Living Dead in Dallas

Sookie Stackhouse Southern Vampire Mystery #2

By: Charlaine Harris

Narrated by: Johanna Parker

Length: 8 hrs and 52 mins

Publisher's summary

Charlaine Harris' popular Southern Vampire mysteries have been described by Publishers Weekly as "humorous Southern-fried fantasy" with a little bit of romance.

In the follow up to Dead Until Dark, telepathic friend of the undead (and vampire bar cocktail waitress) Sookie Stackhouse puts her newfound powers to the test. After an unfortunate incident, Sookie finds herself beholden to a group of Louisiana vampires. So she agrees to travel to Dallas with her undead boyfriend Bill and track down a missing vamp, but only if the vampires promise to let local humans go unharmed. That seems easier said than done when an upstart religious cult threatens to destroy all things vampire - including Sookie, who is quickly scheduled for sacrifice.

Listen to more titles in the Sookie Stackhouse series.

©2002 Charlaine Harris (P)2008 Recorded Books

Critic reviews

"This is one terrific read." ( KLIATT)

Ok Sookie, we get it.

Sookie Stackhouse is a character that is followed by drama, death, and the supernatural. I wish there would be a little less focus on her love affair with Bill, and more on the other "stuff". I had to stop listening with about an hour to go because I was simply over it, after already having listened to book 1. Good narration and all but like I said, the love story line gets a little tired! If you are a True Blood fan, you probably will enjoy it,but after watching the tennis match of Bill vs. Eric on the show, you may get a little bored like myself.

Awesome!

Great read! Love the narrator, perfect for this series. She is as I pictured how sookie would sound.

Better then the TV show

Would you consider the audio edition of Living Dead in Dallas to be better than the print version?

I've never read the printed book, but I find many of the modern Audio books better then the printed book. Older audio books were dry reads but today we have more voice acting done. They are almost to the quality of a radio drama. I wouldn't say this one goes that far but the narrator does well with the accents and subtle voice changes for different characters.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Sookie Stackhouse, she's a strong female character.

What does Johanna Parker bring to the story that you wouldn???t experience if you just read the book?

Brings the characters to life. If you don't have a mind that will give them 3D from reading a audiobook may and in this case Johanna Parker did just that.

Any additional comments?

I didn't get in to this series till True Blood had come out. I like both the TV show and the books allot. I feel that after the first TV series the two have gone there separate ways. I think the TV show is still good but would of been better staying true to the books. This book is superior to the TV show.

awesome series - spell binding- wonderful story

engaging characters - excellent reader- found myself listening to it every free moment- perfect for long car trips- great summer travel material

terrorists, madness and death

Eric has traded with Dallas vampires for Sookie’s help in tracking down a missing nestbrother. Sookie uses her psychic gifts to interview staff; then goes undercover to The Fellowship of the Sun, an antivampire hate group functioning under the guise of a church.
On the home front, Sookie is determined to find out who murdered Lafayette; and trying to avoid the Maenad after being scarred and almost killed.
Parker does an ok job of narration, but does not add to the story for me. The character differentiation isn’t as good as I would like.

Sookie encounters the Church of the Sun in Dallas

Telepathic waitress Sookie Stackhouse lives in Bon Temps, Louisiana and works at Merlotte’s Bar and Grill. While Sookie works the late shift at the bar, Detective Andy Bellefleur ties one on, and they must call his sister to pick him up since he cannot drive home drunk. Upon arriving at Merlotte’s the next day, Sookie finds the cook Lafayette very dead in detective Andy Bellefleur’s car which had been left at the bar. It looks as if Lafayette’s bragging about a sex party he’d attended has gotten him into trouble. Who are the people who hosted this party, and who else attended? What are they hiding?

Sookie’s vampire lover Bill and Sookie herself have been summoned by his superior Eric who runs the vampire bar Fangtasia in nearby Shreveport. As Bill and Sookie drive to see Eric, they quarrel, and Sookie jumps out of the car. In the dark night, Sookie is accosted by a maenad, a creature that fills her body with poison via the wounds she inflicts on Sookie’s back. The only way to save Sookie’s life is to suck the poison out, which the vampires at Fangtasia happily do. They replenish her blood supply with their own blood which is very healing to humans. Her payback is to help the vampires in Dallas, Texas who have requested help in dealing with trouble from a group of people who have joined together to form the Church of the Sun that in the broad sense opposes vampires completely and more specifically may be hiding a missing vampire.

Upon her arrival in Dallas, Sookie is asked to read the minds of some local human bar patrons in order to determine if they saw a specific vampire just before he disappeared. With that knowledge, the nest in Dallas hopes to find their “brother.” Suspecting that he is being held by members of the Church of the Sun, Sookie and another human pose as a couple interested in joining the church. The pair is given a tour of the church but then is prevented from leaving, being introduced to vampire Godric who wants to repent his ways and “meet the sun” at dawn.

As a church member attempts to rape Sookie, she fights back and with Godric’s help she avoids deadly attempts on her life. Sookie escapes the church helped by a local shapeshifter. Unfortunately, members of the church pursue them and cause an accident. Sookie and the shapeshifter are upside down and trapped in the car when more church members chase them.

Will police arrive in time to free Sookie before church members reach her? What happens to the shapeshifter who helped her? Will Sookie find Bill and warn the vampire community of these church members claiming retribution? Will the missing vampire be returned to his nest unharmed? Will Godric meet the dawn? And if Sookie makes it back to Bon Temps, will she discover who killed Lafayette?

Johanna Parker narrates the audiobook superbly. She conveys the many emotions presented in this second series entry. Her reading brings the book to life and contributes realistic voices along with Sookie’s lively southern accent.

Southern vampire Mysteries.

Love this series. (Well until book 8 then it kind of goes downhill.) Narrator does a great job.

Hooked on the series of Sookie!

Can’t stop…this was as engaging as book 1, and now right on to book 3. Love the characters and the narrations! Highly recommend these series!!

second book is good

the second book in this series is just as good as the first one. the story continues and stays interesting and well written.

great entertainment

very different from the TV show but I'm loving every minute of this truly the narrator does an amazing job makes me want to kp going 😍