ALL TOGETHER DEAD (Sookie Stackhouse #7)
by Charlaine Harris
PUBLISHER: Gollancz
RELEASE DATE: 2009
PAPERBACK: 323 pages
GENRE: Urban Fantasy
Louisiana cocktail waitress Sookie Stackhouse has her hands full dealing with every sort of undead and paranormal creature imaginable. And after being betrayed by her longtime vampire love, Sookie must not only deal with a new man in her life—the shapeshifter Quinn—but also contend with the long-planned vampire summit.
The summit is 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. Soon, Sookie must decide what side she’ll stand with. And her choice may mean the difference between survival and all-out catastrophe. (Goodreads)
LAURA
Sookie’s off on her travels again in ALL TOGETHER DEAD this time she heads off to a vampire summit in Queen Sophie-Ann’s entourage. Which meant there were lots and lots of vampire politics. The book was definitely a step up from Definitely Dead, and I enjoyed it much more. There are some great twists and turns. Sookie’s love life seemed to take a bit of a back seat, there were some developments but not as much as I had hoped and I’m afraid to say Quinn is starting to bore me a little now.
I do miss the Bon Temps characters when Sookie’s away and this is two books in a row now. But at least their first part of the book is set at home. Amelia is a rather cool houseguest and welcome addition to the regular cast. There were the beginnings of some very interesting plots with her, in particular an unusual love interest that could make for great entertainment!
GEMMA
After Dead to the World, ALL TOGETHER DEAD is my second favourite in the series. True, a lot of the Bon Temps crew are missing, but for me, this book gives a much better understanding of how vampire politics work. The main streaming is apparently a facade to how ruthless the Vampires can be. Poor Sookie is thrown into it big style. A fish out of water and far from home.
As for Quinn, he is also cooling off for me. He started out pretty interesting and I kind of rooted for him to be with Sookie, but now I’m not too sure. He seems to be as deeply in bed with the vampires as Sookie is, but not in a good way. I’m not sure of his motives and I can see it all ending in tears before the series ends.
LAURA
Yep, I’m with you Gemma I think there are tears ahead for Sookie and Quinn, especially with the unexpected development revealed at the end of the book. That certainly took me aback slightly. Sookie seems to be developing a slightly ruthless streak! But also it’s clear she does not know Quinn quite as well as she thought she did.
I was struck by how naive she was in this book though. Despite warnings from her friends and fairy godmother, she does look ahead to the implications of the Sophie-Ann comprehending just how powerful her gift could be to the Queen. I find I am slightly afraid for Sookie’s future after ALL TOGETHER DEAD.
The story is under-pinned by its usual mystery. There is a murder and a bomb plot that makes for a spectacular, edge of your seat finale. The best I think we’ve seen so far in the series. But there was one thing that just kept on bugging me… The unclaimed suitcase Sookie was asked to collect. The suitcase started to drive me bonkers! Why did noone check the damn thing?! Surely it’s danger was obvious!
GEMMA
Sookie is gaining a bit of a back bone in this book. She seems to be realising how dangerous it is turning out to be entangled with the vampires and their complex politics. It did kind of show a darker side to Quinn that took me completely by surprise. After the incidents with Sookie, Alcide and Debbie Pelt, I didn’t get the warm and fuzzies at all. True, it was to save Sookie, but the ramifications will be felt in the long run.
What really got me was the fact that Sookie did ignore all the warnings from her friends and her fairy godmother. Its like she is blinded by her loyalty, for a the lack of a better word, to Bill and Eric. True, they both have held her heart but I’m wondering how much of this is due to the blood bond between each pairing.
The Bomb plot was one of the better ones I have read in the series and I really didn’t know who was behind it. I even had it pinned on some of Sophie-Ann’s accusers at one point. It was cleverly woven, except for the suitcase as you said. It was also a nice touch to pull in the real-life events of Hurricane Katrina. The fact that its devastation was not swept under the carpet and we saw how weak Sophie-Ann’s position was, spoke volumes about how the vampires will attack and try to conquer.
I’m on tender hooks to find out where the story will take us next and who has survived the bomb blast.
LAURA
I think Quinn’s actions in this book will ultimately lead to the demise of his and Sookie’s relationship. I don’t think Sookie will be able to deal with its implications. Relationship dynamics seemed to changed fast in the book too. As much as I was annoyed with Bill there was a sadness at the fracture between him and Sookie. I’m not even sure about how things changed between Eric and Sookie in ALL TOGETHER DEAD either. Although I am still rooting for them to get together, the growing blood bond between them as Gemma mentioned seems to be altering the chemistry they share.
Then there’s Barry the Bellboy who makes a return, not as a love interest thankfully, although he does admit an interest. But a telepath for a rival vampire. While Sookie seems excited at the potential of a friendship he just proves himself to be a bit of an idiot and a coward. Back in Bon Temps friendships have shifted too with Arlene, Tara and Jason making decisions that could make Sookie even more isolated from the human world. In general quite a few of Sookie’s friendships and relationships are rapidly changing while others are off kilter.
Due to the setting of the book, if I had one major criticism it would be that there were too many characters in this book, I found it a little hard to keep track of who was who and this did make the mystery plot a little confusing. Although the bomb plot really was a good one.
GEMMA
I agree with Laura; there are WAY too many knew characters to keep track of in this book. Plus I found that there were some characters who were just getting interesting, only to be killed off or assumed to be dead at the end of the book. I think there could have been an interesting conflict between Eric and this other character, had they not met the ‘True Death’.
What I really found interesting, was the apparent change in Sookie’s loyalty. She is really bedding in with the vampires now and the fact that she has been helping Sophie-Ann is a turn up for the books, especially due to her cousin Hadley’s death.
I’m still pretty open on who I think Sookie will end up with, but I agree. Quinn is not going to be on the shortlist. While both Eric and Bill have their own baggage, Quinn just has something about him that I ended up not liking. I couldn’t put my finger on it, but he just seems bad news.
It was nice to see the return of Barry the Bellboy, but the fact that he is working for an opposition group of vampires had me suspicious of his motives in befriending Sookie. I mean, Sookie trusts this guy over her friends who warned her not to go? Really?
I must admit, I didn’t pay very much attention to the goings on in Bon Temps as I was busy trying to figure out who was behind the bomb plot. Even by the end of the book I was still a bit confused. Don’t get me wrong, I did like the twist.
VERDICT:
LAURA
Despite my few issues with this book, did I mention the suitcase? I think this book was definitely a step up from Definitely Dead. The bomb plot gave us a thrill-ride climax at the end and there were some interesting developments with key characters in the book. Sookie is growing up and might even be developing a bit of a ruthless streak, but time will tell on that one. Bring on book number eight, although I do hope it’s set in Bon Temps.
RATING: 
GEMMA
I agree with Laura on this. ALL TOGETHER DEAD is a big step up from Definitely Dead. This is my second favourite book in the series, after Dead to the World, the plot in this much more tightly written. It’s a turning point for Sookie and it begins to show what she will do in order to survive. Sookie is trying to rely less on the vampires, knowing how deep she has already got herself into their politics. Here’s to book eight….
RATING:
CHARLAINE HARRIS ONLINE
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BOOKS IN SERIES ORDER:
- Dead Until Dark
- Living Dead in Dallas
- Club Dead
- Dead to the World
- Dead as a Doornail
- Definitely Dead
- All Together Dead
- From Dead to Worse
- Dead and Gone
- Dead in the Family
- Dead Reckoning
- Deadlocked
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