Dead Until Dark by Charlaine Harris

Title: Dead Until Dark
Author: Charlaine Harris
Rating: ☆☆(☆☆☆)
2/5 stars

Dead Until Dark was, unfortunately, not nearly as good as I expected it to be. Of course I had heard from many people that the books by Charlaine Harris were quite different from the new HBO show inspired by them. However, I wanted to give this book a chance to stand on its own, as a separate entity. Maybe it would surprise me, as did The Reader, and turn out better than its already awe-inspiring Hollywood counterpart. Alas, I just couldn't sink my teeth into this one (pardon the pun).

Maybe if I had picked up this title before I became an avid viewer of the show True Blood, I would have rated it higher. It may have turned out to be a real page-turner if I hadn't known what was coming. It wasn't just the plot, though, that had me yawning. Harris's writing was disconnected at best. I found myself getting lost occasionally and having to go back and re-read passages to clarify. Sookie is the most oddly developed character I have ever encountered. She breaks up with Bill on multiple occasions for no apparent reason. Maybe I just wasn't good enough at reading between the lines, but I think that's a testament to Harris's poor writing. I just didn't understand any of Sookie's motives.

Despite my disappointment with Dead Until Dark, I have purchased book number two, Living Dead In Dallas. Hopefully, the fact that I don't know the ending of this one will reap a better rating.

ISBN: 978-0441008537
Price: $7.99, paperback
Pages: 260