![Dead Reckoning (Sookie Stackhouse, #11)](https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1357679465m/7981206.jpg)
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
I'd had a break from the Sookie Stackhouse series for a little while and read other things - not because I didn't like it, but because I didn't want it to end! This series has given me many hours of reading pleasure and I wanted to prolong the experience. But finally I could resist no longer, and so I picked up Book No. 11 and was straight back into Sookie's world.
The book starts with a bang or, to be more precise, a firebombing at Merlotte's. Nobody is seriously hurt (although Sookie's hair is singed pretty badly) and once again Sookie is faced with the prospect of someone trying to cause harm to her and those she loves. Who is behind it this time? There are plenty of enemies to choose from - Sandra Pelt turns up again; Jannalynn, Sam's were girlfriend (who has always been jealous of Sookie and Sam's close relationship); and Victor, the King's Regent in Louisiana. Sookie just can't seem to get away from all the crazies!
Speaking of Victor, he has opened up a club, Vampire's Kiss, in direct opposition to Eric's Fangtasia, and the competition is not doing Merlotte's any favours either. Another reason to hate Victor, if we didn't have enough already! He's just an arsehat, really. He also won't give permission for Pam to "turn" her lover, Miriam, who is dying, just because he can. He's a very unpleasant character.
Things are not too good between Sookie and Eric either. He and Pam have a secret, and they're not sharing it with Sookie - or rather, Eric has forbidden Pam from sharing it. So things are pretty rocky between Eric and Pam too. Amelia and Bob reappear to reinforce the wards around Sookie's house, and while they're there, at Sookie's request, they use magic to break the blood bond between Eric and Sookie. Anyway, this does not make Eric happy, as, apart from anything else, without the bond, Sookie is not as protected from the vampires as she was before. And Sookie, although she finds she does still love Eric, is beginning to realise that there are some things her vampire boyfriend finds acceptable that she, as a human, does not.
In an important little subplot, in the process of cleaning out her attic, Sookie discovers a secret drawer in her grandmother's desk. There she finds a letter from her grandmother, together with something else in a small, velvet bag. The letter reveals what happened between Adele Stackhouse and Sookie's fairy grandfather, Fintan, and also that the bag contains a cluviel dor, a powerful fairy gift. The letter also mentions Fintan's friend, someone who has acted as a kind of godfather to Sookie, and she realises from the description that this man is Mr Cataliades, the part demon lawyer. The lawyer later informs her that she must not reveal to anyone that she possesses the cluviel dor, as it is an extremely rare object and fairies (and others) will kill to obtain it.
Bill, still professing his love for Sookie, comes to the rescue more than once, Bubba makes an appearance, Eric's secret is revealed, and Victor gets his just desserts. There are some funny and touching scenes between Sookie and Bill, and I started to remember why I liked him so much (before that whole betrayal thing in the earlier books!)
As with the other books in the series, there's lots of action, betrayals, humour and, of course, the odd sexy vampire. Book 12, here I come!
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