• Dead Ever After

  • A Sookie Stackhouse Novel, Book 13
  • By: Charlaine Harris
  • Narrated by: Johanna Parker
  • Length: 10 hrs and 11 mins
  • 4.2 out of 5 stars (5,683 ratings)

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Dead Ever After  By  cover art

Dead Ever After

By: Charlaine Harris
Narrated by: Johanna Parker
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Editorial reviews

Editors Select, May 2013 - Dead Ever After. The end of an era. Lucky number 13. As great as my anticipation is, and as high as my expectations are, I can’t help but be sad that there will be no more Sookie adventures to read. It’s hard to put so many otherworldly creatures into ours, try to make it a little sexy, a little mysterious, and succeed the way Harris has without resorting to cheap titillations. In the final book (though I heard a rumor about character epilogues), Sookie is arrested for murder and must solve what could be her most difficult mystery yet. Johanna Parker returns as narrator and expertly falls into the role, keeping our heroine’s characteristic smoky, smoldering voice on perfect no-nonsense levels. Come on back down to Bon Temps – this is not a murder to be missed. Erin, Audible Editor

Publisher's summary

Number-one New York Times best-selling author Charlaine Harris has won numerous awards for her Sookie Stackhouse Southern Vampire series, which has been adapted into the hit HBO show True Blood. In this 13th and final book, a murder rocks the town of Bon Temps and Sookie is arrested for the crime. After making bail, she sets out to clear her name - but her investigation only leads to more deaths.

©2013 Charlaine Harris, Inc. (P)2013 Recorded Books

Critic reviews

"The Sookie Stackhouse series seamlessly mixes sensuality, violence, and humor." ( Boulder Weekly)
"Harris’s creation offers a magical and mysterious twist on traditional vampire stories." ( Houston Chronicle)
"What sucked me in? Definitely the books’ oddly charming, often funny mix of the mundane and the absurd. And the chills and thrills in boudoirs and various locales around the South aren’t too bad either." ( The Seattle Times)

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  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    1 out of 5 stars

It's not about the Beau. It's about the writing.

(No spoilers.) I honestly don't believe Charlaine Harris wrote this book. I suspect she either supervised a ghost writer who needed a firmer editing hand, or she did write it and it's just an early draft that she either didn't care to improve or couldn't because of other commitments. The plot is ridiculous, contrived, crammed full of details in places and outright boring in others. The supernatural abilities of characters are inconsistent with our previous experience of them, with no explanation for why they can not do something they have done before or they can suddenly do something that was impossible. There are characters who step in for meaningless cameos, as if there was some casting obligation, but no actual plot point to give them. And for the first time in thirteen books and as many stories as I've read, except for a tag on one short story, the author has departed from her first person narrator perspective.

Some reviewers are rating the book low because they think she ended up with the wrong man. That's not my issue. This is the last book in the series. I expected the quality of story telling that kept me reading all these years and made me fall in love with these characters. This book did not have that quality. It's disappointing, and its a sad end to the Sookie series.

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200 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    1 out of 5 stars

Disappointed

Any additional comments?

After 13 books this final instalment felt completely out of place, as if the writer just went through the motions to conclude a story that she didn't enjoy anymore. The characters were shadows of their former selves, none exhibiting their usual characteristics that made me fall in love with them.It was also boring, the mundane details of Sookie's life were on the forefront and took up most of the time pushing the relationships and plot on the sidelines. I forgot what the story was about, so caught up with her checking her messages and emails. Her relationships as well were incredibly odd, her motivations, her love, it was as if none of the experiences she had in the past 12 books existed. What a pathetic end to this series. I wish I had never listened to it.

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77 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars

ALL the loose ends tied up TOO neatly

***NO SPOILERS***
First, I really thought the entire first half of this book was boring and Harris wanted all the previous characters to make a cameo in the book just because it is the last book. There were really no reasons for most of the people who cameoed to be in the book, they served no real purpose. It made me feel like it was the end of a long loved tv series and everyone comes out to take a bow, even the extras. She could have taken out all those pointless scenes and made the book way more exciting.

I've been a fan of every sookie book written, even the not so good ones. This book lacks everything that is Sookie Stackhouse. I am very disappointed in this book as the ending of our beloved heroine. It just seemed so unrealistic of everything that happened and the loose ends were tied up too neatly it just seemed too unrealistic, even for Sookie's world. I am happy with who she ends up with but that's about all I can say I'm happy with.
Ugh... I have no more words to say how disappointed I am with this ending. It seems like C. Harris just threw it together and wanted everything put together nice and neat with a bow on top. I guess I just expected more from her.
Hopefully there will be fans out there that like this book/ending but I'm not one of them. I've waited so long to read this book and have been so excited about it and now that I'm done I feel like a deflated balloon.

What does everyone else think?

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51 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    1 out of 5 stars

What's lower than 1 star? Answer: THIS BOOK

What was most disappointing about Charlaine Harris’s story?

Even though Charlaine Harris says she hired an editor to help with continuity, it didn't work. If I hadn't bought audiobooks, I could have sent her my 12 books so she could look up what happened in the previous books. For example, Sookie says she only met Copley Carmichael once before. WRONG! Also, why include characters that have no purpose in the book just because they were in prior books? I felt like it was a final episode of a bad show where everyone who ever had a part had to take a final bow.

Would you be willing to try another one of Johanna Parker’s performances?

Probably not. Johanna Parker should have reviewed her voices and pronunciation of names from previous recordings. Also, could Sookie have sounded more whiney?

What character would you cut from Dead Ever After?

Quinn. What was he there for? His part could have been performed by any other animal. Harris included him just so she could wrap up any possibility of Quinn and Sookie. Talk about playing to her audience.

Any additional comments?

Charlaine Harris started with a great concept and character in her first book but by book 10 it was clear she was bored with the storyline. This book was nothing more than a contractual obligation for her - she promised 13 books and no matter what the quality, she was going to provide 13 books. I didn't care who Sookie ended up with although Sam is definitely the easy, vanilla way of ending the book. Oh wait, there's another book due out in October that will tell the future. As if I care anymore. And another thing. A DEVIL??!!! COME ON!!!

I solemnly swear upon my Audible account that I will never, ever, ever spend one more cent on a Charlaine Harris book. So help me God.

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50 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    1 out of 5 stars

Welp, At Least She Didn't Do An Anita Blake

Has Dead Ever After turned you off from other books in this genre?

No but this has spoiled the series for me.

What three words best describe Johanna Parker’s performance?

I love her

If you could play editor, what scene or scenes would you have cut from Dead Ever After?

the trailer. *shivers*

Any additional comments?

I feel cheated out of a true happily ever after, for the fans and for the protagonist. Instead, Sookie ends up with a "we'll take it slow" with her bff. What a tragedy. It sullied the entire series that was filled so much promise. I've read better fan fiction that was more devoted to the continuity of characters and had a greater love and reverence for the overall Sookieverse. Charlaine needs a do over, beginning with book 10 or maybe even 9.

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43 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    1 out of 5 stars

Dissatisfied with the parade of old characters

What would have made Dead Ever After better?

This book did not read like a SVM story. I felt like I was reading fan fiction story ideas. There was a very weak plot and uninteresting side stories. Ms. Harris seems to have wanted the readers to have one last visit from many old characters even if it was forcing a contrived story line. ****Spoiler****. It was ridiculous that Copley, Marley, Steve N and more were all murderously angry with Sookie. I don't mind that Sookie ends up with Sam, but the complete dismissal of Eric's character was disappointing. He was developed as a love interest for Sookie since book 2, growing even more important to each other after the summit. The characters in Book 13 had stark differences from the rest if the series. It was as if someone else wrote the book or that Ms Harris was sick of writing these stories and just wanted to end it. I would have been happier if she had stopped at 12 or maybe even earlier.

What was most disappointing about Charlaine Harris’s story?

She developed Eric and then threw the character away without at realistic break up and good bye.

Which character – as performed by Johanna Parker – was your favorite?

Diantha! Her fast talk makes me laugh.

What reaction did this book spark in you? Anger, sadness, disappointment?

Frustrated and disappointed.

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42 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars

Bitter ending? Cleanse your palate.

I re-listened to everything previously written in this series to prepare for this book. I agree with the reviewers who believe Ms. Harris lost her heart for this series, I have seen this with other authors like in the Anita Blake series.

I was so disheartened that I went through my audio library looking for an old friend to re-visit.
Instead, I stumbled onto a new gem. Like the Sookie series, this series has an odd, gifted and very loveable heroine. Like Sookie's home, this is set in a world all its own. While it lacks vampires and werewolves, it has lots of chemistry.

Have a listen to Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie by Alan Bradley. Follow the adventures of Flavia. Listening is good again.

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34 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    1 out of 5 stars

Ms Harris seemed burned out on her series

I really wish Ms Harris would have ended this series with 8 books instead of dragging it out. It steadily got worse, as the books went on. (kinda like Anita Blake). Some of these authors need to learn when to end a series, before they get totally burned out, and write crap in order to pick up their paycheck. Where are the editors anyway?
I know I'm not writing the books, but I do think when an author has created a huge following, those readers should be considered and listened to. Someone needs to look where their paycheck came from.
That being said......this book was rushed, with stupid cameos all the way through it from just about every character ever introduced. Things that made Sookie, Sookie in other books, all of a sudden are different in this book. Doesn't the author use cliff notes to remind herself what abilities and history her characters have?
Spoiler Alert====

Spolier Alert!!!
I really feel the whole series should have been Sookie's dream (Like Bobby in Dallas) cause Sookie didn't achieve anything in the end. She ended up right where she started out, working in a diner with Sam, not really sold on wanting Sam, so she'll have to think about it for awhile. (oh yes, that's cause Ms Harris wants to sell us another book in a few months.Fat chance on me buying that one.) Sookie went through all kinds of horrible experiences, only to be jilted by the one man that she truly ever loved. All these books, making Eric always being there to rescue her, and he becomes a slave to another vampire in the end. (Oh yes, that's how he started out too)
So basically, Ms Harris sees ones life going full circle, ending up just where you started and no HEA for her main characters. She should have killed them off, dying in each others arms. I think it would have been easier to deal with, than to totally alter their characters. Neither one of them would have just given up and settled, in earlier books, but that's what Ms Harris seemed to forget again. Shame on her.

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  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars

Awwww, come on Charlaine -I'm so bummed!

What could have made this a 4 or 5-star listening experience for you?

****(SPOILER ALERT)*****

Okay okay I get it. It can't realły be what I think of as not-so-good ending when it's the author's "world" and she decides everything in it but.....I'm soooo disappointed. It was very unsatisfying after a 13 book series total. I feel like the whole arc of the series was to really understand her and Eric together, and I realize allllll the many reasons why that's a tough one, so would it really have been so bad for her to have an HEA with him? (There are ways she could have had Freyda taken out of the equation). She mentions in the last paragraph she would survive if her and Sam didn't work out. I understand "girl power" but is believing in love (even if I'm sad over who the beau is at the end), and declaring her character happy and with a partner in life so bad?

Thank you for a great series Mrs. Harris, you are so talented and your Sookie books have brought me much enjoyment, but I'm sorry to say I wish it ended differently!

What do you think your next listen will be?

Erin McCarthy Fast Track series

What about Johanna Parker’s performance did you like?

Great as usual! I have to admit it took a few false starts to warm up to her on the first book but either I got used to her accent, she toned it down a bit, or a combo of both, but this one has been just as good as the rest of the series. You definitely end up thinking she IS Sookie!

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars

SERIOUSLY? That's it?

Is there anything you would change about this book?

The story. Maybe Ms.Harris could of put forth a little more effort into the plot.

Has Dead Ever After turned you off from other books in this genre?

How could it? It's the last book of the series, which I adored for the most part.

Which character – as performed by Johanna Parker – was your favorite?

Sookie of course. I always loved Pam.

Was Dead Ever After worth the listening time?

Yes. It wasn't horrific.

Any additional comments?

I believe we, the fans who have come to love and cherish these books deserve more of a story. This book seemed like Harris just threw some ideas out there and settled. No great creativity seemed to go into it. I get it after 13 books Sookie's "been there and done that", and no new characters could really be introduced. But the characters she chosen to bring back were well, dumb, .Amelia was written out of the book as far as I'm concerned, as was her father, Bob, and the others I won't mention due to spoiling the story. I wish it could of been more focused on the core characters. But it went in so many different directions that the story didn't seem to be concrete.

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