Book Review – Living Dead In Dallas by Charlaine Harris

First published, 2002

⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐

Okay, so I have loved True Blood from the moment I heard the opening bars of the theme tune. I make no bones about it: I’m reading the books so I can make a direct comparison between the original work and the show. (I’ve always slightly envied those people who are so on top of their reading matter that, when the inevitable film comes out, they can pipe up with, ‘Well, of course, it’s nothing to the books, which I read x years ago…’)

Anyway, this is the second of the Sookie Stackhouse novels and, as added impetus to move forward with the series, I’d been missing a couple of characters who either a) didn’t even make an appearance in the first book or b) were mentioned in passing but then disappeared from the text.

I’m doing my damnedest not to throw in a massive spoiler here. But one of my favourite characters, not only from this series but from all of television as far as I’m concerned, barely got a mention in book one and in this book, they’re dead by page seven.

My mouth fell open so hard I’d be surprised if I’m not left with a permanent dent.

The story follows telepathic barmaid, Sookie Stackhouse, and her possessive, rather annoying, vampire boyfriend, Bill Compton, as they travel to Dallas, to assist the now out-and-proud vampire community of Texas locate one of their own. Thus begins an adventure with religious cults, thousand year old vampires and a lot of brooding.

Aside from my getting so caught up in the TV series, I’d plumb forgotten that the books might be wildly different (see: reader error), the story is very much what one might expect. There are a good number of laughs, some gore and some great one-liners, including:

‘I am not having this conversation.’ Then I proceeded to have it. ‘Eric…’
Page 248, Living Dead In Dallas by Charlaine Harris

There’s no need to over-intellectualise it though. This is a fun, but not exactly substantial read. It’s a very jolly book, and there’s nothing wrong with that.

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