Seduced By A Book: Deadlocked (Sookie Stackhouse, #12) by Charlaine Harris

Tuesday, February 19, 2013

Deadlocked (Sookie Stackhouse, #12) by Charlaine Harris

Title: Deadlocked (Sookie Stackhouse/True Blood, Book 12)
Classification: Adult Fiction
Genre: Paranormal
Format: Hardcover; 336 pages
Publisher: Ace; 1 edition (May 1, 2012)
ISBN-10: 1937007448
ISBN-13: 978-1937007447
Author's Website: http://www.charlaineharris.com/

The cluviel dor is an ancient fairy artifact that grants the possessor one wish and Sookie Stackhouse has it. The wish must be of a personal nature, to benefit the possessor or someone the possessor loves. Once the wish is spent, the object is rendered useless. Given as a gift to her grandmother Adele by her grandfather Fintan, Sookie and Donald Calloway came across it in a secret compartment of some furniture in the attic they were preparing for sale. The artifact appears to be the last of its kind as they were thought to have all been used. While Sookie's told no one of the find, she's pretty sure someone's let the cat out of the bag. There are just too many coincidences and close calls for it not to have been. As Desmond Cataliades warns, "Giving it to someone else would seal their death warrant.'' With everything that's going on in Sookie's life, she just may need it to rescue herself.

Meanwhile, Eric and Sookie's relationship is strained at best. His engagement to Freyda still hasn't been broken and puts their relationship under a cloud of doom. Things get even more strained as Eric comes under suspicion of murder. A murder which happened mere minutes after Sookie caught Eric feeding from the victim in a rather compromising position in a room that was designated as Sookie's. Now Sookie's unsure if Eric actually killed the woman who became disrespectful to her before leaving or if he's being set up. There was a window of opportunity where Eric was out of Sookie's sight. Does her doubt scream volumes about their relationship? Could this mark the beginning of the end for the couple?

This is the twelfth book is the Sookie Stackhouse saga. The vampires are out. Sookie can read minds and that talent has led to her romantic liaisons with vampires and other supernaturals, the only ones whose minds she can't read. Vampires recently came out of hiding and have been acknowledged by society. True Blood, a synthetic type of blood, is their beverage of choice second only to the vein. As the series progresses Sookie becomes more and more ensnared into the vampire and supernatural world. Rumor has it there will be only one more book to the series and I'm crossing my fingers for a spin-off, but I'm not holding my breath.

While this book has two seemingly separate story lines going on they both seem to converge at the end into the ultimate test of Eric and Sookie's relationship. I felt this was a classic case of a couple needing to sit down and discuss their thoughts and feelings with each other. Sookie has always seemed to have a problem understanding how the child/sire relationship works and perhaps needs someone to clearly lay it out for here. To tell her what the consequences are to not doing what one is commanded. On the other hand, Eric needs to tell Sookie what he's thinking and not just hint that there's something he wants her to do. While Sookie may be a mind reader, she can't read his. He needs to tell her.

Why is the title Deadlocked? Well, I think it boils down to the fact that Sookie and Eric are "deadlocked" in their stubbornness. Both want the other to make a grand gesture. A statement or reinforcement of the other's love. Sookie can't see why Eric can't break the engagement now that his sire is dead while Eric expects Sookie to work a way out of it. It seems to be a reflection of how each is unsure of the other.

Overall, I gave this one a 3 1/2 out of 5 roses. It was entertaining, fun, and everything you'd expect from a Sookie Stackhouse novel. The ending will leave you wondering just where Sookie and Eric stand. Is it over? Can they get past what happened? Additionally, it will have you wondering how the series will end. Will Sookie become a vamp and live happily ever after with Eric? Will Sookie's great-grandfather, who hates it when she's sad, step in and help her get a happy ending? Will her great-grandfather steal her away to Faery so she can help repopulate the species? (Yeah, it's a far fetched theory, but he seemed awfully hopeful she'd have a relationship with one of her fairy relatives.and I've never understood why he liked Sookie so much more than her brother. Could it be he's hopeful she'll be fruitful and multiply?) Will she die as the title, Dead Ever After, implies? (Please say it ain't so Ms. Harris) Will she and Bill finally reunite or will her friendship with Sam finally develop into something more? There are so many possibilities I can't wait to see what the Ms. Harris' final book has in store.