Dead Ever After by Charlaine Harris

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Terrance McArthur

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Details on how to win a copy of the first book in this series at the end of this post.

It started in 2001 with Dead Until Dark, a book about Sookie Stackhouse, a mind-reading waitress in Louisiana who meets her first vampire and love. Charlaine Harris, a respected mystery writer, was suddenly riding a juggernaut series. On top of that, HBO came a-calling, and the Southern Vampire Mysteries were brought to cable life as True Blood, with all its vampires, werewolves, and other paranormals appearing on the TV screens of America.

Now, it’s 2013, and Dead Ever After, the final book in the series (although After Dead: What Came Next in the World of Sookie Stackhouse will be released in October), has created havoc in the readerverse. People are furious with the ending, they’re furious with the author, and they’re furious that it’s over. I’m happy that it went on as long and as well as it did, and I hope she’s not so disgusted with the reactions that she never writes again.

Image source: Penguin

Dead Ever After finds Sookie surrounded by her past. There are the old loves like Bill the Vampire and Quinn the weretiger, the always-thought-they-would love Sam (her shape-changing, long-time boss and now business partner), Alceste the Pack leader who was an almost-love, and Eric, the serious love who is suddenly cutting off all contact because he is about to marry the Vampire Queen of Oklahoma. There are the friends like Amelia the witch and her formerly-trapped-in-cat-form boyfriend Bob, and Tara who has a cheap-but-not-cheap consignment shop. There are also former foes like Arlene, ex-co-worker with a thing against people who have powers that are different (like Sookie and vamps and weres), who asks for her old job back, just before things happen to her. There are other enemies that not only want Sookie dead, but they want her to suffer for as long as can be.

I have been reading this series for a long time, and I still love it, and I’m happy with the ending. Sookie ended up with the love I wanted for her. Characters that I liked had a chance to appear and take a curtain call. Some characters that I didn’t like had ba-a-a-ad things happen to them. I’m happy. I’m satisfied. Good night, and drive safely.

To enter to win a copy of Dead Until Dark, simply email KRL at life@kingsriverlife[dot]com by replacing the [dot] with a period, and with the subject line “Dark”, or comment on this article. A winner will be chosen June 1, 2013. U.S. residents only.

Terrance V. Mc Arthur is a California-born, Valley-raised librarian/entertainer/writer. He lives in Sanger, four blocks from the library, with his wife, his daughter, and a spinster cat.