Wednesday, May 09, 2012

Book Review: Deadlocked, by Charlaine Harris

Deadlocked (Sookie Stackhouse #12)Deadlocked by Charlaine Harris
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This is the second-to-last book in the Sookie Stackhouse series and many of the Goodreads, Amazon, and Audible reviews are not very glowing.

A common complaint is that there's not enough action and sex, and too much uninteresting detail. (One person complained that Sookie spent so much time cooking that she now knows how to make sweet potato pie.)

Another complaint is that Harris spends too much time on minor characters. Admist chaos, we're learning that characters from the previous books are getting married or having children or working through tough couple times. Some reviewers thought that detracted from the mystery and thriller aspects.

In Harris's defense, one reviewer pointed out that this *is* the penultimate book, and that Harris has a lot of tying up of loose ends.

And that, I think, is the key to reading this book: Harris is tying up loose ends. She's also, as other readers complained, moving certain things in a different direction. To do that, she has to spend a lot of time on things that may seem trivial.

If you're a fan of the series, and you keep in mind that Harris is doing clean-up and setting the stage for the grand finale, you'll appreciate it more than if you're hoping for a sex romp or some of the humor of earlier books.

Johanna Parker's voice work on the Recorded Books audiobook version adeptly conveys the atmosphere of the anticipated end. I've loved listening to her narrate the series and hope she reads the final book.

View all my reviews

1 comment:

Belgie said...

I am not sure if I am disappointed or not. I have mixed emotions and I am starting to feel that this series should have been stopped a while ago. I love the first half of Sookie Stackhouse series. I just hate how the plots seems forced in order to have closure. I do not like the way Eric is being played out and how Sookie seems lonely and sad. I get it; it is just a story but I have invested money, time and energy into reading this series. I wish the Charlaine could give us some of the magic from the beginning so it can end wonderful. I am starting to feel that this will not happen.