Review: Dead Until Dark

Summary: Sookie Stackhouse is a small-time cocktail waitress in small-town Louisiana. She's quiet, keeps to herself, and doesn't get out much. Not because she's not pretty. She is. It's just that, well, Sookie has this sort of "disability." She can read minds. And that doesn't make her too dateable. And then along comes Bill. He's tall, dark, handsome -- and Sookie can't hear a word he's thinking. He's exactly the type of guy she's been waiting for all her life... But Bill has a disability of his own: He's a vampire with a bad reputation. He hangs with a seriously creepy crowd, all suspected of -- big surprise -- murder. And when one of Sookie's coworkers is killed, she fears she's next... -- Ace Fantasy/Mystery

I was surprised by how much I enjoyed DEAD UNTIL DARK by Charlaine Harris. I am telling you up front that I would have never picked up this book if it weren't for the Sookie Stackhouse Challenge that Beth Fish Reads is hosting. I follow her blog everyday and I totally love her and her reviews, but I still wasn't entirely sold. And then I got involved in the discussions on Twitter and decided to take the plunge. If the rest of the books are as entertaining as DEAD UNTIL DARK, I think I made a good decision by signing up for the challenge.

I read DEAD UNTIL DARK one afternoon while I was at the shore. Beth Fish Reads told me that it was an ideal beach read, and she was so right. This book is a light, quick read that held my attention throughout. I absolutely love Sookie and I was pleased with how well Ms. Harris developed her character. I think my feelings toward Sookie are the main reason that I want to read more books in this series. I guess I just like "spending time" with her!

I also really liked the secondary characters in this story, especially Bill and Sam. I have a feeling that they are both going to be appearing in future books, and I can't wait to learn more about their relationships with Sookie. Both seem to have some secrets and I am excited to learn more about both of them. Right now, I'm not entirely sure about either of them; but based on this book, I think I like both of them. And I'm pretty sure that they are going to make things interesting in Sookie's life.

Another element I really enjoyed about this book was the mystery angle. I was anxious to find out who the villain was, and I admit that I was caught off guard a little. While I enjoyed learning about vampires and their lifestyles, I think I really appreciated the book because of the mystery storyline. I thought Ms. Harris did a good job building suspense, and she definitely kept things interesting with the twists and turns.

One thing that actually surprised me a little bit about this book was how graphic it was. Not surprisingly, there was lots of gore and talk about all things vampire. However, there was also quite a bit of sex-talk. I don't consider myself a prude, but I admit that I was blushing a bit while reading some of the scenes!

I have not watched the HBO series TRUE BLOOD which is based on the Sookie books, but I have heard so many terrific things about it from my friends. After reading DEAD UNTIL DARK, I'm thinking about catching up with Season 1 on Netflix. My husband has already told me that he's not interested in watching it with me so that makes it a little more difficult; however, I'm thinking that it just might be worth it.

I definitely recommend DEAD UNTIL DARK if you are a fan of the whole vampire thing or even if you enjoy a good mystery! I am so looking forward to reading the rest of the series.