Definitely Dead

Sookie Stackhouse Southern Vampire Mystery #6

By: Charlaine Harris

Narrated by: Johanna Parker

With a rabid fan base that grows larger each day, the New York Times and USA Today best-selling Sookie Stackhouse mysteries by acclaimed author Charlaine Harris are not to be missed. Along with their phenomenal popularity, the books have also captivated critics and earned such prestigious honors as an Anthony Award.

Wedding fever has come to Bon Temps, Louisiana! Unfortunately, buxom, blonde, beautiful, and telepathic cocktail waitress Sookie is not the bride-to-be, so she takes the opportunity to travel to New Orleans on family business. As heir to the estate of her newly dead cousin Hadley, Sookie unearths a big secret. Soon it becomes clear that more than a few people will do anything to stop Sookie from looking into Hadley's past. Fresh, fashionable, and a little bit frightening, Definitely Dead is the best entry yet in an endlessly entertaining series.

Listen to more titles in the Sookie Stackhouse series.©2006 Charlaine Harris Schulz (P)2006 Recorded Books, LLC

Critic reviews

• Audie Award Finalist, Mystery, 2007

"Harris keeps the action going nonstop in this bubbly brew of supernatural spice and whimsical whodunit that's more fun than a barrel of beignets." (Publishers Weekly)

Hooray! Her writing is getting a bit better!

Although I still think it's funny how the main character sleeps with everyone and constantly thinks about sex (like all women do.....right.), Ms. Harris's writing has gotten a bit better with this book. A few interesting subplots, wonderfully unlikeable characters....I listen to this series because the reader is fabulous and the main character, although fakely humble about her looks, has some great lines. Easy mindless listening makes for great (and safer) commuting! Recommended.

Good Series

I really enjoyed these books. I listen to this series while I work. They are easy to listen to and entertaining enough to help me through a repetitive job. I would recommend and listened to the whole series.

Love It!!

I love these books! I can't wait to get my new credits so I listen to some more. They are especially interesting to me because I live in the area she writes about. All of the towns, cities, and places are so familiar, and I grew up hearing many of the colloqualisms Sookie uses. Sookie is a true southern gal!

Queen of Louisiana vamps summons Sookie

Sookie Stackhouse is a barmaid at Merlotte’s Bar and Grill in Bon Temps, Louisiana. She happens to be telepathic which until recently she considered a disability. Now she has learned to harness this skill in dealing with many supernatural creatures that have become known to her following the “Great Awakening” of the vampires. Sookie met were-tiger Quinn at the recent werewolf packmaster contest. Now he was back to deliver a summons from Louisiana’s vampire queen to attend the upcoming vampire summit and to ask her on a date.

Sookie finds herself helping many “supes.” Her brother Jason’s girlfriend Crystal, a were-panther, has just had a miscarriage, so Sookie arranges for Dr. Ludwig to see her. Werewolf Alcide’s ex-girlfriend Debbie Pelt, still missing following the night of the Witch War, as the vampires were calling it, continues to plague Sookie. Now her parents and sister were at Merlotte’s looking for clues to find her. A child goes missing from the elementary school, and Sookie cannot stay away when her telepathic skills might help find the child. Sookie is happy to be distracted from the problems around her to learn of the upcoming double wedding of Detective Andy Bellefleur and local school teacher Halleigh Robinson as well as Andy’s sister Portia Bellefleur, a prominent lawyer, and her accountant beau. And then she has a wonderful time at the theatre with Quinn, only to be mugged by werewolves after the show. Sookie notes that she has “assumed the role of guardian of the weird in my little corner of our state. I was the poster girl for interspecies tolerance. … It was kind of neat, knowing stuff that other people didn’t. But it complicated my already difficult life ….”

Sookie is sad to learn of her cousin Hadley’s death and is surprised that Hadley left her entire estate to Sookie. Sookie travels to New Orleans where she befriends Hadley’s landlady Amelia, a witch who has placed a stasis spell on her apartment. Both women are stunned by the rising of a new vampire from Hadley’s place who attacks them both until help sent by the Queen pulls him away. Needing to know what happened before Hadley died, the Queen employs Amelia and several witches to perform an ectoplasmic reconstruction. The Queen reveals to Sookie that Hadley, her lover, had taken a wedding gift that she absolutely must have back before the reception planned to celebrate the nuptials. Heads will roll if the gift is not returned.

The Sookie Stackhouse novels rival the best soap operas and are written with intricacy and compelling plot lines. This sixth entry in the series was bulging at the seams with characters working both with and against Sookie. Plots formed and evaporated throughout the book that the reader might think would spin out of control due to the sheer number of plots and subplots. Yet author Charlaine Harris is able to pull it all together, amazingly leaving very little left unsaid, undone, or out of place. Sookie saves the day, yet again, returning the world to harmony.

Pretty good addition to the series :)

FYI - There is a #5.1 in the series, One Word Answer, that tells how Sookie found out about her cousin's death. I found it for free online and would recommend reading it before moving on to this book.

3.5-4 stars

This was a pretty good addition to the series. Things are going alright for Sookie as the story begins and Quinn (a were-Tiger she met in book #5) asks her out on a date. Unfortunately, their first date does get interrupted by an unfortunate event that heralds the beginning of more issues. Sookie's cousin (who was a Vampire and involved with the Vampire Queen) experienced her "final death" recently and Sookie gets called to New Orleans to sort out the estate. When she gets there, Sookie finds herself drawn into some pretty serious Vampire politics as well as having to deal with some shifter issues left over from a past issue/encounter. She also finds out some things about Bill that makes sure that she'll never be getting back together with him (IMO this was a good thing even if Sookie was hurt by her discovery). Fortunately, Sookie gets through things well and in relatively good health and still dating Quinn as the story ends.

This was a pretty enjoyable story. I liked Sookie in this story and like the fact that she's dating Quinn. TBH, I would like to see her get together with Eric (and there still seems to be a possibility hanging between them) but Quinn seems like a good guy so I'm open to their relationship. The story itself was quick paced and kept me engaged so I'd recommend it. :)

Hate the narrator

They couldn’t find someone with a real Southern drawl? The narrator’s bad, fake accent is like nails on a chalkboard.

Can't get enough of Sookie

Charlaine Harris is very creative! I love the way she introduces new characters and supernatural beings in each book.

intruiging mystery

this book was a fine mystery book. sometimes a little slow, and sometimes the mystery was explained unnesesarily and excessively after it was solved. I liked it, but the other books in the series captured my interest more.
the narrator did a good job. I don't prefer the Dracula style voice of Eric, but the other character voices were well done.

Enjoyable

If you are looking for deep reading you will need to go elsewhere. There's drama, intrigue, romance, and of course all the supernatural creatures you can imagine.
I wanted to listen to the next book as soon as I finished one. I like Charlaine Harris, and I like all the characters. It's interesting reading these after watching the True Blood shows. There have definitely been some changes in the show, the books are only from Sookie's viewpoint, so the show would have to be different to show the other people's view points. Well done.

Best of the series!

So far, my favorite book of the series. I absolutely love Quinn. And Sookie likes cats!