Dead and Gone: Sookie Stackhouse Southern Vampire Mystery #9

By: Charlaine Harris

Narrated by: Johanna Parker

Length: 9 hrs and 28 mins

Publisher's summary

Charlaine Harris' Anthony Award-winning Sookie Stackhouse mysteries have become a fixture on the New York Times best-seller list and have inspired the acclaimed HBO series True Blood.

In her ninth adventure, Sookie has just tied on her cocktail waitress apron for a night's work when a special report comes on the television. The time has come. The wereanimals have revealed themselves.

But there's an even greater danger threatening Bon Temps. A race of unhuman beings - older, more powerful, and more secretive than vampires or werewolves - is preparing for war. And Sookie finds herself an all-too human pawn in their battle.

Listen to more titles in the Sookie Stackhouse series.

©2009 Charlaine Schultz Harris (P)2009 Recorded Books, LLC

Don't waste your time & money

This was an uninspired book and not very well read.

Amazing ❤️❤️❤️

This entire series is utterly amazing....They are worth every penny. You definitely will not be sorry for your purchase.... once you read the first book you'll be addicted 😍 and absolutely understand why and Harris is a best selling author.
Ms Parker made this series that much more amazing. All I can say it WOW 💯 phenomenal job. 🙌🏻

LEAST favorite of the series

This book barely answered any of my questions.. I really wanted Sookie and Eric to solidify their relationship but in the end if was the same Eric vs. Bill debate. I feel like this book was rushed.. when I finished it I just wanted more!

Bummer :(

Disappointing story

This book is very disappointing. The narrator is great but the story is bland. The characters rely on past stories to have any depth. New characters seem shallow and under developed. Good news - no heavy sex scenes!

Waste of a credit

I tried this book based on the NY Times list. What a waste. The narration was fine, the story was boring and I didn't fine the characters engaging. Maybe if I started the series at the beginning...

Looking for love...in all the wrong places.

Dark and depressing, and not in a good way. This book was so graphically violent I had to skip whole pages. Where is the plucky, innovative Sookie we have come to love? Either Miss Harris was having a very bad year while writing this installment and took it out on her readers, she was so busy with the television series she couldn't find enough time to write, or she's sick to death of vampires. The gratuitous offing of important characters did nothing to drive the story line, and made no sense. I'm sorry, but I was so looking forward to book #9. Unless Charlaine pulls it out in book #10, I think the Southern Vampire series is "Dead and Gone."

Series sale

Would you try another book from Charlaine Harris and/or Johanna Parker?

Yes.

If you’ve listened to books by Charlaine Harris before, how does this one compare?

Not as good as the previous couple of books in the series.

Would you listen to another book narrated by Johanna Parker?

Not sure. Didn't like her voice in the beginning but seems to be getting better.

If this book were a movie would you go see it?

No, but then I'm not a movie person

Any additional comments?

No.

Change it up, please!

Would you recommend Dead and Gone: Sookie Stackhouse Southern Vampire Mystery #9 to your friends? Why or why not?

Eh, yes. I was so sucked in by this series at the beginning. I have listened to the first 9 books in the series in just over 2 weeks. But, I'm getting sick of the same thing over and over and over. **SPOILER** Why is there ALWAYS someone dying around her? Why isn't the story focusing more on the relationships with at least one of the guys? Why doesn't she sleep with Sam already!? I'm frustrated with hearing about someone dying every single day of this story. I get it, this isn't real and she's caught up in chaos among the undead and alternative forms, but for Pete's sake, it's getting old. I'd love more relationship stories and less of people dying all the time. I feel like the books are progressively getting less and less interesting. If I wasn't determined to give the rest of the series a listen, I'd stop now and let the series sit. If book 10 isn't any better, that's what I'll end up doing.

Have you listened to any of Johanna Parker’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

Yes, as the series progresses, she has either gotten less annoying in her performance or I have grown more used to her. When I first heard her performance in Book #1, I thought she sounded really whiny and as if she had a 'fake' southern accent. It seemed like she was trying too hard and it was really bothersome. Though, I don't seem to be as annoyed with her more recently.

Good addition to the series :)

3-3.5 stars

This was a good addition to the story. Sookie and Eric finally get together but because of the feelings tied up in their blood bond, Sookie feels like she should hold back from getting too deep. Jason's wife does get killed and Sookie feels the need to try to help find her killer. On top of that, the fairy issues brought into her life by her great-great-grandfather come to a head. Niall's enemies end up going after Sookie and she goes through some really bad crap before the end. There's a couple of losses so expect some mixed feelings.

Overall, I enjoyed this story. I liked Eric and Sookie finally getting together in a relationship but some of their encounters/conversations seemed...awkward. Still pretty good but sometime there were small points or sentences that just didn't seem to fit. And Bill...he has to go and basically get hurt really bad for Sookie and now she seems to be thinking about him a bit too much IMO. Regardless on any issue though, I thought this was a good story and enjoyed it overall and will be continuing on with the series. :)

FYI, the last 30 minutes of the audio version is actually a preview of the next book.

plodding, depressing and masochistic at best.

Charlene Harris must be burnt out on writing SVM. All she seems to do here is rip up the tapestry of her long developed story arch we all wait upon. In the style of a bad bad movie sequel - Charlene kills off a lot of main characters, and really seems to not be having fun. Gone is the exploration, excitement and humor of her previous books. This book was plodding, depressing and masochistic at best. I think she needs a vacation away from this series for a while before she goes and drives a stake through its heart.