Sookie Stackhouse is back, her love life as complicated as ever and the paranormal world around her no simpler. Still reeling from the double blows of Hurricane Katrina and the death of the Vampire Queen of New Orleans, a power struggle among the vampires of Louisiana threatens the entire community, none more so than those under the protection of Eric. As Sookie's boyfriend Quinn recuperates in Bon Temps, Sookie once again has to fight her competing suitors and juggle an increasingly complex number of negotiations both natural and supernatural. And, as if that weren't enough, her heretofore unknown great-grandfather reveals information about her heritage that complicates things even further.
The great strength of the Stackhouse series is Sookie - her strength of character and integrity drive the novels, her relationships and friendships (particularly the Eric/Bill/Sookie triangle, and her increasingly vile brother Jason, who does not come out of From Dead to Worse at all well) provide pace alongside the action, and what Janet from Dear Author calls Sookie's "insider-outsider dynamic" provides a lot of her relatibility. All these elements are present in From Dead to Worse, along with lashings of action, but the never-ending attractiveness of Sookie to Every Straight Man around is a little too much and doesn't significantly abate, while the ramping up of supernatural drama is getting more intense with every instalment.
I enjoyed From Dead to Worse, but am relieved that I was able to borrow a copy rather than buying it, and don't foresee any desire to re-read it in the future. I'll no doubt read the next in the series, but with a little less avidity that I did the first few, and certainly with less excitment than I did the first few in the series. - Alex
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