Sookie Stackhouse Book 7 - All Together Dead

In All Together Dead, Book 7 in the Sookie Stackhouse series, Sookie is still on the outs with “The Vampire Who Must Not Be Named”. And although she’s dating the weretiger Quinn she can’t seem to shake her attraction to the charismatic Viking vampire Eric. I’m a big Team Eric fan so I’m happy to see this storyline continue.

The story opens with Sookie attending an important vampire summit on the shores of Lake Michigan at the demand of Sophie, the vampire queen of Louisiana. Sophie, accused of murdering her husband (the vampire king of Arkansas) in a play for power and control, will be tried at the summit. Sophie claims to be innocent and wants Sookie to help prove this by reading the minds of the human companions accompanying other vampires at the event.

Once Sookie arrives at the hotel she meets up with Barry the Bellboy, an old acquaintance and fellow telepath who helped save Sookie in a previous book. Barry now works for the vampire king of Texas, who brought Barry along for the same reasons Sophie wanted Sookie around. Sookie soon notices strange occurrences in the hotel: suitcases mysteriously appear, a pair of supernatural bodyguards from a heretofore unknown race have been hired to protect the king of Kentucky, and Sophie’s primary accuser is found dead. As a matter of fact, several murders occur at the hotel. At first they look like the handiwork of the Fellowship of the Sun, a radical anti-vampire organization that just happens to be in town at the time. But Sookie and Barry’s investigations into the murders make them wonder whether they’re the result of an inside job, a suspicion that soon makes Sookie in particular the prime target of the mysterious murderer.

Now let’s talk about Sookie’s romances. Sookie is currently dating the extremely hunky Quinn who’s working at the summit. But powerful and sexy vamp Eric is still a strong contender for her affections and their bond extends beyond any exchange of blood. In this book we learn more about Eric’s feelings for Sookie and I have to tell you, it’s refreshingly sweet. This book makes one wonder if Bill was ever really right for Sookie. I truly believe his feelings for Sookie were sincere regardless of his initial motivations but it’s hard to restore a relationship when trust is compromised.

All Together Dead is one of the funniest books in the Sookie Stackhouse series thus far. The nuptials between the king of Mississippi and the king of Indiana are laugh out loud hilarious. And there are some funny exchanges between Sookie and Pam, Eric’s vampire business partner. In the earliest books Pam was portrayed as an emotionally detached vampire who saw humans as nothing more than food but here lately we’ve seen her warm up to Sookie, something that comes as a surprise to both of them!

Charlaine Harris’s ability to write about so many relationships while keeping the storyline of assassination and betrayal at the forefront is a testament to her brilliance as a writer. Her stories may seem straightforward on the surface but peek beneath the skin and you’ll discover statements about political alliances, trust and loyalty. All Together Dead is a funny, exciting, thought provoking and overall worthy addition to the Sookie Stackhouse book series. You can get All Together Dead from online retailers or from local bookstores.

See also: Sookie Stackhouse Book 8 - From Dead To Worse