Deadlocked

by Charlaine Harris

Published by: Ace/Penguin Publishing

My Rating: 

Blurb From Goodreads: 

With Felipe de Castro, the Vampire King of Louisiana (and Arkansas and Nevada), in town, it’s the worst possible time for a body to show up in Eric Northman’s front yard—especially the body of a woman whose blood he just drank.
Now, it’s up to Sookie and Bill, the official Area Five investigator, to solve the murder. Sookie thinks that, at least this time, the dead girl’s fate has nothing to do with her. But she is wrong. She has an enemy, one far more devious than she would ever suspect, who’s out to make Sookie’s world come crashing down.

My Review:

If I could only make one comment about Deadlocked, it would be “Oh, Sookie.”  I realize that doesn’t tell you much, but hopefully you will understand as I go through this review.

I am a long-time fan of the Sookie Stackhouse series by Charlaine Harris, I bought the first 8 books in the box set and read each of them at least 3 times 5 times each. (I know, obsessive)  I watch True Blood each season (even though the TV show is only LOOSLY based on the books).  I have bought each successive book, and I will admit that the last 2-3 books have been a bit under-whelming.  However, I absolutely love Sookie Stackhouse, she is the girl next door, but she does have “extras.”  Sookie is a telepath, she is a tiny part fairy, and she dates supernaturals, mostly vampires.  In Deadlocked, Sookie’s relationship with Eric is on-the-rocks, big time.  Eric is a vampire with major political struggles going on.  His king is in town, investigating the death of a vampire Eric killed and a Vampire Queen is in town trying to snag Eric away from Sookie for good.  Meanwhile, the were’s and fairies are causing trouble for Sookie as well.  Sookie is surrounded by supernatural problems and getting tired of dealing with the supes all the time.

I will hand it to Charlaine Harris, Deadlocked is definitely better than the last 2 books have been.  I was caught up in the story the whole way through, I never wanted to put the book down.  I kept wanting Sookie to stand up for herself, to really put Eric in his place.  In the first half of the book, I felt that Sookie was letting Eric and others walk all over her.  She caved to Eric, the fairies, the police… I just wanted her to show her spunk, that spunk that we all know she has.  Sookie spends so much time being polite and taking care of others needs that she neglects to address all the problems in her own life.  In the second half, Sookie does start standing up for herself a bit, she starts getting real with herself about the Eric situation (there is still a lot to be desired there though).

As for the humans in Sookie’s life, they are all moving forward, Sookie’s brother Jason has a serious girlfriend, Tara is uber pregnant, Halleigh is having her baby.  Sookie starts feeling a bit left behind from her human friends and family.  As to the fairies, the whole fairy situation in Deadlocked is a bit confusing, but Charlaine Harris manages to answer some questions from previous books and sets the stage to wrap-up the series.  I really liked Deadlocked because for the first time in several books, more questions are answered than asked.  As Charlaine Harris sets the stage to complete the series with the next book, some story lines are wrapped up, and the final story lines are set in motion (I think).

Deadlocked is a whirlwind of a book, all the prominent characters from the series are at least mentioned (even a cameo from a certain were-tiger), and all the various groups of supernaturals are tied together in the drama surrounding Sookie.  In many ways, the ending was unexpected, but not all together surprising.  When I finished Deadlocked, I was so excited by how it ended that I wished I could pick up book 13 right then and there, just to see how it will all come together (or apart).  Don’t get me wrong, the book doesn’t end on a cliff-hanger, but Charlaine Harris does a fantastic job of building the anticipation for the next book.

Deadlocked is a very solid installment in the exceptional Sookie Stackhouse series.  The characters are memorable and intriguing, and in the paranormal world Charlaine Harris has built, you never know what will happen next for Sookie.  I do miss the strong, confident Sookie, but I have high hopes for the final book of the series.  There is a lot to Deadlocked, and I really enjoyed reading it, I enjoyed this book so much more than the last few, and I am so happy to share my thoughts with you.

Paranormal and urban fantasy readers, the Sookie Stackhouse series is an absolute favorite of mine.  I HIGHLY recommend this series, if you like paranormals, it’s a ‘must-read.’

Deadlocked releases TODAY, you can find it at: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | The Book Depository

For those of you who have yet to start the series (what are you waiting for??)  Here are the books in order: