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I bought the whole series but will probably not read them. "Summer Read" in my mind means overdone sex, campy mystery, and humor. From prior reviews I expected a mix of Evanavich's Stephanie Plum character and Meyer's Bella character but that's not what I got.
Read it. The characters are believable and the ending's a real surprise. I've watched TrueBlood on HBO and am a huge fan, but I have to say that I actually enjoy the book more than the series. I would recommend it to anyone who likes books by Janet Evanovich, but wants a supernatural spin.
The writing was dull, the characters shallow and at times I found myself thinking "Why am I still reading this." Because I try to always finish a book when I start it, I pushed myself through hoping it would get better, but alas, it only got worse. While this book is written on about a 7th grade level, the subject matter is mature.
Vampires drink synthetic blood and are surrounded by fans called fang-bangers, which makes for intriguing scenes. Sookie is intrigued when she meets Bill, her first vampire, not only because he's a vampire but because she can't read his thoughts. With Bill's encouragement, Sookie uses her telepathic abilities to try to find the murderer, placing herself in danger. Since Bill's appearance, people are turning up dead, including Sookie's grandmother.
Book one of the Southern Vampire Mystery series introduces young, attractive Sookie Stackhouse, cocktail waitress in a small town in Louisiana. Harris provides a good read, wrapping a well-done mystery around a plethora of interesting characters, vampiric and human. This is an engaging concept, a mind reader in a world in which vampires are attempting to integrate into society. Sookie has telepathic abilities which she and others look upon as a disability.
The police initially suspect Bill but begin to focus their investigation on Sookie's brother, who had contact with each of the victims. She lives with her grandmother and cat and keeps to herself because she desires silence after hearing other people's thoughts while working. Sookie rescues Bill from a couple intent on draining him, and she and Bill become friends, which leads to a romantic relationship.
The book took me deeper into Sookie and Bill and by the end of the first three chapters I was off to the book store to make sure I had the second book. I found the series did follow the book with a few slight exceptions. It was a very quick read and I enjoyed it. I bought this book after watching the first two episodes of True Blood and could not wait until the next week to see what happens. It did not disappoint.
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