Dead in Dixie (Southern Vampire Mystery, Bks. 1-3)

This book contains 3 novels.... Dead Until Dark, Living Dead in Dallas, Club Dead. I'm not into vampire mysteries or vampire romances but I do like this author so I decided to try this series. I'm sure glad I did because it's so full of humor that I find myself laughing out loud. Sookie Stackhouse is the main character. She works in a bar and was a virgin until she met Vampire Bill. The humans think she's strange because she can read their minds (she's a telepath). She can read human minds anyway but not vampires since they are technically dead. I mean they don't breathe for heaven's sakes. But at least that makes it easier for her to sleep with him since she's not constantly listening to him perhaps being critical of her performance in bed. Bill is kind of an old fashioned vampire since he was born in the 1800's and died right after the civil war. Soon Sookie isn't just hanging with this vampire but with some of his friends. The other vampires can see where a telepath might come in handy and are soon sending her on a mission to Dallas to solve a problem there. Well, most girls would lose their cool about being around so many vampires and there is quite a bit....since they sometimes have to kill the bad guys. Oh, yeah, if you believe in vampires, you have to believe in other supernatural beings, like shapechangers, werewolves, witches, etc and soon they are also appearing in these books. Poor Sookie helps them all but for some reason she is the one who always winds up hurt at the end. But no reason to get worried since those vampires are real good at healing her. Once they even changed out her whole blood system...uh, this was to save her life and not because they were just feeding on her. This takes place in a small town in Louisiana and the people there pretty much don't seem astonished to find so many vamps or supes in their town. They are getting used to it. It all started when the Japanese invented a synthetic blood. That is when the vamps decided to go public and mainstream with humans. Instead of killing the humans they could drink this blood. Well, they do have a few little nips off the humans once in awhile but these humans are like groupies and want it. And lo and behold if there people called drainers who suck the blood out of vampires and sell it on the streets just like a drug dealer would. It's quite valuable as it can make you glow and bouncy for weeks at a time. Although the vamps try to mainstream, everyone must be slightly scared of them since most houses in their neighborhoods have for sale signs in the yard. So...how would you feel about a vampire, werewolf, shapeshifters for a neighbor....and how about that cat next door...is she really a cat? The author has a way with words and you will love these books and cheer Sookie on to more adventures with her unusual set of new friends. There's romance, mystery, humor and I intend reading all of them!

I LOVED this set of 3 novels all bound into one. Can't wait for more!

This volume contains three novels about the waitress Sookie Stackhouse and her vampire boyfriend Bill Compton. Vampires have recently been allowed to come out in the open, living on synthesized blood; the party line is that vampirism is a severe allergy to garlic and sunlight, but as some people find out, they are really supernatural and there are many more supernatural beings around. Sookie herself is telepathic, which she mostly considers a nuisance: her attraction to Bill is partly that she can not read his thoughts, and therefore can have a "normal" relationship with him. These stories are quite funny to read, although they contain a good amount of gore, supernatural or otherwise, and are in general well written. Sookie is a likeable character, and nowhere near as dumb as she looks, even if she is blond and has big breasts. I guess it's natural for vampire stories to take place in Louisiana, but instead of in glamorous New Orleans, these stories play in a small town, Bon Temps, where everyone knows everyone. The locale is certainly vividly pictured. On the whole I found this a tremendously entertaining read.

This Science Fiction Book Club Edition contains the first 3 volumes of Charlaine Harris' Southern Vampire series: Dead Until Dark, Living Dead in Dallas and Club Dead.More humor than most vampire series, with a good mystery as you would expect from Charlaine Harris. If you like Laurell K Hamilton, this has a more light-hearted touch, but many similar supernatural elements. Highly recommended!