Review - Dead Reckoning by Charlaine Harris

Dead Reckoning by Charlaine Harris
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Hardcover, 336 pages

Published May 28th 2011 by Gollancz, Victor Limited

Synopsis:
'With her knack for being in trouble's way, Sookie witnesses the firebombing of Merlotte's, the bar where she works. Since Sam Merlotte is now known to be two-natured, suspicion falls immediately on the anti-shifters in the area. Sookie suspects otherwise, but her attention is divided when she realizes that her lover Eric Northman and his "child" Pam are plotting to kill the vampire who is now their master. Gradually, Sookie is drawn into the plot-which is much more complicated than she knows'

My Thoughts:
I seemed to enjoy this instalment a bit better than the previous two (maybe because it was a nice time-out book to read in the middle of exam study) but I still get the feeling that the plot is going stale and Charlaine Harris is desperately trying to make unsuccesful attempts to keep it alive.

If the last two to three books had been the ones written at the beginning of the series, I don't think there's any way it would have become as popular as it is today. There just doesn't seem to be any solid plot developments anymore throughout the books and everything that does happen seems to be a bit weak up until the last 50 pages or so where the story finally gets a bit of kick and has some movement. I'm not sure if this trick is one the author thinks is perfect to keep people reading because they don't want to miss the huge finale, or whether it takes that long for her to actually decide in her head how she wants the story to develop.

Unfortunately, I felt there were a lot of cringe-worthy scenes in this book that frankly would have been embarrasing to write about. There is one particular scene which involves Alcide that just annoyed me to no end because it made him seem like a brainless ape rather than the smart, tough character he's supposed to be.

That's another thing that disappoints me now, the characters just don't seem to have the same personalities anymore. Sookie has become a well seasoned killing machine which just doesn't suit her at all, Eric isn't the sarcastic sexy vamp he used to be, Bill's character is just confusing now because he keeps changing his tune so much and Pam seems to have lost all her pizazz.

In my opinion, I think this series should be wrapped up soon so that us readers can get some closure and move on. The books just don't have that fun and cool draw factor anymore and I think Charlaine should bow out gracefully and begin something else that is fresh and new.

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