Sci-Fi, Fantasy & Horror Reviews

Book Review: Deadlocked

By Sandy Amazeen May 1, 2012, 2:30 GMT

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 ...more

Telepathic Sookie Stackhouse continues to have her hands full, Felipe de Castro the vampire king of three states is in town and he wants to know what happened to some of his people who disappeared in Sheriff Eric Northman’s territory. Eric may be a strong vampire but his control is tested by a young woman who mysteriously shows up at a party he is hosting. Sookie arrives just in time to prevent Eric from draining the woman who later is discovered dead on his lawn. A surprising number of fae are working at her cousin Claude’s bar and Sookie cannot help but wonder why. Jannalynn a werewolf enforcer is extremely jealous, her shapeshifter lover Sam has a long history with Sookie and that makes Sookie a threat to be eliminated.

Whenever Sookie’s grandfather Naill reappears in her life chances are, things are about to change and this time is no exception. What is different is that this time, it is for keeps. As Sookie and her vampire ex-lover Bill try to clear Eric of murder charges, she is forced to think about her rocky relationship with the sheriff. Eric expects Sookie to prove her love for him by using the cluviel dor, a priceless and irreplaceable fae relic to free him from a pending arranged marriage. Sookie believes Eric is fully capable of freeing himself if he really wants to avoid the marriage. An underhanded bid for to overthrow the local werewolf leader renders the point moot as Sookie makes an instant life or death decision that is certain to impact her future.

Confused? Don’t be as book twelve of the Sookie Stackhouse novels smoothly fills in all the details with plenty of southern wit, humor and no small amount of grace on Sookie’s part. Her relationship with Eric has suffered since Sookie broke their blood bond with the aid of a witchy friend and it certainly doesn’t improve here. Several secondary characters make appearances and the fae community make a choice that may leave the world a simpler if less glamorous place. Readers might think that after this many books there couldn’t be anything different to throw in and they’d be wrong as it’s obvious Harris has a few more surprises up her sleeve.