Dead Ever After

A Sookie Stackhouse Novel, Book 13

By: Charlaine Harris

Narrated by: Johanna Parker

Length: 10 hrs and 11 mins

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)

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.

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!

Where's Bubba?

How could the performance have been better?

I've always given Parker 5 star ratings. Even she seemed a little off in this book! VERY familiar characters' names from the past were mispronounced. The good ole' southern Sookie sparkle was gone from her voice.

Any additional comments?

My title says it.......Where the heck was Bubba? Every character ever mentioned in the entire series, from dead, to alive, undead, in jail, in hiding, etc. were mentioned. I'm not kidding! I wish someone would do a head count and see how many names were mentioned. But where was Bubba? He's the only one, out of the hundreds of characters, that wasn't mentioned. I don't follow the forums, so I'm not sure what the other reviewers are talking about when they mention the author's ugly comments to the public. The feeling that this book gave me, was that the author has a very bad taste in her mouth after being forced to carry the series for so long. It's like she despises the characters and her fans. But I saw this coming a few books ago. I knew the author was going to do the opposite of what fans wanted. It was so obvious. It's like she got tired of the fans requesting more Eric time, so this book was a big slap in the face to all her fans, because the author was NOT going to give them the satisfaction of having it their way. Eric had maybe a full 5 minutes of this book, and I think I'm being generous about that. It's the Southern Vampire Mysteries......where's the vampires? A few showed their faces, and even 1 new one, but in total, it all lasted about 10 to 15 minutes. Like I mentioned before, several were mentioned in passing, but I think that was just to get the author's word count in. To sum it up, this book is NOT worth your money! Even if you've followed the whole series, I still wouldn't get it. It won't end the way you're hoping and it's nothing but major filler. Unfortunately, I preordered it, before the reviews were out. So, I was stuck with it. But at least now I know to avoid the author's future books. I loved this series in the beginning, but I feel so disrespected, as a paying fan, by this book. I didn't care who Sookie ended up with, and assumed before starting this book that Eric wasn't it. "Don't bit the hand that feeds you" is what pops into my mind. Harris really disrespected us with this book. :-(

The worst book in the series!

Is there anything you would change about this book?

The plot was terrible! Hard to believe this was the last book in the series.

Which scene was your favorite?

None

Did Dead Ever After inspire you to do anything?

Nothing. I feel that I wasted my credit in this book.

Any additional comments?

Lower your expectations with this book.

AHHH!?!?! Zombie Attack in Bon Temps...

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

Disappointment.

Any additional comments?

****SPOILER ALERT****I had high expectations for the last book in the series, but it feels like Charlaine Harris fell out of love with Sookie Stackhouse. The book was completely devoid of emotion. I think zombies from "The Walking Dead" must have infected all of our favorite characters. The people who normally had so much personality and interest really had no relevance, and were just not themselves.The plot didn't seem to have any plausibility, the reasoning behind it was lacking substance. At one point Sookie asks "How many enemies do I have?" To which three specific people answer why they hate her, and give ridiculously vapid answers. The "anger" felt by the antagonists has no depth...and makes you think, "Wait, so you did all this bad stuff to Sookie, just because you "dont like her?"" Where is the real motivation? I need substance to believe it!!!On another note, I was disappointed how the Eric/Sookie storyline ended. Harris has been building up their relationship for so many books now, we have literally gone through an emotional roller coaster with these two and deserve a breakup fitting of their time together. I was disappointed. :(

What a terrible end to a series I loved.

What could Charlaine Harris have done to make this a more enjoyable book for you?

Sookie did not end up with the character I wanted her to but that is beside the point. The storytelling in this book was awful. To be honest the last 3 or 4 books were not good either but at least I thought they were going somewhere. I found myself asking "so what" over and over while listening. I am so disappointed in Dead Ever After.

What does Johanna Parker bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Johanna Parker is amazing. For me she will always be the voice of Sookie.

THE ONLY THING GOOD WAS THE NARRATOR

What disappointed you about Dead Ever After?

Everyone who you thought was gone or dead tried to come back and kill Sookie. It was dumb and contrived. Stupid ending !!!
My 12 year old niece could write a better book. I want my money back. What a crap end to the series, If you can't write something good, It is better to write nothing at all.

What was most disappointing about Charlaine Harris’s story?

The romance side of it sucked as well

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

Sookie

What character would you cut from Dead Ever After?

most of them, I would introduce a bit of new blood

A Forgettable ending.

What disappointed you about Dead Ever After?

The lack of a coherent story.

Would you ever listen to anything by Charlaine Harris again?

Yes of course. This was just one book in a wonderful series that I will try not to remember.

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

I take my hat off to this lady's abilities.

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

Sadness.

Horrible ending to a great series utterly dissapoi

What would have made Dead Ever After better?

The book would have been better if ms Harris hadn't approached the book as a way to ensure readers would not ask for another volume in the series she assassinated my interest in bontomps and sookies life it was contrived predictable and unsatisfying

Would you ever listen to anything by Charlaine Harris again?

No

Which scene was your favorite?

Shopping with Tara it was the one scene that felt as real as her previous works

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

Extreme disappointment

Any additional comments?

Don't waste ur time read a fanfic instead it will undoubtably be better

disappointing

it read like the writer had written herself into a corner and was trying to slap together as many as possible