Sunday, May 16, 2010

Living Dead in Dallas (Sookie Stackhouse #2) by Charlaine Harris

I looked at all the books on my bookcase and had no desire to read any of them. Nothing peaked my interest despite the fact that I bought most of them. Instead I put the second Sookie Stackhouse book on reserve at the library. I read Dead Until Dark out of sheer basic curiosity; I saw part of a True Blood episode and found myself intrigued.

It turns out Harris writes a pretty good paranormal mystery and I was happy to read another one. I am not running out to buy the next six books in the series nor am I pushing True Blood to #1 on my Netflix queue. However, I will continue to read the books and one of these days I will get around to watching the series.

Harris does a few things I really appreciate which makes her series worth picking up. The heroine does not fit any stereotype. She is neither the stereotypical middle-aged protagonist of many cozies, nor is she the heavyset yet cute heroine of the chick lit genre. Sookie makes no apologies for being lower middle class, rural and relatively uneducated.

She isn't afraid to introduce as many paranormal creatures without apologizing for how and why she includes them. The world she creates is standard Americana with a twist: it is neither overly fantastical nor is it overly shocked by the creatures that appear.

Finally, Harris seems to have fun writing and doesn't take herself too seriously. She uses light fun humor throughout her book.

In Living Dead in Dallas Sookie and Bill fly to Dallas, stay in a vampire hotel, and infiltrate an anti-vampire Fellowship. Sookie gets kissed by Eric, wonders about Sam, and meets a slew of mythical creatures. Fun, light, enjoyable.

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