!

**part of the Sookie Stackhouse Reading Challenge**