“…The restoration of the old theater was so faithful that it hardly seemed possible her old friend was not still here. She thought if she turned, just so, she would see him standing center stage, winking at her during his bows as he had done the last time she saw him alive.

She sighed and tipped her head up to gaze past the soaring façade of four balconies to the sculpted trompe l’oeil ceiling with its splendid chandelier. There was a hidden passageway there, in the rafters of the theater, where compassionate Milanese had stowed Jews to save them from being sent to the internment camps. In 1943, the Allies had inadvertently bombed La Scala, smashing its roof and the upper levels to dust. Yet now it was restored to its glory, its history retained. The theater’s memory was even longer than Octavia’s.”

Book Review:

Review by Ann Wilkes  (OCT 31, 2010)

In spite of the bodice-ripper cover, Mozart’s Blood is not a romance. Unless of course by romance you mean a romantic age or setting. It is a vampire tale set in the world of opera and spans centuries. The details of the struggles, competition and fleeting rewards of being an opera singer create a very romantic backdrop indeed.

Marley’s heroine, the talented soprano Octavia Voss (as she is known in her present incarnation) is all business. Having been initiated together with Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart by the same vampire centuries before, she shares all his memories and understands his music better than anyone else. Opera is in her blood, if you’ll pardon the pun.

Octavia does have a companion. Ugo is neither brother nor lover, but is somehow closer than either. He keeps her safe and gives her injections so she doesn’t have to prowl the streets. In return he enjoys her voice and the opera. But she must never ask where he gets the liquid he injects into her vein. Ugo, a near-immortal himself, is kidnapped and tortured. But he will never betray those he has sworn to protect. Octavia, worried sick over the loss of Ugo and without a protector, must take matters into her own hands. The race is on to save Ugo and herself from a man whose ambition is leaving a trail of dead bodies in his wake.

Marley’s prose is beautifully woven with the right balance of inner and outer conflict, rich descriptions, suspense and action.

“He grasped one of the branches to pull himself to his feet. When he pushed out of his shelter, a little drift of white flowers showered his bare shoulders.

The rising sun had not yet burned away the morning mist. His feet brushed dew from the patchy grass. He looked about for some sort of habitation. The grove stretched into the fog, the ghostly shapes of the trees fading into the gray. Birds he couldn’t see twittered among the trees.

His head ached ferociously, and the sour aftertaste of wine, bitter with opium, clung to his tongue. Not knowing what else to do, Ughetto turned toward the morning sun and crept forward.”

Marley creates strong female characters without sacrificing their femininity. Her characters reach, grow and break through barriers created by others or themselves.

The many flashbacks of both Ugo and Octavia were most welcome, adding texture to the story and depth to the characters. Marley’s dedication to research of the time periods and places is obvious, but never distracting nor gratuitous.

AMAZON READER RATING:	from 18 readers
PUBLISHER:	Kensington (July 1, 2010)
REVIEWER:	Ann Wilkes
AVAILABLE AS A KINDLE BOOK?	YES! Start Reading Now!
AUTHOR WEBSITE:	Louise Marley
EXTRAS:	Reading Guide and Excerpt Ann’s interview with Louise Marley
MORE ON MOSTLYFICTION:	More vampire novels: Cerulean Sins by Laurell K. Hamilton From Dead to Worse by Charlaine Harris Soulless by Gail Carringer

Bibliography:

• The Terrorists of Irustan (1999)
• The Glass Harmonica (1999)
• The Maquisarde (2004)
• The Child Goddess (2004)
• Singer in the Snow (2005)
• Absalom’s Mother and Other Stories (2007)
• The Singers of Nevya (2009) (Includes Sing the Light, Sing the Warmth and Receive the Gift)
• Mozart’s Blood (July 2010)

Writing as Toby Bishop, the Horsemistress Saga:

• Airs Beneath the Moon (2006)
• Airs and Graces (2007)
• Airs of Night and Sea (2009)

From Abe’s Journal: He was no older than five years, wearing a white sleeping gown—his arms and legs hanging freely. I cold see the blood on his collar. On his sleeves. I could not strike from such a distance, for fear that an errant ax blade might kill the boy (if indeed he lived).

Abe watched the vampire reach the flatboat and start up the small plank, then stop halfway up.

Book Review:

Review by Ann Wilkes (AUG 22, 2010)

Abraham Lincoln Vampire Hunter, obviously an alternate biography, is fun from beginning to end. Seth Grahame-Smith’s includes mock journal entries and Photoshopped historic photos, so that the novel reads like an actual biography. The story is riveting throughout.

Young Abe, sitting by the fire as his drunken father rambles on with a familiar tale of the Indians scalping Abe’s grandfather, is startled when his father alters the ending. The true story, the one his father kept from him until then, is that it was vampires, not wild Indians who mutilated his grandfather. And then Abe knows who it was his father spoke to right before his mother’s fatal illness and what those words he overheard the man utter, “I’ll take it in other ways,” meant. His father had gotten on the wrong side of a vampire loan shark and Abe’s own dear mother paid the price with her life.

In this alternate history, vampires are a well-kept secret. Abe tries to keep it that way, lest an unholy war break out between humans and the powerful, evil vampire hordes.

Ironically, sympathetic vampire Henry Sturges helps Abraham on his mission, even sending him names of those members of society that are a bit long in the tooth that Abe might dispose of them. The bond between Abe and Henry is often tested, but remains strong. It’s the most poignant element in the story, even eclipsing Abe’s two loves, Ann Rutledge and Mary Todd.

Abe’s secret vampire hunting intersects with his personal life when Ann Rutledge’s fiancé turns out to be a vampire himself. Ann’s end, in Grahame-Smith’s version, is a result of the application, by her crazed fiancé of a few drops of his own tainted blood between her lips; the same method used to make Abe’s mother fatally ill.

When people think of Abraham Lincoln, they think of the Emancipation Proclamation, they think of his fight to save men from slavery. Imagine a world in which the slave owners and the vampires have come to an understanding. In this world, there are worse things still than being a slave.

I didn’t care for the ending of this novel, but the more I think on it, the more I realize, that yes, for all those characters to stay true to who they are in Grahame-Smith’s imagining, that is exactly the ending that would happen, whether it is a happy one or not. And on some levels, it is. I highly recommend this book and wish to read more like it.

AMAZON READER RATING:	from 209 readers
PUBLISHER:	Grand Central Publishing; 1st edition (March 2, 2010)
REVIEWER:	Ann Wilkes
AVAILABLE AS A KINDLE BOOK?	YES! Start Reading Now!
AUTHOR WEBSITE:	Wikipedia page on Seth Grahame-Smith
EXTRAS:	Excerpt An interview regarding Abe Lincoln Vampire Hunter
MORE ON MOSTLYFICTION:	Read our review of: Dawn of the Dreadfuls by Steve Hockensmith

Bibliography:

• Pride and Prejudice and Zombies (2009)
• Abraham Lincoln Vampire Hunter (March 2010)

Nonfiction:

• The Big Book of Porn: : A Penetrating Look at the World of Dirty Movies (2005)
• The Spider Man Handbook (2006)
• How to Survive a Horror Movie: All the Skills to Dodge the Kills (2007)
• Pardon My President: Fold-and-Mail Apologies for 8 Years of George W. Bush (2008)

“The Army needed between ten and twenty death-row inmates to serve in the third-stage trials of an experimental drug therapy, codenamed Project Noah.   In exchange for their consent, these men would have their sentences commuted to life without parole.  It would be Wolgast’s job to obtain the signatures of these men, nothing more.  Everything had been legally vetted, but because the project was a matter of national security, all of these men would be declared legally dead.  Thereafter, they would spend the rest of their lives in the care of the federal penal system, a white-collar prison camp, under assumed identities.  The men would be chosen based upon a number of factors, but all would be men between the ages of twenty and thirty-five with no living first-degree relatives.”

Book Review:

Review by Betsey Van Horn (JUN 7, 2010)

In this staggering book of speculative fiction, Cronin has proven that he can transcend genre and, with his power of language, create a distant world that feels close and credible. This is not your typical zombie or vampire novel; it isn’t cheesy or reductive. It shares some characteristics with its progenitor, The Stand, and fans of King’s work will be arguably riveted by this (more updated) novel. But there are as many differences as there are similarities, and Cronin’s ambitions are ultimately more complex and expansive. Cronin covers a longer period of time and delves more densely and philosophically into the dark and grey areas of the human psyche. Also, his poetic and luminous language and metaphysical subtext eclipses, in my opinion, King’s earlier work.

The story is teased out gradually, moving back and forth from places as far and deep as a Bolivian jungle, to the deserts and mountains of the west and southwest, to the concrete jungle of Houston, Texas, and many stops throughout. The disparate narrative threads converge to a point after the first 250 pages, and then we are thrust into a new world order at a place called The Colony. Some readers feel that this middle section is rather slow, but it is actually where Cronin shines. He introduces new characters that are likely to stay the course of the trilogy, and he is more meditative and succulent in his prose. The final 250 pages illuminate ambiguities that may still be humming and create a climax that heads toward a continuation.

There is a lot more than good and evil at play here, although the moral heft is evident, as human forces must combat malevolent viral creatures. But the incipience, growth, and psychology of these viral entities is not so simple. The relationship between the survivors and the creatures is more like a Venn diagram than a dualistic paradigm. Moreover, the human condition is explored in different states of wakefulness and sleep, in a myriad of conscious states, and connects all beings, whether viral or human. It also raises the question of, “who are the monsters?”

Divided into eleven sections, (with numerous chapters), the novel covers approximately one hundred years, starting circa 2014. However, there are three time periods that are pertinent to the story, two that are covered in detail. Each new section is headed by a short verse of Shakespeare from a play or sonnet, or else a poem by Shelley or other poet that has a poignant significance to the narrative. For instance, this verse by Henry Vaughan, from “The World:”

I saw eternity the other night
Like a great ring of pure and endless light,
All calm as it was bright,
And round beneath it time in hours, days, years,
Driven by the spheres,
Like a vast shadow moved in which the world
And all her train were hurled.

Cronin’s sense of place; of time; of timelessness; and his magnificent explorations of memories; of memories folded and unfolded and twisted in time; and of the self and the Shadow self, are examples of his bridges from genre to literature. He balances intellectual and action narrative with enough gusto to keep all audiences satisfied. The plot and story have a solid pace, although he takes his time to develop his characters and illuminate the back-stories. Additionally, as in his superb novel, The Summer Guest, Cronin’s prose glitters with moving beauty. “…while you sank into the dreamy softness of your seat and sipped ginger ale from a can and watched the world float in magical silence past your window, the tallest buildings of the city in the crisp autumn light and then the backs of the houses with laundry flapping and a crossing with gates where a boy was waving from his bicycle, and then the woods and fields and a single cow eating grass.”

There are, occasionally, some minor snags in the construction. A few devices are employed at intervals, and there are times when a character is improbably saved from the clutches of disaster. Yet, the author does it with panache, in dramatic scenes portrayed with a soulful and melancholy elegance. He avoids melodrama. He gets inside the head of his characters, and they are made of flesh and bone, not straw. It is also satisfying to see that this is a very diverse cast of multi-ethnicities. The landscape of people is naturally rendered, not making a statement but rather reflecting a realistic ethnic pool of combinations.

The Passage is the first of an ambitious trilogy. The journeys on foot or by hoof, by machine or by dream, are full of serrated adventure. And it immerses you in all strains of love–sibling, maternal, paternal, friendship, romantic, and a crushing one of cross-purposes. And it has stars, the moon, bones, and blades, guns and garrisons, trees and cliffs. And did I say stars? A-

AMAZON READER RATING:	from 2,381 readers
PUBLISHER:	Ballantine Books (June 8, 2010)
REVIEWER:	Betsey Van Horn
AVAILABLE AS A KINDLE BOOK?	YES! Start Reading Now!
AUTHOR WEBSITE:	Wikipedia page on Justin Cronin
EXTRAS:	Excerpt and Web Site
MORE ON MOSTLYFICTION:	More Post-Apocalyptic: Our American King by David Lozell Martin The Year of the Flood by Margaret Atwood The Road by Cormac McCarthy

Bibliography:

• Mary and O’Neil (2002)
• The Summer Guest (2005)

• The Passage (2010)
• The Twelve (2012)
• City of Mirrors (2014)

Lord Maccon scrubbed his face with his hand, reached desperately for a nearby teapot, and drained it through the spout.

Miss Tarabotti looked away from the horrible sight. Who was it that had said, ‘Only just civilized?’ She closed her eyes and considered, realizing it must have been she.  She fluttered one hand to her throat. “Please, Lord Maccon, use one of the cups. My delicate sensibilities.”

The earl actually snorted. “My dear Miss Tarabotti, if you possessed any such things, you certainly have never shown them to me.” But he did put down the teapot.

Book Review:

Review by Ann Wilkes (JAN 29, 2010)

If you like humor with your vampires, ghosts in your alternate history, spinsters with superpowers in your period fiction, or werewolves in your romantic comedy, Soulless (The Parasol Protectorate) is just what you’re looking for. Gail Carriger’s protagonist is a Victorian woman who has been deemed a hopeless spinster by her own mother because of her too-large nose and Italian heritage. As such, she is forgiven her directness and lack of discretion. Fortunately for all concerned, her excitable and easily scandalized mother doesn’t know Alexia Tarabotti is soulless as well.

As the tale begins, we find Alexia warding off the fanged advances of a most ill-mannered vampire. She wonders why the hive hasn’t told him about her. At a touch from Alexia, vampire and werewolf fangs retract and the wearer of said fangs is, so long as he or she is in contact with Alexia, human and mortal. She sticks her wooden hair “stake” into his chest. When he tries to strangle her instead, she drives the stake into his heart with her slightly weaponized parasol.

Alexia spent much time in the library with her late father’s books which encompass the study of supernaturals, science and anatomy with some provocative plates. She has no lack of curiosity of the matters of love, but no practical experience.

Lord Maccon, the Fourth Earl of Woolsey, is one of the oldest werewolves alive and he’s the local head of BUR, the Bureau of Unnatural Registry. Lord Maccon is completed confounded by the ways of women and enamored with Alexia, nose, dark skin and forthrightness notwithstanding. Imagine the hilarity that ensues when the two strive to uncover the mystery of the disappearing vampires and werewolves coupled with (pardon the pun) the appearance of non-registered, ill-mannered vampires. And then there’s the supernaturally strong guy that’s stalking Alexia. This guy’s face looks not quite finished and devoid of emotion.

I love how Carriger showed werewolves having to deal with their “monthly” problem, the complications of finding clothes after traveling in wolf form and the supernatural sub-culture. I devoured this book in a couple of days and I look forward to the sequel, Changeless, which is due out in March.

AMAZON READER RATING:	from 350 readers
PUBLISHER:	Orbit; Original edition (October 1, 2009)
REVIEWER:	Ann Wilkes
AVAILABLE AS A KINDLE BOOK?	YES! Start Reading Now!
AUTHOR WEBSITE:	Gail Carriger (very entertaining!)
EXTRAS:	Excerpt Ann Wilkes interview with Gail Carriger
MORE ON MOSTLYFICTION:	Read our review of: Lost Souls by Poppy Z. Brite Sharp Teeth By Tony Barlow Shades of Grey by Jasper Fforde

Bibliography:

The Parasol Protectorate

• Soulless (2009)
• Changeless (2010)
• Blameless (2010)
• Heartless (2011)
• Timeless (March 2012)

“And so the lion fell in love with the lamb…,” He murmured.
“What a stupid lamb, ” I sighed.
“What a sick, masochistic lion.”

Book Review:

Review by Jana L. Perksie (DEC 5, 2009)

I usually do not read books labeled “young adult.” I am an adult, many years away from being young, (except at heart!!), and, with a few exceptions, i.e., the Harry Potter novels and Wilson Rawl’s Where the Red Fern Grows,” I read literature for grown-ups. Yet, to my delight Stephenie Meyer has created an extraordinary young adult series, called “The Twilight Saga.” Twilight is also the title of book one. These are original, delightful novels — even for someone who prefers her/his literature a bit more sophisticated. I could not put the first book down, literally…and will begin book two, New Moon, as soon as I finish writing this review. Believe me, there’s a reason that more than 10 million “Twilight” series books are in print. They are addictive.

As an aside….I did see both “Twilight films,” Twilight and New Moon, which are now playing in theaters or on DVD. The movie versions are outstanding and true to the original storylines. The movie characters really resemble those I had in my mind’s eye as I read and imagined what Ms. Meyer’s world, and the folks who people it, look like. And the books’ characters, especially Bella and Edward, are amazingly well depicted. Although all four books are on the market now – great Christmas presents for those uninitiated in “The Twilight Series” – there are two more films in the making to complete the movie series.

Isabella Swan is seventeen – a typical teen, good looking but somewhat clumsy. She is adapting herself to her long limbs and changing body. Her parents have been divorced since “Bella,” as she is called, was a baby. She and her Mom live in sunny Phoenix, Arizona, where she has few friends. Bella is shy and is somewhat of an outcast amongst her peers. She is a moody and private person. But she gets along with her mother – miracle of miracles for an adolescent girl/young woman. Bella is also this stories narrator, so the reader experiences everything from her point of view.

Each year she visits her father, Charlie Swan, the chief of police in rainy, dreary Forks, Washington. These annual visits have been more of a torture than a treat for Bella. The constant rain, boredom and loneliness would get anyone down, except for those used to life in Forks. She has only three friends there – Jacob Black, a Native American of the Quileute tribe, (also a teen – and a handsome one at that), his father, Billy Black, and tribal leader Sam. All three are absolutely fascinating and original characters. They have known Stephanie since she was a toddler. The three of them have always regaled her with ancient Quileute legends.

Bella’s mother, Renee, is about to travel with her new husband, Phil Dwyer, a minor league baseball player, to Florida for spring training. Bella has little choice – she can move with her mother and stepfather to Florida, or go to Dad in Forks. She decides to go to Dad so as not to be a third wheel in her newly wedded mother’s marriage. Bella, is not a selfish person. She tends to consider others’ needs before her own, a trait that can bring her joy, but can also endanger her life.

It is in Washington that major changes effect Bella’s world. Once installed at Forks, she is not reticent about expressing her displeasure to Charlie, who would do anything to make his daughter happy – except move away from his home. When she begins high school, the lovely Bella, the new kid on the block, surprisingly finds herself very popular. With all the attention she receives, she is quickly befriended by a several students. Unused to being the center of attention, she is dismayed to find that many boys/young men compete for her favors. And she begins to enjoy living with her easy-going, somewhat introverted father. But Bella, who is more embarrassed than flattered by her newfound popularity, has eyes for only one boy – the dazzlingly handsome, aloof, charismatic, Edward Cullen. He is the most beautiful person she has ever seen, with his golden hair, and his dark brooding eyes – even his voice is mesmerizing. Edward is the youngest son of the mysterious and reclusive Cullen family. He and his four siblings, also noticeably beautiful, sit apart from the others, at a separate table, during lunch….but they never eat. He watches her intently, but alternates between interest in Bella and what appears to be anger at her.

When Edward and Bella are assigned to be lab partners in chemistry class, he avoids working with her or even looking at her. As a matter of fact, he is downright nasty. However, when an accident almost ends Bella’s life, Edward saves her in a most non-human way. It is than when Bella discovers that Edward and his family are “benevolent vampires” who have vowed never to drink human blood. They hunt animals, and the blood of deer, mountain lions, bears, etc., is their source of sustenance. They don’t eat – except for animal blood – so they dine in private. They do not sleep, and of course, they all have the usual vampire super human powers…and then some. They are all extremely sophisticated, accomplished and alluring. They can walk in daylight but their skin gleams and glitters in direct sunlight. These strange and potentially dangerous beings, unlike the characters in most vampire fiction, seem to have hearts and souls. So as not to give themselves away, they are happiest when it rains and is dark and misty outside. The head of the household, Carlisle, is a respected doctor in the community, whose citizens have no idea that there are vampires in their midst, although Jacob and his Native American tribe know.

So Bella and Edward grow close as friends, and then they fall intensely in love. They yearn for each other – and although the word “yearn” may sound corny, it really describes their feelings for each other. “Twilight” is labeled “young adult” because there is no culmination of the couple’s strong sexual attraction. They do not have a sexual relationship. However, there is much sensuality here and plenty of erotic kissing. Actually, I think the abstinence gives the feeling of more passion than usual – more sexual tension. Edward is a gentleman and also fears that intercourse with Bella might harm her…him being a super strong vampire and all.

As Bella says, “About three things I was absolutely positive: first, Edward was a vampire; second, there was a part of him — and I didn’t know how dominant that part might be — that thirsted for my blood; and third, I was unconditionally and irrevocably in love with him.” Bella also discovers the reason behind Edward’s initial hostility toward her. He is torn between his desire to love her and the desire to devour her. He is afraid his vampire nature might become stronger than his self control.

I do not want to give the plot away. Let it suffice to say there are multiple storylines and much danger here – to Bella and her family. And there is love. Plus, the Native Americans are more than what they seem.

Whatever flaws there are in this novel, (it IS fantasy fiction!), the magical narrative overcomes them threefold! I am thrilled that I have three more books to read in the series. This one is exceptional!

AMAZON READER RATING:	from 4,567 readers
PUBLISHER:	Little, Brown Books for Young Readers; First Paperback Edition edition (September 6, 2006)
REVIEWER:	Jana L. Perksie
AMAZON PAGE:	Twilight
AUTHOR WEBSITE:	Stephanie Meyer
EXTRAS:	Reading Guide and Excerpt
MORE ON MOSTLYFICTION:	More Vampire stories, not necessarily for teens: From Dead to Worse by Charlaine Harris Lost Souls by Poppy Z. Brite The Anita Blake series by Laurell K. Hamilton

Bibliography:

• Twilight (2005)
• New Moon (2006)
• Eclipse (2007)
• Breaking Dawn (2008)

Related:

• The Twilight Sage: Boxed Set
• The Twilight Saga: New Moon Soundtrack
• The Twilight Saga: New Moon–The Official Illustrated Movie Companion
• The Twilight Saga: The Official Guide

Movies from books:

• Twilight (2008)

For Adults:

• The Host (May 2008)

“I was making a neat arrangement of liquor bottles on the folding table behind the portable bar when Halleigh Robinson rushed up, her normally sweet face flushed and tear-streaked.  Since she was supposed to be getting married within an hour and was still wearing blue jeans and a T-shirt, she got my immediate attention.

‘Sookie!’ she said, rounding the bar to grab my arm. ‘You have to help me.’

I’d already helped her by putting on my bartending clothes instead of the pretty dress I’d planned on wearing. ‘ Sure,’ I said, imagining Halleigh wanted me to make her a special drink– though if I’d listened in to her thoughts, I’d have known differently already.”

Book Review:

Review by Jana L. Perskie (OCT 31, 2009)

Hey! Sookie fans – she’s back in her 8th adventure(s) with all the supernaturals – weres, vamps, shapshifters, faes, witches, and more!

Yep! Sookie, the 26 year-old telepathic barmaid extraordinaire from Bon Temps, Louisiana, has returned in From Dead To Worse. Faced with new “challenges,” Sookie seems to mature in this novel. She acquires more of a sense of self and becomes, at the book’s end, a more confident and cautious person.

Sookie is blood-bonded to Eric Northman, an extremely powerful vampire and sheriff of Area 5, the Shreveport area. He owns “Fangtasia: The Bar With A Bite,” where vamp groupies go to fulfill their fantasies and to provide, most willingly, human snacks for the vampires. Many books ago, Sookie and Eric had a deep love relationship. He was placed under a spell by a supe more powerful than he, which allowed him to let his guard down and acquire affect, unusual for a big, bad boy vamp. He began to trust Sookie and truly learned to love. Ms. Stackhouse thought she had found happiness at long last. However, when the spell was broken, Eric forgot his time with her and his vows of love. Although still bound to her, and terribly attracted to her, he is no longer her main squeeze…and, bewildered, simply cannot recall the past…at least his past with Sookie.

Sookie is also a “Friend to the Pack,” (were panthers), and depended upon by most “friendly” supernatural beings who inhabit her world. She is quite powerful in her own right as she can read minds and determine truth from lies…but she is not infallible!

In the previous book, All Together Dead, terrorists from the anti-vampire organization, “Fellowship of the Sun,” attacked the vamps during their convention at the Pyramid of Gizeh in Rhodes, LA. These holier than thou folks, despise vampires as minions of the Devil, and wish to exterminate them all. They certainly did a good job of it in book 7. The terrorists, with their explosive devices, caused much violence and bloodshed. They almost succeeded in killing Sophie-Anne LeClerq, queen of the Louisiana vampires. Unfortunately, she is left legless, helpless, and dependent on her bodyguard, who is devoted to her. Of course, Sookie was at the convention too and was almost killed in the ensuing chaos. And then came Hurricane Katrina…need I say more??

Now back in Bon Temp, Sookie is about as stressed as she has ever been. Her housemate Amelia, a witch in training who mistakenly turned her boyfriend Bob into a cat, helps Sookie, by being a good friend and listener. And she’s a whiz at housecleaning. Amelia plays a major role in From Dead To Worse. Pussycat Bob also, purringly, gives Sooky much affection. Amelia’s mentor moves into the Stackhouse household for a spell. Her home was destroyed by the hurricane. Sookie’s main worry and source of pain is caused by Quinn, a tiger lycanthrope and Sookie’s boyfriend. He has been missing since the mayhem at Rhodes. She doesn’t know whether he is dead or alive – but if he is alive, he’d better watch out, because she will be furious with him for not maintaining contact during these terrible times.

Sookie and her harried crowd of supernaturals are crazy to think that a few weeks of calm will get things back to normal. As if surviving the massacre in Rhodes, and coping with Quinn going missing aren’t enough, our protagonist’s great-grandfather, Niall Brigant, a prince of the fairies who is hundreds of years old, turns up. Sookie never knew she had any living family other than her callous brother Jason. So, Sookie has a new relative and, finally, an explanation for her telepathic powers – she has fairy blood running through her veins.

Then, quite suddenly, Sookie finds herself in the middle of a were war, where, she is almost murdered along with several other local women. A vampire coup d’etat is next on the agenda. A vampire king from Nevada sensing that the Louisiana community is weak with the loss of their queen, moves in for the kill…and the power. This takeover bodes ill for Eric Northman, who becomes a target in the vampire war, and as Sookie is bound to Eric, she is in danger also. Btw… Eric now remembers his romance with Sookie and wants to resume their formerly intense relationship. And to further complicate matters, her former vampire boyfriend, Bill, who did her wrong, wants her back too.

Plots and subplots abound – most of them quite dramatic and dangerous. However, the narrative is choppy and lacks coherence. Any one of the self-contained subplots could have been turned into a novelette. As is, the many threads which form the storyline, are never quite woven together. Each vignette is presented and resolved without being part of the whole. And except for Sookie, the characters are shallow. This is why I am rating From Dead To Worse with 3 stars rather than 4.

I do look forward to the next installment where, hopefully, Sookie’s relationship with Eric, or Bill, will develop and last for at least a few novels. The author’s tease seems to me to be a device to sell more books. And 8 books is enough teasing! Ms. Harris, please deliver!! Wars and mysteries are always resolved, but I find the relationship part of the series too repetitious and lacking in depth.

I strongly advise anyone who has not read the other seven books in the Sookie Stackhouse series, to do so before tackling this one. A good read – but inferior to the other Sookie books.

AMAZON READER RATING:	from 474 readers
PUBLISHER:	Ace; Reprint edition (March 31, 2009)
REVIEWER:	Jana L. Perskie
AMAZON PAGE:	From Dead to Worse
AUTHOR WEBSITE:	Charlaine Harris
EXTRAS:	SF Site review of From Dead to Worse
MORE ON MOSTLYFICTION:	Read our review of  Club Dead More Vampire and such fiction: Lost Souls by Poppy Z. Brite Cerulean Sins by Laurell K. Hamilton The Devil You Know by Mike Carey Monstrous Regiment by Terry Pratchett

Bibliography:

The Sookie Stackhouse Southern Vampire Series:

• Dead Until Dark (2001)
• Living Dead in Dallas (2002)
• Club Dead (2003)
• Dead to the World (2004)
• Dead as a Doornail (2005)
• Definitely Dead (2006)
• All Together Dead (2007)
• From Dead to Worse (2008)
• Dead and Gone (2009)
• Dead in the Family (2010)
• Dead Reckoning (2011)
• Deadlocked (May 2012)

The Harper Connelly Series:

• Grave Sight (2005)
• Grave Surprise (2006)

The Lily Bard “Shakespeare” Series:

• Shakespeare’s Landlord (1996)
• Shakespeare’s Champion (1997)
• Shakespeare’s Christmas (1998)
• Shakespeare’s Trollop (2000)
• Shakespeare’s Counselor (2001)

The Aurora Teagarden Series:

• Real Murders (1990)
• A Bone to Pick (1992)
• Three Bedrooms, One Corspe (1994)
• The Julius House (1995)
• Dead Over Heels (1996)
• A Fool and His Honey (1999)
• Last Scene Alive (2002)
• Poppy Done to Death (2003)
• A Fool and His Honey (June 2012)

Other:

• Sweet and Deadly (1981)
• A Secret Rage (1984)

Other:

• Bite: Stories (2004)