Review: All Together Dead (Southen Vampire #7)

Being surrounded by all varieties of undead, changeling, and preternatural beings have gotten to be nothing out of the ordinary for Louisiana cocktail waitress Sookie Stackhouse. Still, even she has her limits. Betrayed by her longtime vampire lover, Sookie must now not only deal with a possible new man in her life--the oh-so-handsome shapeshifter Quinn--but also contend with the long-panned vampire summit in Rhodes.

The summit, which has attracted undead power players from all over the central U.S., is sure to be a tense situation. The vampire queen of Louisiana is in a precarious position, her power base weakened by hurricane damage to New Orleans. And there are some vamps who would like to finish what nature started. With secret alliances and backroom deals the order of the day--and night--Sookie must decide what side she'll stand with. And her choice may mean the difference between survival and all-out catastrophe...

All Together Dead, by Charlaine Harris, is the seventh book in the Southern Vampire series. Hurricane Katrina had flooded and damaged the city of New Orleans. The vampire Queen of Louisiana, Sophie-Anne Leclerq, survived while other vampires were not so fortunate. Meanwhile, Sookie Stackhouse, telepathic bartender from rural northwestern Louisiana, is trying to cope from the devastating betrayal with vampire ex-lover Bill Compton. She has a new boyfriend, weretiger Quinn, who is handsome, muscular and owns his own special effects company. Although Sookie loves her new romantic relationship, she doesn't know what dark secrets he holds from his past.

Sophie-Anne has been accused of murdering her former vampire-husband King of Arkansas, Peter Threadgill. She invites Sookie, who was the only witness at the scene of the murder, to attend a vampire conference with her at the Pyramid of Gizeh in Rhodes, Illinois (outside Chicago) to clear her of murder charges at the trial. The queen has many enemies, such as vampire Jennifer Cater, who served under the king. She meets other supernatural characters and another telepath like herself, Barry the Bellboy, who works for the king of Texas. Although her closest companions fear for her safety and warn her not to help the vampires, it is Sookie's first trip outside the South. She has also become accustomed to the supernatural world.

The night turns into a long suspenseful and deadly one at the hotel. Jennifer Cater and the other vampires of Arkansas (one survived) are found murdered and mutilated in their suite. Someone tried to plant a bomb outside Sophie-Anne's suite. The king of Kentucky has expensive otherworldly bodyguards protecting him from a possible assassination. Eric Northman, a Viking vampire and former lover, saves Sookie by forcing her to sanguinely bond with him. Who wanted Jennifer dead and why was the queen also targeted for death? When Sophie-Anne is acquitted of the murder charges, someone stakes the lone survivor of the Arkansas vampires. Sookie must carefully survive a volatile, dangerous territory before she ends up dead with a stake in her heart.

I was very pleased to finally read All Together Dead from the New York Times Bestselling author from my local library. Charlaine Harris is a terrific author because she has an excellent gift in creating characters' personalities in the most exciting and mysterious ways. Sookie's character almost grows on you. She always finds herself in the most unpredictable and supernatural twists for someone who hails from contemporary small-town Louisiana. Harris does not disappoint her fans!!

This book was also amazing and humorous. The jokes and reactions will leave anyone giggling and chuckling. The characters have unique personalities and talents. I highly recommend new readers read the previous books, especially Definitely Dead, to fully understand the storyline. This book resumes from the sixth book with the death of the King of Arkansas and other characters.

Stay tuned for the eighth book in the Southern Vampire series, From Dead to Worse.