Dead in the Family Advance Review
Dead in the Family
Liz’s Review
Dead in the Family will be available May 4, 2010.
Dead in the Family picks up about a week after the end of Dead and Gone
I think I liked this book a bit better than the last one only because this one went back to being lighter than Dead and Gone. After Sookie recovers, we see the same witty, snarky Sookie we’ve all come to know and love. Sookie is also much wiser and a bit more hardened concerning some things than she ever was. This is no surprise, although to me, it’s a little melancholy. I guess it’s the loss of innocence that gets to me.
Rather than prattle on and on, let me just list some of the highlights and a couple teasers for you from Dead in the Family.
- One question that is settled pretty quickly is why Eric didn’t come to Sookie during all the torture. I’m not going to spoil it for you, but I can say that for me, it was not what I expected at all. Thank you, Charlaine! I love surprises.
- Charlaine has mentioned often that Eric’s maker appears in this story. Boy does he, and he brings a surprise for Eric. Eric has quite a few in this book.
- Jason has evolved into someone I actually like.
- Sam deals with some family issues and a new girlfriend who turns out to be more than he bargained for.
- Alcide is very much in this book and up to his same tricks with Sookie.
- Bill was indeed, as Charlaine revealed, very ill throughout the book. However, healing comes from a surprising source.
- Hunter pays Sookie a visit and I hope we see more of him in future books.
- Debbie Pelt makes a cameo appearance.
- A nod is given to HBO’s True Blood.
- Sookie gains another housemate.
I don’t want to say too much more so I’ll stop there. Overall, I’d have to say that Dead in the Family will be one of my favorites in this series. Ms. Harris sets up the next book quite well and we are not left with a huge cliff-hanger practically in the middle of a sentence. The title of the book is the theme throughout, of course. And Sookie will make you laugh again, which was something I worried about after Dead and Gone.
Mel’s Review
With nine books’ worth of material to work with, Charlaine Harris must have felt like a kid in a candy store when writing Dead in the Family. The tenth book in the Southern Vampire Mysteries series is an example of how to use a rich mythology that has already been established while keeping the story fresh. The author deftly weaves threads from as far back as book one into a story that longtime fans will enjoy, bringing new insights and answering old questions.
Dead in the Family combines vampires, fairies, weres, and telepaths in a way that somehow feels so normal, I actually chuckled when I realized that, like Sookie, “supes” no longer seemed unusual. Sookie has a lot to handle in this book, but it’s a testament to her character’s growth that she does it with a maturity and insight that wasn’t there previously. Her terrible ordeal at the end of Dead and Gone has changed her irrevocably, but in true resilient Sookie fashion, she’s choosing to grow instead of wallow. OK, there is a little wallowing at the beginning of the book, but can you blame her? The physical evidence of her torture is almost healed, but the emotional wounds require more time. I appreciated that we were given the week-by-week prologue to deal with that as well as get some answers about Eric’s whereabouts and Bill’s condition. The fallout from the fairy war impacts more than the fairies, most of whom are now sealed into their world, and Charlaine’s manner of addressing it felt appropriate and respectful without being too depressing.
Once we reach the first chapter of Dead in the Family, we leave much of the darkness from book nine behind as the next mystery is introduced. With the weres now out in the open, there are some who want to legislate them practically into illegal alien status. Conspiracies and paranoia abound, and naturally Sookie is caught up in it thanks to her “friend of the pack” status with Alcide’s pack, plus Jason and Sam’s shifter abilities. In addition to that, she must deal with a couple of fairies who did not go back with Niall, even as she grieves for Claudine. Meanwhile, Eric is mired in complex vampire politics and hierarchy now that Louisiana is under the rule of the King of Nevada and his devious second in command, leaving Sookie both worried about and missing her boyfriend.
After finishing the novel and reflecting on everything that happened, the title took on so many implications that I had to applaud Charlaine. Family is the theme of this book, both literal and figurative, good and bad. There are some wonderful moments between Sookie and Jason that show how strong their bond has become, and how much Jason has matured. Sookie’s grief over the loss of her cousin Claudine is palpable and her death impacts Sookie in unexpected ways. The complicated “made” families in the vampire world are also highlighted, giving us more insight into the differences (and similarities) between human and vampire connections.
Dead in the Family is a rich, rewarding book for fans of the series (and there’s even a clever tip of the hat to True Blood). So many previous stories and connections are touched on that it could have read like a lame television clip show; instead Charlaine used the abundance of material already established to write a story that simply could not have taken place any earlier. She even sows the seeds for the remainder of the series, particularly in a few introspective paragraphs with Sookie considering her options for the future. While not as lighthearted as some of the earliest novels, when Sookie was still very naive, Dead in the Family is not nearly as dark as the last book, even delivering a few adorable and laugh-out-loud moments. It’s engaging and entertaining without being frivolous, substantial without being heavy. I suspect this will land pretty high on the list of favorite Sookie novels for many fans.
Dead in the Family
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I’m so happy to read all of this. I can’t wait to have the book in my hands! I’m curious about the little nod that Charlaine gives to TrueBlood
Nice reviews! You make us jealous.
eep! So excited!
Liz, Debbie Pelt?! Please tell me Eric doesn’t dig her up! Ek!
And, Mel, “I suspect this will land pretty high on the list of favorite Sookie novels for many fans.” Was it even better than book four? *fingers crossed*
Thanks for your reviews you lucky, lucky people! I have pre-ordered my copy at the local bookstore and I can’t wait to blow through it over and over!
May 4th? Really? I can’t wait! Oh boy, oh boy! May is going to be a good month.
I am intrigued as to how Debbie Pelt makes a cameo. When someone gets shot in the head, they can’t possibly be turned into a vampire, can they? What exactly did Eric do with Debbie Pelt’s body?
OMG what an interesting idea!!!!!! I like the way you think. You’re totally out of the coffin on this one. *high five*
interesting!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! now i really can’t wait!! spooky for Sookie!!
Very thinking outside the box… love it. I had never considered that! Although I guess Eric would remember now that he has remembered everything that happened between them?? I guess I am hoping for some real love moments between them too. Book 4 was just yummy.
OMG i can’t wait!! i am reading the series for the 6th time now when is May 4th coming!!!!!
I am so glad to hear that I am not the only one reading the series over and over… I am in my fourth round… May is way too far… the waiting sucks! hahaha
I am starting the books this summer. I am a huge Eric and Sookie cheerleader. I have been told that I acually could skip book 1. Should I? I mean I have read so much about the books that I know book 4 will probably be my fav and I honestly want to go straight to it. So if I skip some will it confuse me to much? Thanks!
Surely they must be talking about Sandra Pelt??
I think they’re talking about Debbie’s Body. They find her body in this book…
I was very pleased to read these reviews. After the last book, I was worried that Charlaine had lost some of the essential spark that was so great in the earlier books. These reviews give me hope that the next book will be a great read (and not as depressing and gruesome as the last one). Thanks!
Great reviews Liz and Mel! I thought I was excited before, but now I am even more so, thanks to those little snippets that you tease us all with. Can’t wait to get my hand on a copy.
Thanks ladies for your great reviews. Charlaine posting chapter 1 on her website was such a tease… and now both your reviews tease us a little further. I’m really looking foward to May 4!
So jealous they got to read the book early. lol. Can’t wait, I know it’s going to be amazing.
Luv,Sookie. Luv Charlaine, Can’t wait till May 4
omg… i would give anything to read that book now…. i’m counting days till it’s out… i’m really happy to read these reviews…
I posted this already from my iPhone but I can’t find it here anywhere. If you see it somewhere else, please let me know where I wandered off to before posting it the first time? I know there was discussion of Sookie’s queasieness and some were talking about the possibility of pregnancy. Really wish I could find that thread…!
Did you guys read the Sookie short-story “The Gift”? That is where Sookie gave Niall the tie he wears and it is said to have been a Christmas gift from Sookie, I think in the beginning of book 9. In “The Gift” Niall sent to her an injured? man (fairy) on Christmas eve. She helped him as, of course, she would, but she also slept with him. I thought at the time she would probably get pregnant, since she can’t be impregnated by Eric and was very out of character for Sookie being involved with Eric as she is, thus this would be a gift to her. It would also explain her queasiness and her fainting outside of Arlene’s trailer.
Good spec, but she’s not pregnant.
I have all the books in paperback but I just cant wait till the paperback on this one ( I waited for Dead and Gone and finished it in three hours ) .. I am planning to get the hardcover for Dead in the family …
If you pre-order you can get it for less then $10.00
I love Claude… He will move in and help protect from the angry fae… I hope!
I think that Claude is coming back against Sookie. He must be angry at loosing his family. Since he is not really “nice”… I am guessing he can be very nasty when angry! Can’t wait to put my hands on this book!
Liz you stated in your review and I hope I did not read it incorrectly that this book sets us up for the next book. Dose this mean we call all look forward to book #11? I hope so because I really do not want this to end.
Thanks for the great review from both of you. I can not wait till I get this book in my hands.
Charlaine Harris is not finished with Sookie. That’s not a spoiler as she has said it in many interviews and she signed a new contract for three more books. Her official website confirms this as well. After these next three, she will then decide whether or not to continue the series. So you can look forward to more Sookie for at least a few more years!
yep!
and whiel she is writing book 11 she will decide if keep going for more books after books 14 and book 11 she said she will like to give a seattled situation to Sookie, even for her love life….^^
can’t wait for book ten!!! Gonna write a review for my school newspaper. One question, isn’t debbie pelt dead?