Title: Deadlocked

Author: Charlaine Harris

336 pages, Published by Ace

Charlaine’s Info: Website

Buy The Book: Amazon

Summary:

It’s vampire politics as usual around the town of Bon Temps, but never before have they hit so close to Sookie’s heart…

Growing up with telepathic abilities, Sookie Stackhouse realized early on there were things she’d rather not know. And now that she’s an adult, she also realizes that some things she knows about, she’d rather not see—like Eric Northman feeding off another woman. A younger one.

There’s a thing or two she’d like to say about that, but she has to keep quiet—Felipe de Castro, the Vampire King of Louisiana (and Arkansas and Nevada), is in town. It’s the worst possible time for a human body to show up in Eric’s front yard—especially the body of the woman whose blood he just drank.

Now, it’s up to Sookie and Bill, the official Area Five investigator, to solve the murder. Sookie thinks that, at least this time, the dead girl’s fate has nothing to do with her. But she is wrong. She has an enemy, one far more devious than she would ever suspect, who’s set out to make Sookie’s world come crashing down. (Summary provided by Ace.)

My Thoughts:

Warning! The Following contains lots of spoilers pertaining to Deadlocked including how the book ends. Do not read this if you haven’t read it yet. Also, this will probably not make any sense unless you have read the book already. So read Deadlocked. Then come back and read this.

I’m calling this a book reaction rather than a book review because I have become emotionally invested in the Sookie Stackhouse series. I feel like it’s hard for me to give a review based on anything other than how I feel about what happened to the characters I have grown to care so much about. I have the utmost respect for Charlaine Harris as a writer. Before I started blogging (and had more time to read) I followed and loved every single one of her many series. So this “book reaction” does not pertain to her skill as a writer. As a writer with Deadlocked (book twelve in the Sookie Stackhouse series), Harris’s writing is still tight, her characterizations are still vivid, and Bon Temps still remains a place that feels like home.

With that said, I had a couple of issues with this installment of my favorite (yes I said favorite) series. First, there is no sex in this book. Unless I missed something, there is nary a sex scene in Deadlocked. With each book I have come to expect Sookie to have a couple of hot sex scenes. There isn’t one in this book. Maybe it’s wrong of me to expect a sex scene or two in this book since part of the plot is that Sookie is having relationship issues with Eric. But by golly, I expected some nookie.

I know I sound like an idiot. I almost didn’t write about the book because I sound like one of those weirdos that thinks fictional characters are real people. But I think that’s part of the problem. The citizens of Bon Temps have become all too real to me over the last twelve books. I have come to know and love them like old friends. And just like with friends I have hopes and expectations for how I want their lives to turn out.

This leads to my other issue with the book. In this book Sookie is in possession of a magical fey object called a cluviel dor. The cluviel dor will grant one wish to the person who posseses it. So there is much talk of the cluviel dor throughout the book. Sookie wonders what on earth she should wish for. Then something happens. Sookie finds out that Eric’s maker signed Eric over to the queen of another state before he was killed. Since Eric is married to Sookie, he would be the Queen’s consort and not an actual king. I find this tragic. It was a last laugh from his abusive maker. I mean he basically signed Eric over to be this woman’s whore and enforcer from the way I read it. For those of you who only watch True Blood, in the books Eric’s maker is a total a-hole. Anyway, Sookie finds this out and expects Eric to say no to the vampire queen whom he’s supposed to be bound to by an unbreakable contract his maker made without his knowledge. Sookie is mad because she found out about it from the queen not Eric. (See there are so many spoilers in this. Stop reading now if you don’t want to know how the book ends.) Eric finds out Sookie is in possession of the cluviel dor. He basically begs her to use it on him. And by begs her I mean he vaguely implies she should use it which for Eric is begging. Then there are what seemed like pages of Sookie thinking, I wonder what Eric meant? I wonder what Eric meant? Meanwhile I’m reading the book giving it my bitchface look screaming, “Use the cluviel dor on him Sookie!!!”

Okay, so another plot line in the book is that the Shreveport pack enforcer, Jannalynn, hates Sookie. Jannalynn is dating Sam. A bunch of stuff happens and it ends up that Jannalyn played a big part in the murder that is the central mystery of the book. There is this pack meeting where Jannalyn has to fight another pack member to the death. Sookie, Eric, and Sam are all there to watch. Jannalyn goes to stab Alcide misses and stabs Sam. Sam dies. Sookie uses the cluviel dor to save Sam’s life. At this point I am pissed. Guess who else is pissed? Eric. He just leaves without saying a word to Sookie. So I guess they are done. I have always been Team Eric. I feel like Sam has poor judgement when it comes to women. I feel like Sookie used the cluviel dor rashly without considering what she was doing. Most of all, I feel like an idiot for saying what I think fictional characters were thinking when they are puppets being animated by the author, but that’s how real these characters have become to me.

After all of that, I wouldn’t say I did not enjoy the book. I’m just sad about the outcome. Unless Charlaine Harris has a huge twist in store for the next book, I’m willing to bet Sookie either ends up alone or with Sam. If it comes to Sam or being alone, I hope she ends up alone. Sookie is a strong woman and she doesn’t have to end up with anyone. Although, I think we all want to see her have a fairytale ending. For me that ending was with her and Eric being together. I will read the next book regardless because despite my disappointment in the outcome of Deadlocked it was still entertaining as hell.

So, have you read Deadlocked? What did you think? Are there any Team Sam people out there who are thrilled with the ending? Any other Team Eric peeps like me who were disappointed? Let me know in the comments section.

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