Book 5.  Dead Until Dark
Author: Charlaine Harris
Genre: Horror
Pages: 292
Release date: 2001

What it is about:  Sookie Stackhouse is just a small-time cocktail waitress in small-town Louisiana. Until the vampire of her dreams walks into her life--and one of her coworkers checks out...Maybe having a vampire for a boyfriend isn't such a bright idea. A fun, fast, funny, and wonderfully intriguing blend of vampire and mystery that's hard to put down, and should not be missed.

What worked:  Sookie (once you got past her idiotic name) was kind of interesting.  Especailly with her ability to read minds.  That was the one thing that made this novel interesting, especailly when it drug.  Finding Bill, and not being able to actually hear someone thoughts made was something that she really needed.  The fact that the vampires were "legally" recongnized was interesting. 

What did not work:  Lets start with the name Sookie Stackhouse.  What, what an awful name.  The attempt to make this part love story, part mystery, never really worked.  The love story seemed odd and the mystery aspect of it was just not interesting enough to care about it.  The vampire were beyond stereotyped (not that you expect anything else I suppose).  The support characters were all over the place and never really added too much to the story. 

Best quote:  "I'd been waiting for the Vampire for years when he walked into the bar".

Grade:  5.5 out of 10    

Next books.  The Blue-haired bombshell (bookclub book) by John Zakour.