Dead Until Dark (Sookie Stackhouse, #1) by Charlaine Harris
Published by Ace Books
Publication Date May 1st 2001
Source: Bought
Genres: Paranormal
Goodreads
Sookie Stackhouse is a small-time cocktail waitress in small-town Louisiana. She's quiet, keeps to herself, and doesn't get out much. Not because she's not pretty. She is. It's just that, well, Sookie has this sort of "disability." She can read minds. And that doesn't make her too dateable. And then along comes Bill. He's tall, dark, handsome--and Sookie can't hear a word he's thinking. He's exactly the type of guy she's been waiting for all her life....
But Bill has a disability of his own: He's a vampire with a bad reputation. He hangs with a seriously creepy crowd, all suspected of--big surprise--murder. And when one of Sookie's coworkers is killed, she fears she's next....
Review
In Charlaine Harris’ first Sookie Stackhouse novel I couldn’t help but notice the similarities between Twilight and Dead Until Dark. In Dead Until Dark, Sookie has a “disability” she can read people’s minds making her somewhat of an oddity. This gift excludes the “undead” better known as vampires. This also happens to include her boyfriend Bill.
In Twilight, the roles are reversed. The vampire Edward can hear others thoughts. Like Sookie the only one mind he cannot enter is that of his girlfriend, Bella. The second glaring coincidence is that both girl’s best friend is a shape-shifter. Jake who transforms into a werewolf and Sam who can change into any animal on the full moon. I also sensed a paranormal love triangle in the making.
Despite these mere comparisons, I thoroughly enjoyed this introduction to the Southern Vampire Series. It is a fast paced amusing mystery read. Sookie, uses her wits and special talent to help apprehend the person who is murdering girls in her hometown. All of whom had relationships with local vampires. She works to prove both her boyfriend Bill and brother Jason’s innocence in the crime.
All the characters were fun, and look forward to seeing them grow, especially those of Bill and Sam with their relationships to Sookie. I look forward to reading the rest of the series.
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