Book Review: "Dead Reckoning" by Charlaine Harris

I have always had a fascination with supernatural creatures, such as vampires, werewolves, and fairies, and my latest selection deals with all of these creatures.

After taking a few weeks off from visiting the fantasy world of Mercy Thompson I have returned to the genre, only this time it is the world of Sookie Stackhouse. Let us now escape into the mind of Louisiana waitress Sookie Stackhouse.

"Dead Reckoning" by Charlaine Harris marks the 11th entry in the Sookie Stackhouse series. This latest outing finds the two-natured (shapeshifters) out to the public and Merlotte's struggling due to a new vampire club that has opened just down the road. Sookie is also learning more about her fairy heritage as well as continuing to survive from the enemies set on killing her.

She also deals with issues in her love life that include the return of a former lover. One of the many reasons why I love the character of Sookie Stackhouse is  because she is humble yet tough. She never swears, she is always polite (it's that southern hospitality), and she says things like "ick" when something grosses her out. Plus, Sookie is not your typical skinny heroine. She talks about how she is a size 10 and that she doesn't care.

The Sookie Stackhouse books are written from Sookie's perspective so we see what Sookie sees, feels what she feels and experiences what she she goes through. She is a telepath (she can read minds) so we get to see into the minds of other minor and major characters (except for vampires. Whenever she tries to read their minds all she sees is a blur of nothing).

These books are a little violent, some more than others, and there are quite a few sexual moments, some more than others. Therefore, I do not recommend these books for kids or young teenagers. I was 17 when I started reading them so that would be the age I recommend.

As I mentioned before, this is the 11th Sookie book so I recommend reading the first book, "Dead Until Dark," and all of the Sookie Stackhouse books after that in order to have a better understanding of this book. There are several characters in this book that were introduced in previous books so if you just jump right in you will most likely be very confused.

The show "True Blood" is based on these books and it is interesting. It does not completely follow the books and I recommend it for adults only. There is a lot of blood, sex and violence so watch at your own discretion.

Happy reading!!