From Dead to Worse

From Dead to Worse (2008) Charlaine Harris

For awhile there I was getting frustrated with Charlaine Harris while it seems as if Sookie was the most attractive and beguiling woman in the entire world and everyone wanted to boink her.

Whatever. I don’t care if she is part fairy, things were just getting a bit ridiculous.

But things seemed to have moved past that point, finally. She still is unsure where she stands in the world and who she loves, but she’s settled into her friendships and is extracting herself from relationships that are not healthy from her. Of course, being a friend of the Pack and close to the vampire sheriff of her area wins her as many enemies as it does admirers.

This books was rather interesting. It was actually several novellas combined into a single book rather than a single novel. Which was fine with me, because Charlaine Harris does novellas and short stories very well–in fact I almost tend to prefer her shorter works to her longer ones. So that was a bonus, however, there was some filler material scattered throughout the book, as Sookies day-to-day activities are described several times. It occasionally made for strange breaks in the story that possibly could have been edited out.

BUT.

Those are really minor flaws compared to my overall feeling about the book. We’re back to mysteries, and although Sookie is still confused about her love life, she’s coming to terms with herself and what’s best for her. (And I have to say that I’m a big Eric fan, since he’s one of the few who has always tended to see to her material needs when others have ignored or been blind to the financial difficulties their demands have placed upon her. [I always appreciated the fact that Eric had her driveway regraded. That sounds like something silly, unless you’ve every lived with a gravel driveway, then you realize that he was interested in making her day-to-day life easier, not just impressing her.)

I’m also glad to see more of her friendship with Sam. He’s a very interesting character, and we’ve never really gotten to see him for much more than Sookie’s boss, so it was a nice change to see him being her friend–and her the same.

So although this story did have some weaknesses, and I’m sure that some people might not like the fact it’s several stories in one, as a whole I enjoyed From Dead to Worse very much, and enjoyed the several mysteries that went throughout the book. And I particularly liked the final chapter. It was good to see Sookie doing something on her own and for someone else–but also for herself.
Rating: 7/10

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