Living Dead in Dallas by Charlaine Harris

Following up on my second take of Sookie and her gang of misfits. There are two mysteries in this story.

The first pops up when Lafayette, Merlotte's cook, is found murdered in the back seat of detective Andy Bellefleur's car. The car had sat in the parking lot the night before because Andy had been too drunk to drive it but when Sookie showed up for work she found the body (just the girl's luck!).

Before Sookie can look into this mystery she is pulled into the Vampire drama that takes her to Dallas where a vampire is missing and all fingers point to a minister that leads a racist congregation. Sookie is pulled into this when Eric requests her service on behalf of Stan Davis, the Dallas area's leader. Bill who became some sort of sheriff with the hopes it would give him enough political clout against Eric to protect Sookie, is forced to accept her involvement. Things start going wrong from the moment Sookie arrives there seems to be a traitor among Stan Davis' employees and they need Sookie to question everyone that was present at the time the kidnapped bouncer disappeared. Sookie has to deal with a suicidal vampires, ignorant cult followers and the disillusion from discovering that Bill is very much a vampire and struggles day to day to stay mainstream. When Sookie finally returns from Dallas, she returns alone.

Her breakup with Bill does not damper her need to find out what happened to Lafayette and she discovers that Lafayette was involved in some orgy stuff that was being kept hush hush in town. She makes herself a target for an invitation and recruits Eric to help her infiltrate the orgy party. It’s hilarious to read of how Eric dressed in some extreme costume (Lycra pants) to pass himself off as gay. Worlds collide when the minister whose plans she fouled in Dallas comes to Bon Temps to exact revenge on Sookie and attacks the house where the party was taking place.

Sookie is always a pleasure to read with the mix of innocence and determination she brings to the table. This installment did not disappoint, it had me on quite a roller coaster ride, even tearing up a bit for the suicidal vamp that was evil but needed redemption in a desperate way.

Club Dead is the next in the series and I’m happy to say it recently was release in Audiobook so I will be able to read it soon!! Yeah me!

Grade: A
Format: Audiobook