Dead Until Dark

this book is set in a hick southern town, in a world where vampires have just been declared legal. people, of course, still aren't too sure about them, especially in this town, where they still haven't fully accepted black or gay people yet. sookie, the main character, isn't so normal herself; she can read minds. this is a mystery, with a bunch of women getting murdered, and sookie's brother and new vampire boyfriend as suspects. overall, the book isn't too good. i found it hard to focus and to remember the characters. i was mainly reading to see who the bad guy was. none of the characters, including sookie, were too likeable. not a bad book, but not good, so you might as well skip it.

An interesting twist on the mystery/romance genre. For me the characters and their interactions are fascinating. There are interesting analogies to be made between the recently 'outted' vampires and the social changes facing our society today. To her credit, Ms. Harris' book is entertaining as well as a very fun read and yet the overall quality of the writing manages to stand head and shoulders above so many of the 'vampire/romance/mystery' novels that are currently so popular. The best analogy I can think of is that this book is like a box of finely crafted chocolates compared to a bag of Hershey kisses--both are a pleasure in and of themselves but I know which one I'd reach for first!

I read this book in anticipation of the HBO TrueBlood series. I loved the book and look forward to the others. I most enjoy the exploration of prejudices from the characters towards vampires who are now “out of the coffin.” It’s a new twist on an old subject. I’m a huge Eric fan and look forward to more on the big Viking in the future. After watching 10 episodes of the series, I enjoy the expansion of Tara and Lafayette. I was surprised how close the series stayed to the Sookie/Bill plot line in the book.

An entertaining, fun take on paranormal romance and mystery.

This book is entertaining it did start out without explanation of story or plot but after you start reading it you do enjoy the storyline. Looking forward to reading the next one.