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- Verified Buyer
When I purchased this set of books I had already read the series books 1-9. I had also already watched the HBO series, True Blood - Season One.I was introduced to the Southern Vampire Mystery series by a co-worker. She had heard of it through advertisement for the True Blood television show. This box set includes books 1-7 of the Southern Vampire Mystery series by Charlaine Harris.Dead Until Dark (Southern Vampire Mysteries, No. 1)This book introduces you to Sookie Stackhouse, cocktail waitress in Bon Temps Louisiana. She is telepathic which she and others consider a disability. She lives with her grandmother and keeps to herself because she desires quiet after hearing other people's thoughts while working at Merlotte's. However, since Vampire Bill's appearance, people are turning up dead. She must use her telepathic abilities to try to find the murderer. We are introduced to several characters in this book including: Bill, Sam, Jason, Eric, Pam, and very-lovable Bubba. I really enjoyed the straightforward first-person narrative. The only thing is I wish it had the original cover - not the True Blood cover.Living Dead in Dallas (Southern Vampire Mysteries, Book 2)In this book has Sookie is attacked and she only survives because the local vampires, Eric and friends, graciously suck out the poison. To return the favor Sookie and Bill sent to Dallas, by Eric, because he extended her services to Stan. Stan wants her to use her telepathic gift to find out what happened to a missing vampire. Eric puts Sookie smack-dab in the middle of a vampire battle hoping to defeat an extremist religious cult trying to annihilate them. This book was a quick-entertaining read.Club Dead (Southern Vampire Mysteries, Book 3)In this book Sookie ends up in Jackson, Mississippi. I liked this book because it involved more of the werewolves and shifters, as well as shook up Sookie's love life a little bit. This book also introduced of one of my favorite characters, Alcide. Another plus, even though Sookie gets kicked around, she seems to be more aggressive.Dead to the World (Southern Vampire Mysteries, Book 4)This is my favorite book in the series so far, I have read through 9 at this point. This book has a lot going on. (1) Eric is cursed and has amnesia, (2) Jason disappears, (3) Alcide's pack members are murdered, and (4) Bill's still in the dog house. Wow - this book took off running.Dead as a Doornail (Southern Vampire Mysteries, Book 5)This books plots (and there are a lot of them) are predictable. The list of bad things that happens to Sookie...well I am not going to give it away, but wow... This book had so much going on it was slightly distracting. That's not to say that this book wasn't good...it was but it was also overwhelming.Definitely Dead (Southern Vampire Mysteries, Book 6)Sookie has a new man in her life, Quinn. He is everything Sookie is looking for: tall, bald, patient, and seemingly without drama. Unfortunately it all downhill for them, they are attacked by crazed bitten weres on their first date. This book introduces a lot of new characters and seems to ignore the older characters, like Eric and Bill and Sam. I know I was complaining she had too many men in her life, but the story seemed neglectful of primary characters.All Together Dead (Southern Vampire Mysteries, Book 7)This is my second favorite book in the series. Sookie is knee deep in Vampire politics and hating it. Sookie has agreed to attend the Rhodes vampire conference and read the minds of any humans present in case someone is thinking something that might be important for the Queen of Louisiana, Sophie-Anne, to know. This book changes her relationship with Eric, Bill and Quinn. This book reflected the Sookie character more like the first couple of books.The other 2 books in the series From Dead to Worse (Southern Vampire Mysteries, Book 8) and Dead and Gone (Sookie Stackhouse, Book 9) must be purchased separately.
