Deadlocked

By: Charlaine Harris

Narrated by: Johanna Parker

Length: 9 hrs and 29 mins

Publisher's Summary

It’s vampire politics as usual around the town of Bon Temps, but never before have they hit so close to Sookie’s heart….

Growing up with telepathic abilities, Sookie Stackhouse realized early on there were things she'd rather not know. And now that she's an adult, she also realizes that some things that she knows about, she'd rather not see—like Eric Northman feeding off another woman. A younger one.

There's a thing or two she'd like to say about that, but she has to keep quiet—Felipe de Castro, the Vampire King of Louisiana (and Arkansas and Nevada), is in town. It’s the worst possible time for a human body to show up in Eric's front yard—especially the body of the woman whose blood he just drank.

Now, it's up to Sookie and Bill, the official Area Five investigator, to solve the murder. Sookie thinks that, at least this time, the dead girl's fate has nothing to do with her. But she is wrong. She has an enemy, one far more devious than she would ever suspect, who's set out to make Sookie's world come crashing down.

©2012 Charlaine Harris, Inc. (P)2012 Recorded Books, LLC

Underwhelmed

Somehow I thought there would be more story to the story. There was only the one major focus for the entire book and then, as a side plot, Sookie and Eric. I have to agree with others that a lot of this book seemed like filler fluff. Sookie runs errands. Sookie visits friends. Sookie has lunch. Sookie daydreams about this and that. But, again, little story. And the story that was the focus did nothing to further this book series. I guess that since the book series is supposed to be completed within another book or two, this wraps up some of the characters, but it just didn't further any of the major characters stories. It just took some of the smaller characters out of the picture. It was like a book designed to tidy up some loose ends and get them out of the way for the big finale. Hopefully the big finale is more satisfying than this was. The end was really just like someone quit typing at the end of their sentence without bothering to finish a paragraph.

24 of 26 people found this review helpful

Who, What, and Why

First, I have been a huge fan of this series since the first book. Charlaine Harris and Johanna Parker are both brilliant! That said, this was not the most interesting book of the series.

Who: There were plenty of characters, both old and new. A few were simply cameo appearances or memories with no other plot purpose than nostalgia. I could not figure out the significance of Quinn's brief appearance.

What: There was a significant shortage of Sookie/Eric alone time. There was a lot of activity with Sookie running around taking care of her life and friends, but a lot of the ???action??? was uninteresting and unnecessary for the story. We already know that Sookie is just a regular gal with trips to the library and grocery store. The daily activities do provide time for her to think about what's happening around her, but not much was going on for large chunks of this book. Johanna Parker's narration saved all the seemingly pointless errands and introspection from being boring. There were some fights and chase scenes, so I was not completely wanting.

Why: Motivation was never clear to me. Long-held assumptions were turned upside down with hardly any explanation. Friends and foes acted in ways that were never explained to my satisfaction. The end came much too soon, not because I was hanging on every word and hoping for more, but because Harris ended the book before resolving important issues. I admit that I like more story resolution, even in a series.

Overall I did like this book (I am still a fan), but I wanted more. Hopefully the next book will deliver.

22 of 24 people found this review helpful

It's time to end this . . .

I loved Sookie and her friends in the earlier books, but this book was so disappointing. I kept waiting for the story to get going and then realized that there was only 2 hours left. Clearly, Ms. Harris is tired of the character which is not not fair to the readers. I believe the next book will be the last in the series and it should be. As usual Johanna Parker does a marvelous job of narrating.

6 of 6 people found this review helpful

The worst one in the series...

This book wasn’t for you, but who do you think might enjoy it more?

I have loved this series since the beginning, but the last two books have really left me disappointed. I feel like Charlaine is done with the series, but keeps putting out a new book because the fan base is so big. Know when to end a good thing, before it goes downhill.

24 of 27 people found this review helpful

So DIsappointing

Nothing happens in this book - absolutely nothing. Hunter, Bubba and Quinn are mentioned for about 45 seconds each, and the mentions do not further the story. Dribs and drabs of the Fae, Weres and Vamps come up, but not in any coherent manner. No plot, no hot vampire sex scenes - nothing that led me to enjoy the series was in this book. I don't buy these to hear about Sookie going to Taco Bell!!I have loved the series, but Ms. Harris just phoned this one in. Save your credit - I wish I had. Narration was wonderful though - Johanna Parker is perfect for these books.

23 of 26 people found this review helpful

very disappointed what happened

Any additional comments?

i am very disappointed i loved the series but this one was a very terrible book . i just hope the last book is better than this one. i was looking forward to this book . maybe its good that the there only going to one more book.

10 of 11 people found this review helpful

What a disappointment!

Well...that was not the book I had hoped for. I love this series and have been a fan from the beginning. This one just didn't hold up. About 90% of the book is Sookie going over and over and over things in her head. Just when you think she's really in some action/adventure... nope all alone and back in her head.

25 of 29 people found this review helpful

A Return to Good Old Sookie

For me, this installment was a return to the kind of story Charlaine Harris provided earlier in the series. While it's true that we got some moments in Sookie's life that weren't particularly relevant to the story, that has always been true and a part of spending time in Sookie's world. This time the story provided several highlights of a more common nature--such as the birth of twins--and a number of the kinds of events poor Sookie is so often involved in--deaths, ambush, betrayal, and more deaths. This book felt more like the Sookie stories I fell in love with rather than the disjointed events we endured in some of the later books. Several times I wondered if this was actually the last book rather than the penultimate one as we'd been told because so many loose ends got tied up. Then, the ending came suddenly and some huge loose ends still dangle. Still, I found the various elements were exciting and interesting enough to keep me listening straight through to the end and eager for more.

Johanna Parker does her usual fantastic job of being Sookie and giving voice to all of our favorite characters. Her performance is really spot on and she has maintained consistency of character voices from one book to the next.

This is a satisfying return to what I've always most enjoyed in the Sookieverse.

42 of 50 people found this review helpful

Book 13 should be called: Beating a Dead Horse

The author spends a good chunk of each chapter recounting events for the previous 11 books or lying the groundwork for the next book. The story drags on in between.

I also had the feeling that Sookie's "voice" in the first person wasn't consistent with her "voice" in the other books.

This is the last novel-I'm sticking with True Blood.

7 of 8 people found this review helpful

boredlocked, or how many times Sookie goes to work

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

Yes, unfortunately, the series has gone down hill, the characters are stiff, but naturally I want to know how the story ends. I did not care for the narrator as Sookie, she was great for the supporting chsracters, but she would lose her southern accent at times and her voice a bit raspy for the character of Sookie.

What was most disappointing about Charlaine Harris’s story?

The flat characters that used to have so much life. Also it took 3/4s of the book to have any real action start. She even made fun of Pam and Bill rather than embracing them she made them into caricatures. Sookie whined and complained the whole story.

How did the narrator detract from the book?

Her southern accent made her voice raspy, which made it sound like Sookie was a smoker, when she would do Tara's on the other hand it sounded great, as well as most of the supporting characters.

If you could play editor, what scene or scenes would you have cut from Deadlocked?

The first 3/4of the book where most of it rehashes old stuff, and doesn't have much action.

Any additional comments?

Kill Sookie, or turn her. I know that lovers angst is what keeps readers interested but Eric is just an oaf, compared to the Viking God he was. Give them a happy few moments, let them go, and move on this stringing the relationship along for a couple of books with no emotion is flat and uncomfortable and boring.

3 of 3 people found this review helpful

Enjoyed it but not as much

The Sookie novels were my saviour after reading Twilight and thinking I would never find anything else to read again. Usually I cannot put a Sookie book down but this one I did 2 or 3 times. Not sure why just did not capture me