All Together Dead by Charlaine Harris

A good read but could have been stronger.

The Southern Vampire Mysteries series seems to be getting darker with each book; whether this is because of the vampire/were/other politics that keep intruding on Sookie's life or because she's being pulled almost inexorably away from the world of humans into the paranormal world, I'm not quite certain, but All Together Dead would seem to be pointing to the latter.

The humor of the early books is mostly missing from this 7th book, but Sookie's Southerness remains intact. What didn't ring true was her outspokeness in situations that were quite tense/dire as well as her denseness over things that should have been quite obvious to not only her, but those that surrounded her at the Rhodes summit.

In addition, I used to enjoy the Word-a-Day calendar moments that were woven into whatever was happening in Sookie's life, but there's only 1 mention and it's a few pages later than the word I wouldn't have thought Sookie would know off the bat ("osculatory"), at least not without consulting a dictionary. Context, however, is everything.

Sookie's relationships with Arlene and Tara go off in different directions, and I'm not sure what role Amelia really plays; Sookie's interactions with her men remain complex (with the except of Alcides, who is mentioned but doesn't appear), although I'm happy Sookie isn't turning into another bed-hopping heroine.

The events that transpire very near the end of the book may be somewhat traumatic. Charlaine Harris herself brings up the parallel between what occurs and that of another real-life catastrophe (aside from Hurricane Katrina). The scenes were well done and the depth of destruction, chaos, and despair as well.

If there were increments of half-star ratings on Amazon, I'd probably give All Together Dead 3.5 stars. There are still a great many unresolved issues, but main demerits are due to the blindness of Sookie and other characters to what was staring them in the face, over and over.

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