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Sookie Stackhouse
A Touch of Dead
Meet Sookie Stackhouse!
Sookie Stackhouse is everybody's favourite cocktail waitress: a cute bubbly blonde ... who can read minds. But Sookie's far from being the only person in Bon Temps, Louisiana with a handicap, what with the local vampire population demanding their unhuman rights and weres fighting for territory ... In fact, Bon Temps is a pretty lively place these days!
A Touch of Dead collects together all the Sookie Stackhouse short stories in one gorgeous volume, and showcases the writing talents of international bestseller Charlaine Harris.
Sookie Stackhouse is everybody's favourite cocktail waitress: a cute bubbly blonde ... who can read minds. But Sookie's far from being the only person in Bon Temps, Louisiana with a handicap, what with the local vampire population demanding their unhuman rights and weres fighting for territory ... In fact, Bon Temps is a pretty lively place these days!
A Touch of Dead collects together all the Sookie Stackhouse short stories in one gorgeous volume, and showcases the writing talents of international bestseller Charlaine Harris.
208 pages, Hardcover
First published October 6, 2009
About the author
Charlaine Harris
292 books36.4k followersCharlaine Harris has been a published novelist for over thirty-five years. A native of the Mississippi Delta, she grew up in the middle of a cotton field. Charlaine lives in Texas now, and all of her children and grandchildren are within easy driving distance.
Though her early output consisted largely of ghost stories, by the time she hit college (Rhodes, in Memphis) Charlaine was writing poetry and plays. After holding down some low-level jobs, her husband Hal gave her the opportunity to stay home and write. The resulting two stand-alones were published by Houghton Mifflin. After a child-producing sabbatical, Charlaine latched on to the trend of series, and soon had her own traditional mystery books about a Georgia librarian, Aurora Teagarden. Her first Teagarden, Real Murders, garnered an Agatha nomination.
Soon Charlaine was looking for another challenge, and the result was the much darker Lily Bard series. The books, set in Shakespeare, Arkansas, feature a heroine who has survived a terrible attack and is learning to live with its consequences.
When Charlaine began to realize that neither of those series was ever going to set the literary world on fire, she regrouped and decided to write the book she’d always wanted to write. Not a traditional mystery, nor yet pure science fiction or romance, Dead Until Dark broke genre boundaries to appeal to a wide audience of people who simply enjoy a good adventure. Each subsequent book about Sookie Stackhouse, telepathic Louisiana barmaid and friend to vampires, werewolves, and various other odd creatures, was very successful in many languages.
The Harper Connelly books were written concurrently with the Sookie novels.
Following the end of Sookie's recorded adventures, Charlaine wrote the "Midnight, Texas" books, which have become a television series, also. The Aurora Teagarden books have been adapted by Hallmark Movie & Mystery.
Charlaine is a member of many professional organizations, an Episcopalian, and currently the lucky houseparent to two rescue dogs. She lives on a cliff overlooking the Brazos River.
Though her early output consisted largely of ghost stories, by the time she hit college (Rhodes, in Memphis) Charlaine was writing poetry and plays. After holding down some low-level jobs, her husband Hal gave her the opportunity to stay home and write. The resulting two stand-alones were published by Houghton Mifflin. After a child-producing sabbatical, Charlaine latched on to the trend of series, and soon had her own traditional mystery books about a Georgia librarian, Aurora Teagarden. Her first Teagarden, Real Murders, garnered an Agatha nomination.
Soon Charlaine was looking for another challenge, and the result was the much darker Lily Bard series. The books, set in Shakespeare, Arkansas, feature a heroine who has survived a terrible attack and is learning to live with its consequences.
When Charlaine began to realize that neither of those series was ever going to set the literary world on fire, she regrouped and decided to write the book she’d always wanted to write. Not a traditional mystery, nor yet pure science fiction or romance, Dead Until Dark broke genre boundaries to appeal to a wide audience of people who simply enjoy a good adventure. Each subsequent book about Sookie Stackhouse, telepathic Louisiana barmaid and friend to vampires, werewolves, and various other odd creatures, was very successful in many languages.
The Harper Connelly books were written concurrently with the Sookie novels.
Following the end of Sookie's recorded adventures, Charlaine wrote the "Midnight, Texas" books, which have become a television series, also. The Aurora Teagarden books have been adapted by Hallmark Movie & Mystery.
Charlaine is a member of many professional organizations, an Episcopalian, and currently the lucky houseparent to two rescue dogs. She lives on a cliff overlooking the Brazos River.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 1,998 reviews
June 27, 2021
(B+) 76% | Good
Notes: Kind of like finding and placing the missing (hinted at) pieces of a jigsaw puzzle and seeing a more complete picture.
Notes: Kind of like finding and placing the missing (hinted at) pieces of a jigsaw puzzle and seeing a more complete picture.
February 10, 2009
Here's a fun joke you can play on someone! Loan them your copies of the Twilight books. Now, if you've chosen to play this joke on someone capable of experiencing love, wait for them to breathlessly return them to you. Then, when they ask you what other books you like, loan them the Sookie Stackhouse novels. Check in with them periodically. Smile and nod when they compare Bill to Edward. Bide your time. Wait until they've gotten through the first three books, and then ask them what they thought of the part where Sookie was finger-banged by a manticore. Watch their face fall as they realize how plausible what you have just suggested sounds, based on what they have read. What makes this even better is that, as they continue through the books, they'll wish you had been telling the truth.
These books are trash. Wet trash on a hot day. I can not, however, bring myself to stop reading them. The box set is like a fresh pack of cigarettes, and you only go through them faster as you go along. You know they're bad for you and you want to quit and all of your friends are encouraging you to stop, but late at night before you curl into bed, you take a few more drags from the next chapter.
I blame that horrible mixed metaphor on the fact that I'm midway through book 6, and it's starting to affect my brain.
These books are trash. Wet trash on a hot day. I can not, however, bring myself to stop reading them. The box set is like a fresh pack of cigarettes, and you only go through them faster as you go along. You know they're bad for you and you want to quit and all of your friends are encouraging you to stop, but late at night before you curl into bed, you take a few more drags from the next chapter.
I blame that horrible mixed metaphor on the fact that I'm midway through book 6, and it's starting to affect my brain.
May 2, 2023
A collection of the Sookie Stackhouse short stories to accompany the ongoing book series. As ever Harris continues to flesh out her world of Bon Temps and Sookie's adventures with vampires, weres, fairies etc. Some interesting shorts give more detail on her relationships with Eric, Pam, Amelia and Niall her fairy-grandfather - a must read for True Blooders. 7 out of 12, Three Stars.
2012 read
2012 read
March 8, 2021
This was a fascinating deeper look into the fairies we met in the last book, Claudine, and her brother Claude. I hope to see more of them throughout the series, they are quite interesting!
Merged review:
A good collection of short stories. See each story's page for my individual reviews.
Merged review:
A good collection of short stories. See each story's page for my individual reviews.
May 8, 2018
*** 3.33 ***
Fairy triplets, an old Vamp in spandex onezy, a dead relative, a very lucky insurance agent, and the last one where grandpa becomes a pimp! Not bad, just nothing too special...
"...“Vampires like fairies the way dogs like bones : great toys , good food.”..."
Fairy triplets, an old Vamp in spandex onezy, a dead relative, a very lucky insurance agent, and the last one where grandpa becomes a pimp! Not bad, just nothing too special...
"...“Vampires like fairies the way dogs like bones : great toys , good food.”..."
January 16, 2020
The book cover is mesmerising (red on black is beautiful)
The illustrations are absolutely incredible
The stories are really witty and straight to the point
Fairy dust - I love Claude and Claudine, I literally adore them. Fantastic who done it type story.
Dracula night - straight to the point, delivered a lot of charm and the writing style was beautiful. Classic beforehand research and your typically case of vampiro imposto.
One word answer - I loved it and I loved what I saw of Sookie’s cousin Hadley in the show so it was intriguing to know what happened to her (SPOILER) turned into a vampire and staked.
Lucky - typical style of story writing, a story I would need to read a couple of times to really grasp what is happening.
Gift wrap - brilliant and interesting. I do love learning more about the faes. Some good surprises in tha one.
All in all as much as I love the show and the actual books, I really do live for the short stories. Remarkable, beautiful, devastating and eye catching.
16/01/2020
Fairy dust is my absolute favourite
The illustrations are absolutely incredible
The stories are really witty and straight to the point
Fairy dust - I love Claude and Claudine, I literally adore them. Fantastic who done it type story.
Dracula night - straight to the point, delivered a lot of charm and the writing style was beautiful. Classic beforehand research and your typically case of vampiro imposto.
One word answer - I loved it and I loved what I saw of Sookie’s cousin Hadley in the show so it was intriguing to know what happened to her (SPOILER) turned into a vampire and staked.
Lucky - typical style of story writing, a story I would need to read a couple of times to really grasp what is happening.
Gift wrap - brilliant and interesting. I do love learning more about the faes. Some good surprises in tha one.
All in all as much as I love the show and the actual books, I really do live for the short stories. Remarkable, beautiful, devastating and eye catching.
16/01/2020
Fairy dust is my absolute favourite
November 19, 2015
Fairy Dust
Dracula
Really quite odd.
One Word Answer
Short story about Hadley's death, and I didn't like the one word answer when two questions were asked! Which question was she answering?
Lucky
Okay story, not sure why they thought themselves lucky though.
Gift Wrap
6.5 out of 10
Dracula
Really quite odd.
One Word Answer
Short story about Hadley's death, and I didn't like the one word answer when two questions were asked! Which question was she answering?
Lucky
Okay story, not sure why they thought themselves lucky though.
Gift Wrap
6.5 out of 10
July 15, 2012
Bizarrely, this book of short stories made me think less of every character appearing in them.
Fairy Dust: Not very illuminating. I guess Claudine was the only good one of those triplets. The mystery was pretty dim, including Sookie's eureka moment.
Dracula Night: I did not need to see Eric starring in "The Great Pumpkin". On top of that, why on earth would Eric worship Vlad Tepes, who died in 1476? He's half Eric's age. And claiming Tepes created a Golden Age for vampires seems ridiculous. Bullshit.
One Word Answer: This should've been a scene in a larger book. Same as Fairy Dust, in that it's a totally tertiary situation that gets rushed through. Only useful as backstory for the series, where Hadley becomes more important. I do not understand the pivotal "you knew she was in there the ENTIRE TIME!" discussion. Why is this important. I do not know.
Lucky: Probably the best out of all of them - I liked the idea that magic has consequences. Even small local magic.
Gift Wrap: EW. EW!
---spoilers---
In one story, Jason gets semi-slandered, Sookie replays the first chapters of Book 4 with a total stranger, and Niall proves to be some sort of supernatural pimp. EW. Just stupid. So Sookie finds a man nearly dead in the woods, then defends him from a pack who show up to get him back, and then she has sex with the injured stranger. And the next morning, the "injured were" and the "pack leader" chat about how Niall arranged this all as a Christmas present for Sookie. You know - adventure and then random sex. THIS IS GROSS. This is gross, and I think less of EVERYONE INVOLVED. GROSS.
Ahem.
There's no good reason to read this. I thought I was missing something by sticking to the series, so I picked this up from the library. NOPE! NOT MSSING ANYTHING!
Blech.
Fairy Dust: Not very illuminating. I guess Claudine was the only good one of those triplets. The mystery was pretty dim, including Sookie's eureka moment.
Dracula Night: I did not need to see Eric starring in "The Great Pumpkin". On top of that, why on earth would Eric worship Vlad Tepes, who died in 1476? He's half Eric's age. And claiming Tepes created a Golden Age for vampires seems ridiculous. Bullshit.
One Word Answer: This should've been a scene in a larger book. Same as Fairy Dust, in that it's a totally tertiary situation that gets rushed through. Only useful as backstory for the series, where Hadley becomes more important. I do not understand the pivotal "you knew she was in there the ENTIRE TIME!" discussion. Why is this important. I do not know.
Lucky: Probably the best out of all of them - I liked the idea that magic has consequences. Even small local magic.
Gift Wrap: EW. EW!
---spoilers---
In one story, Jason gets semi-slandered, Sookie replays the first chapters of Book 4 with a total stranger, and Niall proves to be some sort of supernatural pimp. EW. Just stupid. So Sookie finds a man nearly dead in the woods, then defends him from a pack who show up to get him back, and then she has sex with the injured stranger. And the next morning, the "injured were" and the "pack leader" chat about how Niall arranged this all as a Christmas present for Sookie. You know - adventure and then random sex. THIS IS GROSS. This is gross, and I think less of EVERYONE INVOLVED. GROSS.
Ahem.
There's no good reason to read this. I thought I was missing something by sticking to the series, so I picked this up from the library. NOPE! NOT MSSING ANYTHING!
Blech.
October 17, 2009
I felt cheated by this one. Somehow, these stories left me with the feeling that I just read a short advertisement for the Sookie Stackhouse series. I mean, Harris spends so much time explaining every single stinking detail of Sookie, her life, her friends in Bon Temps and the surrounding area, that very little story is left for the actual ... well, the actual story itself. And the stories don't really hold up well on their own. I mean, they fit nicely into the context of the larger series ~ if you already know and like the characters or want to get to know them better. But a short story should be it's own little mini-novel, right? These just don't read that way.
Harris really overdid the explaining in these. She should have spent more time on content, less on the explaining of every aspect of Sookie's life. If the writing was good enough, the stories would work anyway. And the reader will be inspired to read the series ... in order ... and learn that Sookie considers her telepathy to be a disability, or that vamps came out after the mass production of Japanese synthetic blood... or any number of things that Harris needs to stop writing for the hundredth time. If a person picks up a series in the middle, it serves them right for being confused. And if a short story is good ... not everything needs to be explained. It doesn't.
Ok ~ done with the rant ;)
Harris really overdid the explaining in these. She should have spent more time on content, less on the explaining of every aspect of Sookie's life. If the writing was good enough, the stories would work anyway. And the reader will be inspired to read the series ... in order ... and learn that Sookie considers her telepathy to be a disability, or that vamps came out after the mass production of Japanese synthetic blood... or any number of things that Harris needs to stop writing for the hundredth time. If a person picks up a series in the middle, it serves them right for being confused. And if a short story is good ... not everything needs to be explained. It doesn't.
Ok ~ done with the rant ;)
December 27, 2019
These are short stories set between books of the True Blood series. These books are fun; kind of like potato chips - it's hard to stop once you start in on them. Now I want to reread the series. I'm pretty sure I never finished all of them. I want to rewatch the show, too; it doesn't follow the books exactly.
In these stories, we find out what happened to one of the fairy triplets; we learn that Dracula is real (and Eric kind of has this hero worship thing going on - but Eric's probably older than Vlad, right?); Sookie finds out what really happened to Hadley; Bon Temps has more than its share of insurance agents; and Sookie spends Christmas Eve alone... until she's not. rrrrRRRRrrrr
Laissez les bon temps rouler!
In these stories, we find out what happened to one of the fairy triplets; we learn that Dracula is real (and Eric kind of has this hero worship thing going on - but Eric's probably older than Vlad, right?); Sookie finds out what really happened to Hadley; Bon Temps has more than its share of insurance agents; and Sookie spends Christmas Eve alone... until she's not. rrrrRRRRrrrr
Laissez les bon temps rouler!
January 15, 2024
After a whirlwind series about the supernatural, Charlaine Harris uses this piece to collect some of the short stories that have appeared in various publications. Sookie Stackhouse made a name for herself and these five pieces help fill gaps in the larger story arc and entertain series fans to no end. Harris proves her abilities to pen shorter pieces that pack just as much punch.
Fairy Dust #4.1:
Sookie Stackhouse has been working hard as a cocktail waitress at Merlotte’s, attempting not to read too many patron minds. When Claudine, a fairy friend, comes to seek Sookie’s help, they soon agree to work together. Claudine’s triplet, Claudette, has been murdered, likely by someone who does not agree with the fairy lifestyle. The truth will take some effort, but the end result will be worth it.
Dracula Night #4.7:
While he has come to mean a lot to Sookie, Eric Northman has a busy life outside visiting with the young cocktail waitress. Eric's vampire bar, Fangtasia, has been preparing for its annual Dracula Night party, where the famous Count is feted. Legend has it that one person attending this type of party somewhere in the world is visited by the Count himself. As Eric’s excitement builds, many watch in wonder if Count Dracula will appear in Shreveport this year and choose Eric.
One Word Answer #5.5:
Sookie has always loved family, though recent tragedies has left her with few remaining members. When news comes that her cousin, Hadley, has been murdered, Sookie is quite upset. Staked by someone, this vampire and handmaid to the vampire Queen of Louisiana, Hadley must have angered someone. Who that is keeps Sookie’s mind racing.
Lucky #7.5:
Sookie has been able to hone her telepathy skills and become good friendswith many shapeshifters. When she and Amelia, a witch, have a local insurance agent approach them for help with a mystery, the amateur sleuths rush to assist. However, no one told them how complex and important the case could be.
Giftwrap #8.5:
Sookie loves family but has decided to spend the holiday season on her own. A naked man’s body appears on her property just before Christmas, causing her panic. This is increased when a visitor darkens her door, forcing Sookie to juggle responsibilities before she can even hang her stocking.
The full-length novels were a treat for me to read, as they pushed me out of my comfort zone. Now, wanting to get the full picture, I have turned to some of the short stories that added flavour to the series and helped Charlaine Harris flesh-out her ideas. The narrative flow differs between stories, but all are buoyed by strong ideas and a forward momentum. With added depth to characters and more perspectives, Harris increases understanding and propels things forward quite well. Toss in a few plot twists and you have a great collection of short stories that are sure to impress series fans. There are more to come, which has me eager to explore.
Kudos, Madam Harris, for cementing some of your stories with more and introducing readers to some new material.
Love/hate the review? An ever-growing collection of others appears at:
http://pecheyponderings.wordpress.com/
Fairy Dust #4.1:
Sookie Stackhouse has been working hard as a cocktail waitress at Merlotte’s, attempting not to read too many patron minds. When Claudine, a fairy friend, comes to seek Sookie’s help, they soon agree to work together. Claudine’s triplet, Claudette, has been murdered, likely by someone who does not agree with the fairy lifestyle. The truth will take some effort, but the end result will be worth it.
Dracula Night #4.7:
While he has come to mean a lot to Sookie, Eric Northman has a busy life outside visiting with the young cocktail waitress. Eric's vampire bar, Fangtasia, has been preparing for its annual Dracula Night party, where the famous Count is feted. Legend has it that one person attending this type of party somewhere in the world is visited by the Count himself. As Eric’s excitement builds, many watch in wonder if Count Dracula will appear in Shreveport this year and choose Eric.
One Word Answer #5.5:
Sookie has always loved family, though recent tragedies has left her with few remaining members. When news comes that her cousin, Hadley, has been murdered, Sookie is quite upset. Staked by someone, this vampire and handmaid to the vampire Queen of Louisiana, Hadley must have angered someone. Who that is keeps Sookie’s mind racing.
Lucky #7.5:
Sookie has been able to hone her telepathy skills and become good friendswith many shapeshifters. When she and Amelia, a witch, have a local insurance agent approach them for help with a mystery, the amateur sleuths rush to assist. However, no one told them how complex and important the case could be.
Giftwrap #8.5:
Sookie loves family but has decided to spend the holiday season on her own. A naked man’s body appears on her property just before Christmas, causing her panic. This is increased when a visitor darkens her door, forcing Sookie to juggle responsibilities before she can even hang her stocking.
The full-length novels were a treat for me to read, as they pushed me out of my comfort zone. Now, wanting to get the full picture, I have turned to some of the short stories that added flavour to the series and helped Charlaine Harris flesh-out her ideas. The narrative flow differs between stories, but all are buoyed by strong ideas and a forward momentum. With added depth to characters and more perspectives, Harris increases understanding and propels things forward quite well. Toss in a few plot twists and you have a great collection of short stories that are sure to impress series fans. There are more to come, which has me eager to explore.
Kudos, Madam Harris, for cementing some of your stories with more and introducing readers to some new material.
Love/hate the review? An ever-growing collection of others appears at:
http://pecheyponderings.wordpress.com/
May 7, 2013
Rating: three and a half smiley stars of five
The Publisher Says: New York Times bestselling author Charlaine Harris has re-imagined the supernatural world with her “spunky” (Tampa Tribune) Southern Vampire novels starring telepathic waitress Sookie Stackhouse. Now, for the first time, here is every Sookie Stackhouse short story ever written— together in one volume.
Stories include “Fairy Dust,” “One Word Answer,” “Dracula Night,” “Lucky,” and “Giftwrap.”
My Review: How fun. Sookie Stackhouse in short tales that are placed within the Sookie-verse in gaps between the books. I think Harris has a superb grasp of what her readers expect and so has made her fortune with this clever, amusing set of tales. She delivers consistent and coherent world-building entries into the developing canon of stories. She makes certain her books have all the elements that have caused these otherwise slight stories to rocket to the top of the heap: Sex, spooks, sex, a likeable heroine, sex, and romantic entanglements. And sex.
I will never offer these books as evidence of the cultural superiority of the Western world, but I also won't keep 'em behind the other books on the bookshelf, embarrassed to have anyone see that I read Charlaine Harris. I think her writing is perfectly adequate, but not much more than that; her imagination is the thing that makes her books worth reading. She's created an internally consistent and very plausibly presented alternate world, and in a lot of ways a world that I'd prefer to live in, if I could find a way there.
The stories are fun by themselves; but my favorite one is the obligatory Christmas tale in which Sookie's newly discovered great-grandfather Niall the faerie king gives her the single most wonderful, thoughtful, and unusual gift I've ever heard or thought of. I won't give it away, but...like, wow.
Recommended for fans of the series. Not a place to start.
The Publisher Says: New York Times bestselling author Charlaine Harris has re-imagined the supernatural world with her “spunky” (Tampa Tribune) Southern Vampire novels starring telepathic waitress Sookie Stackhouse. Now, for the first time, here is every Sookie Stackhouse short story ever written— together in one volume.
Stories include “Fairy Dust,” “One Word Answer,” “Dracula Night,” “Lucky,” and “Giftwrap.”
My Review: How fun. Sookie Stackhouse in short tales that are placed within the Sookie-verse in gaps between the books. I think Harris has a superb grasp of what her readers expect and so has made her fortune with this clever, amusing set of tales. She delivers consistent and coherent world-building entries into the developing canon of stories. She makes certain her books have all the elements that have caused these otherwise slight stories to rocket to the top of the heap: Sex, spooks, sex, a likeable heroine, sex, and romantic entanglements. And sex.
I will never offer these books as evidence of the cultural superiority of the Western world, but I also won't keep 'em behind the other books on the bookshelf, embarrassed to have anyone see that I read Charlaine Harris. I think her writing is perfectly adequate, but not much more than that; her imagination is the thing that makes her books worth reading. She's created an internally consistent and very plausibly presented alternate world, and in a lot of ways a world that I'd prefer to live in, if I could find a way there.
The stories are fun by themselves; but my favorite one is the obligatory Christmas tale in which Sookie's newly discovered great-grandfather Niall the faerie king gives her the single most wonderful, thoughtful, and unusual gift I've ever heard or thought of. I won't give it away, but...like, wow.
Recommended for fans of the series. Not a place to start.
October 26, 2009
Yippee!!!!
The library finally has 4 copies, at least, and I've dropped to #3 on the waiting list :):)
Oh yeah
oh yeah
oh yeah!
I've had the email
It's sitting waiting for me.
Just in time for the long weekend :) :)
Oh dear. It's too quick to read!
Read one before I went to sleep last night. Another one in the middle of the night when I was awake and bored. Arrrgggh.
If I let myself pick it up again I'll be finished it today!
Sigh. And so it was. Over quickly. Too quickly. and now there'll be this extended wait till May, was it? Arrrggghh!!! Only 5, or was it 6 stories. And only a mouthful each. So to speak!
The library finally has 4 copies, at least, and I've dropped to #3 on the waiting list :):)
Oh yeah
oh yeah
oh yeah!
I've had the email
It's sitting waiting for me.
Just in time for the long weekend :) :)
Oh dear. It's too quick to read!
Read one before I went to sleep last night. Another one in the middle of the night when I was awake and bored. Arrrgggh.
If I let myself pick it up again I'll be finished it today!
Sigh. And so it was. Over quickly. Too quickly. and now there'll be this extended wait till May, was it? Arrrggghh!!! Only 5, or was it 6 stories. And only a mouthful each. So to speak!
March 23, 2024
Five good short stories featuring Sookie and her friends.
Fairy Dust #4.1 - A very quick read but it’s a Sookie story so I still enjoyed it. This is the first story from “A touch of dead” ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Dracula Night #4.3 - A good short story featuring Sookie with Eric & Pam. This is the second story from “A touch of dead” ⭐️⭐️⭐️
One Word Answer #5.1 - A good short story featuring Sookie and Bill and The Queen this time. This is the third story from “A touch of dead” ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Lucky #7.1 - A good short story featuring Sookie and her witch friend Amelia. This is the fourth story from “A touch of dead” ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Gift Wrap #8.1 - A good short story featuring Sookie at Christmas time. This is the fifth story from “A touch of dead” ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Fairy Dust #4.1 - A very quick read but it’s a Sookie story so I still enjoyed it. This is the first story from “A touch of dead” ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Dracula Night #4.3 - A good short story featuring Sookie with Eric & Pam. This is the second story from “A touch of dead” ⭐️⭐️⭐️
One Word Answer #5.1 - A good short story featuring Sookie and Bill and The Queen this time. This is the third story from “A touch of dead” ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Lucky #7.1 - A good short story featuring Sookie and her witch friend Amelia. This is the fourth story from “A touch of dead” ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Gift Wrap #8.1 - A good short story featuring Sookie at Christmas time. This is the fifth story from “A touch of dead” ⭐️⭐️⭐️
October 30, 2009
Wow. This book was lame. No new story, just five stories already published in other short story collections. Two-page illustrations in front of each story and really big font to make you feel like you actually read a book instead of a glorified Sookie Stackhouse brochure.
I'd only read one of the stories before, unfortunately for me it was apparently the best of the bunch. "Gift Wrap" was plain awful. "Fairy Dust" is unimpressive (ooh, Sookie's so clever and uses her extreme cleverness to solve crime!) "Lucky" trots out the uneducated idea of Limited Good and pretends like it's legitimate. Bo-ring.
This book is a shameless attempt to milk money out of fans of the Stackhouse series. Good thing I got it from the library. Take that Ace Books suckas!
Alternatively, may I suggest you get your fix by reading Many Bloody Returns, which includes the only good story from this collection, and also introduced me to the fun fiction of Jim Butcher & Rachel Caine.
I'd only read one of the stories before, unfortunately for me it was apparently the best of the bunch. "Gift Wrap" was plain awful. "Fairy Dust" is unimpressive (ooh, Sookie's so clever and uses her extreme cleverness to solve crime!) "Lucky" trots out the uneducated idea of Limited Good and pretends like it's legitimate. Bo-ring.
This book is a shameless attempt to milk money out of fans of the Stackhouse series. Good thing I got it from the library. Take that Ace Books suckas!
Alternatively, may I suggest you get your fix by reading Many Bloody Returns, which includes the only good story from this collection, and also introduced me to the fun fiction of Jim Butcher & Rachel Caine.
October 23, 2014
Another fun read. If you haven't read any Sookie Stackhouse before, this isn't a great introduction. Harris relies on the books for the world setting, but does fill in enough details to keep the chronology within the series correct.
“Fairy Dust” is after the events in "Dead to the World" & is pretty good. It's a murder mystery with Claudine & Claude in it.
“Dracula Night” happens before "Dead as a Doornail" & was probably my least favorite story of the bunch. It takes place mostly in Fangtasia with Eric & Pam. I just can't see Eric quite that far out there.
“One Word Answer” takes place after "Dead as a Doornail" & fills in more about Hadley, although the story takes place in Sookie's yard. I enjoyed it.
“Lucky” happens after "All Together Dead" & was another mystery that was fun, but I like Amelia.
“Gift Wrap” happens before "Dead and Gone" & might be my favorite. It's quite a bit different than most of the stories.
“Fairy Dust” is after the events in "Dead to the World" & is pretty good. It's a murder mystery with Claudine & Claude in it.
“Dracula Night” happens before "Dead as a Doornail" & was probably my least favorite story of the bunch. It takes place mostly in Fangtasia with Eric & Pam. I just can't see Eric quite that far out there.
“One Word Answer” takes place after "Dead as a Doornail" & fills in more about Hadley, although the story takes place in Sookie's yard. I enjoyed it.
“Lucky” happens after "All Together Dead" & was another mystery that was fun, but I like Amelia.
“Gift Wrap” happens before "Dead and Gone" & might be my favorite. It's quite a bit different than most of the stories.
February 7, 2017
Fairy Dust is a short story in the Sookie Stackhouse series by popular American author, Charlaine Harris. Claudine, the only fairy that Sookie has ever met, comes into the bar with a request for help. And while fairies are notoriously bad tippers, Sookie will get paid for using her telepathic powers, so she agrees. They go to Claude’s house (Claudine’s brother, identical, who knew?) where Sookie, in her unique way, questions three of Claude’s work colleagues at the exotic dance club, Hooligans. Claude and Claudine are certain that one of the three murdered their triplet (yes, there were three of these beautiful people!), Claudette. The culprit is uncovered, revenge is extracted, and the reader learns a bit about the fairies in the Sookieverse. A small but enjoyable dose of Sookie.
August 24, 2010
3.5 stars.
I thoroughly enjoyed this collection of short stories, so much so that I was about to give it 4 stars. I think my enjoyment has a lot to do with the fact that I didn't have to pay $23.95 to read it. As a free offering, it's a great entertainment.
In no way is Charlaine Harris is a great short story writer or a writer period, and yet her books are like crack to me - can't get enough of them, even though I know they are not good in any literary sense.
Yes, some of the stories suffer from too abrupt resolutions ("Dracula Night" and "One World Answer") or lack of any kind of conflict ("Gift Wrap"), but I didn't care, I enjoyed the characters, new and old, the breeziness of the narration, and Sookie herself, whom I now find to be amusingly overconfident in her own intelligence. Also, it turns out she is quite tartier that I originally thought, based on the events of "Gift Wrap."
All in all, this book is a nice entertainment, especially for Sookie enthusiasts and series completists. Wouldn't care to pay a hard cover price for it though.
I thoroughly enjoyed this collection of short stories, so much so that I was about to give it 4 stars. I think my enjoyment has a lot to do with the fact that I didn't have to pay $23.95 to read it. As a free offering, it's a great entertainment.
In no way is Charlaine Harris is a great short story writer or a writer period, and yet her books are like crack to me - can't get enough of them, even though I know they are not good in any literary sense.
Yes, some of the stories suffer from too abrupt resolutions ("Dracula Night" and "One World Answer") or lack of any kind of conflict ("Gift Wrap"), but I didn't care, I enjoyed the characters, new and old, the breeziness of the narration, and Sookie herself, whom I now find to be amusingly overconfident in her own intelligence. Also, it turns out she is quite tartier that I originally thought, based on the events of "Gift Wrap."
All in all, this book is a nice entertainment, especially for Sookie enthusiasts and series completists. Wouldn't care to pay a hard cover price for it though.
June 7, 2023
Leídos los dos primeros relatos para la lectura Conjunta
El primero le doy 3⭐ me ha parecido un poco soso aunque me ha encantado el humor de la autora como siempre
Al segundo le doy 4⭐, genial 😂 me ha encantado ver el lado sardónico de Pam y sus interacciones con Sookie así como el lado fan de Eric
Ha tocado el turno del relato 5.5 "respuestas monosilábicas" genial como siempre, contamos con la siempre agradable presencia de Bubba y conocemos a nuevos personajes, descubrimos que fue de la prima de Sookie mencionada con anterioridad, Hadley y descubrimos ciertos aspectos de la Reina de Nueva Orleans.
Relato 7.5 Afortunadas, relato divertido y curioso donde vemos el equipo que forman Amelia y Sookie como investigadoras. Un guiño a las novelas de misterio.
Relato "Papel de regalo" simplemente genial, 4 estrellas, me ha encantado 😊🤩
El primero le doy 3⭐ me ha parecido un poco soso aunque me ha encantado el humor de la autora como siempre
Al segundo le doy 4⭐, genial 😂 me ha encantado ver el lado sardónico de Pam y sus interacciones con Sookie así como el lado fan de Eric
Ha tocado el turno del relato 5.5 "respuestas monosilábicas" genial como siempre, contamos con la siempre agradable presencia de Bubba y conocemos a nuevos personajes, descubrimos que fue de la prima de Sookie mencionada con anterioridad, Hadley y descubrimos ciertos aspectos de la Reina de Nueva Orleans.
Relato 7.5 Afortunadas, relato divertido y curioso donde vemos el equipo que forman Amelia y Sookie como investigadoras. Un guiño a las novelas de misterio.
Relato "Papel de regalo" simplemente genial, 4 estrellas, me ha encantado 😊🤩
August 30, 2017
A fun collection of short stories from the wonderful Sookie Stackhouse universe. Some of these stories should have been included as sections in the other books and expanded upon! Then there are a couple that are simply just fun shorts.
“Fairy Dust” - Sookie helps Claudine and Claude figure out what happened to their sister Claudette.
“One Word Answer” - Sookie finds out about Hadley!
“Dracula Night” - Eric throws a huge Halloween Party at Fangtasia!
“Lucky” - Amelia and Sookie investigate a streak of bad luck affecting Bon Temps.
“Giftwrap” It's Christmas and Sookie has an unexpected visitor.
“Fairy Dust” - Sookie helps Claudine and Claude figure out what happened to their sister Claudette.
“One Word Answer” - Sookie finds out about Hadley!
“Dracula Night” - Eric throws a huge Halloween Party at Fangtasia!
“Lucky” - Amelia and Sookie investigate a streak of bad luck affecting Bon Temps.
“Giftwrap” It's Christmas and Sookie has an unexpected visitor.
April 20, 2021
2021 - Still a great collection, made more so since I read this after something I truly did not enjoy to clear my literary palate. Thank you Harris for being so reliably entertaining!
2010 -
Fairy Dust
This story is about Claude and Claudine. I never knew they were actually 2 of a set of triplets. That's one of the joys of short stories slipped between novels in a series. You get little glimpses and facts that just aren't necessary to canon, but are sure fun to read. My favorite line in the story is at the end when Claudine says "Fair is only part of Fairy as letters of the alphabet." It sounds so menacing, and since I picture Claudine as Liv Tyler in my head, I can just see her saying it.
Dracula Night
Sookie is invited to Fangtasia for a birthday party in honor of Dracula. Yes, Dracula. THE Dracula. It's something Eric does every year with the anticipation of being graced with the presence of a true star in the Vampire world. I love when we get little snapshots of Eric being "human". It's been 1000 years, so when he still shows some spark of life, it's pretty thrilling. His excitement in this story was adorable, and even when his hopes were dashed at the end, he perks up with thoughts of "maybe next year". Sookie shows us, once again, that she is a pretty smart, Southern cookie, and not just a psychic barmaid.
One Word Answer
In this story, Sookie learns of the death of her cousin Hadley and meets Mr. Cataliades and the Queen of Louisiana. Bubba makes an appearance which is always welcome and brings a smile to my face. Bill rushes to the aid of "his" Sookie, and just like the last story, Sookie shows us just how smart she really is.
Lucky
This is my least favorite. I can suspend disbelief with the best of them. I mean that's obvious since I love Sookie, the vamps, weres, shifters, and witches, right? But believing one person can use up all the luck in the vicinity? That seems a little silly to even me.
Gift Wrap
Sookie is alone on Christmas Eve. Poor thing. This was a fun story that could have fit anywhere in the series. I don't see anything that pertains to any other stories, other than a few events Sookie references. All I can say is, only Niall, a 1000+ year old, fairy great-grandfather would think of a no strings attached evening of physical pleasure as the perfect Christmas gift. He was right;)
2010 -
Fairy Dust
This story is about Claude and Claudine. I never knew they were actually 2 of a set of triplets. That's one of the joys of short stories slipped between novels in a series. You get little glimpses and facts that just aren't necessary to canon, but are sure fun to read. My favorite line in the story is at the end when Claudine says "Fair is only part of Fairy as letters of the alphabet." It sounds so menacing, and since I picture Claudine as Liv Tyler in my head, I can just see her saying it.
Dracula Night
Sookie is invited to Fangtasia for a birthday party in honor of Dracula. Yes, Dracula. THE Dracula. It's something Eric does every year with the anticipation of being graced with the presence of a true star in the Vampire world. I love when we get little snapshots of Eric being "human". It's been 1000 years, so when he still shows some spark of life, it's pretty thrilling. His excitement in this story was adorable, and even when his hopes were dashed at the end, he perks up with thoughts of "maybe next year". Sookie shows us, once again, that she is a pretty smart, Southern cookie, and not just a psychic barmaid.
One Word Answer
In this story, Sookie learns of the death of her cousin Hadley and meets Mr. Cataliades and the Queen of Louisiana. Bubba makes an appearance which is always welcome and brings a smile to my face. Bill rushes to the aid of "his" Sookie, and just like the last story, Sookie shows us just how smart she really is.
Lucky
This is my least favorite. I can suspend disbelief with the best of them. I mean that's obvious since I love Sookie, the vamps, weres, shifters, and witches, right? But believing one person can use up all the luck in the vicinity? That seems a little silly to even me.
Gift Wrap
Sookie is alone on Christmas Eve. Poor thing. This was a fun story that could have fit anywhere in the series. I don't see anything that pertains to any other stories, other than a few events Sookie references. All I can say is, only Niall, a 1000+ year old, fairy great-grandfather would think of a no strings attached evening of physical pleasure as the perfect Christmas gift. He was right;)
June 11, 2010
This book was passed to me by my older sister, who is not a reader. That I know of, she had read two books in her life, and then Sookie Stackhouse and the HBO TrueBlood series came along and for the first time in her life she was anxiously waiting for a book release and asking for books for Christmas. So when she finished this one she brought it to me because she wanted me to love it too. That's sweet.
I hadn't read any of Harris' books but figured there must be some fantastic writing for her to have turned someone like my sister into a reader, so I looked forward to this.
It's appalling. Halfway through the first story I began to wonder if this series had actually been intended for children. The sentences are so short and the vocabulary so narrow that I felt like I was reading something just slightly more advanced than a school primer. The characters are one-dimensional, like stick figures, with descriptions that are little more than, "This vampire is tall, blonde and hot." By the second story I was sure that it was written by a child. A thirteen year-old had to be meeting publisher's deadlines in between orthodontics appointments and homework assignments. Nope, there's a picture of a grown woman on the backflap. Which just leaves me more confused than ever- what could possible have made this awful writer a best-seller? I just don't get it. I'm sending my sister a copy of Shirley Jackson. *
I hadn't read any of Harris' books but figured there must be some fantastic writing for her to have turned someone like my sister into a reader, so I looked forward to this.
It's appalling. Halfway through the first story I began to wonder if this series had actually been intended for children. The sentences are so short and the vocabulary so narrow that I felt like I was reading something just slightly more advanced than a school primer. The characters are one-dimensional, like stick figures, with descriptions that are little more than, "This vampire is tall, blonde and hot." By the second story I was sure that it was written by a child. A thirteen year-old had to be meeting publisher's deadlines in between orthodontics appointments and homework assignments. Nope, there's a picture of a grown woman on the backflap. Which just leaves me more confused than ever- what could possible have made this awful writer a best-seller? I just don't get it. I'm sending my sister a copy of Shirley Jackson. *
April 2, 2011
I don't know how to rate these novels - my husband told me to start a 'guilty pleasures' book shelf and put them on there and rate them accordingly, but I'm not ready to start making separate shelves yet! They're totally trashy & when I read the first one I originally thought "this is so poorly written & trashy, who reads these?" Quickly I was sucked in and read every single last page of every single book in the series along with a short stories book. (I mean, it only take a brief evening to read one!) I'm anxiously awaiting the next book in the series, number 11 I think?
For literary merit I'd have to give them 1-2 stars, but I'm giving them 4 because I'm being honest with myself and everyone else & not being ashamed of the fact that these are very entertaining books. (Especially if you're into poorly written smut, like me. :)) Oh yeah, I have a total CRUSH on Eric - boo Bill, YAY ERIC! Here's hoping Sook chooses wisely!
(The short stories are definitely not as good as the books in the series, but worth reading because they fill in a lot of gaps.)
For literary merit I'd have to give them 1-2 stars, but I'm giving them 4 because I'm being honest with myself and everyone else & not being ashamed of the fact that these are very entertaining books. (Especially if you're into poorly written smut, like me. :)) Oh yeah, I have a total CRUSH on Eric - boo Bill, YAY ERIC! Here's hoping Sook chooses wisely!
(The short stories are definitely not as good as the books in the series, but worth reading because they fill in a lot of gaps.)
October 25, 2011
Terrible. Also, the final story features the most disturbing and generally wrong present ever given by a great-grandfather to his great-grand-daughter. Plus, in its entirety so dull that even people who actually think Harris can write will be bored.
January 13, 2022
Me lo pasé chicha leyendo éste compilado de cuentos cortos. A éstas alturas ya soy fan de Sookie Stakhouse, para mi cada nuevo libro que agarro es un lugar seguro.
February 26, 2017
A Touch of Dead is an omnibus of five short stories in the Sookie Stackhouse series by popular American author, Charlaine Harris.
Fairy Dust: Claudine, the only fairy that Sookie has ever met, comes into the bar with a request for help. And while fairies are notoriously bad tippers, Sookie will get paid for using her telepathic powers, so she agrees. They go to Claude’s house (Claudine’s brother, identical, who knew?) where Sookie, in her unique way, questions three of Claude’s work colleagues at the exotic dance club, Hooligans. Claude and Claudine are certain that one of the three murdered their triplet (yes, there were three of these beautiful people!), Claudette. The culprit is uncovered, revenge is extracted, and the reader learns a bit about the fairies in the Sookieverse. A small but enjoyable dose of Sookie.
Dracula Night: Eric invites Sookie to celebrate Dracula Night at his nightclub, Fangtasia. Dress-code cocktail wear, so she buys a new dress, pink with sequins. She’s quite amazed at Eric’s almost groupie-like hope that Prince Dracula himself might grace their humble club, and consequently, his judgement is a little off. But Sookie has her finger on the pulse, and takes the necessary action, although this draws the ire of the club’s patrons. A mini-dose of vampire fun.
One Word Answer: Whilst Sookie is doing some evening yard work with Bubba the Vampire, visitors arrive in a fancy black limo. The passenger brings news of the death of Sookie’s cousin Hadley, and a legacy coming her way. But Sookie is interested in how her cousin met her end, something that, apparently, the vampire limo driver knows more about. Sookie is grateful that her talent for telepathy allows her to keep a poker face when the full story is revealed. Bubba shows some initiative when it matters. Sookie’s enigmatic one word answer may not please all readers, but is guaranteed to bring a smile to most.
Lucky: Sookie and her current houseguest, Amelia Broadway, get a visit from Insurance agent, Greg Aubert. He’s worried that someone has been going through his files. With a combination of spells and psychic talents, Amelia and Sookie find out just who has been in Greg’s office, and quite a bit more besides. A vampire refugee is discovered, and Sookie is tempted by a puppy. A nice little interlude between Sookie instalments.
Gift Wrap: Alone on Christmas Eve and feeling sorry for herself, Sookie takes a walk in the woods behind her house, checking if there is any sign of what caused the noise that briefly woke her in the night. A naked, injured and definitely gorgeous man is not what she expected to find, but unable to ignore someone in need, Sookie takes him back to her house. The remainder of her evening is also quite unexpected, though hardly unwelcome. And the surprise guest who shares her Christmas Dinner is perhaps the most unexpected of all, but one who ensures that Sookie’s Christmas is indeed a happy one. A sweet and funny dose of Sookie.
Fairy Dust: Claudine, the only fairy that Sookie has ever met, comes into the bar with a request for help. And while fairies are notoriously bad tippers, Sookie will get paid for using her telepathic powers, so she agrees. They go to Claude’s house (Claudine’s brother, identical, who knew?) where Sookie, in her unique way, questions three of Claude’s work colleagues at the exotic dance club, Hooligans. Claude and Claudine are certain that one of the three murdered their triplet (yes, there were three of these beautiful people!), Claudette. The culprit is uncovered, revenge is extracted, and the reader learns a bit about the fairies in the Sookieverse. A small but enjoyable dose of Sookie.
Dracula Night: Eric invites Sookie to celebrate Dracula Night at his nightclub, Fangtasia. Dress-code cocktail wear, so she buys a new dress, pink with sequins. She’s quite amazed at Eric’s almost groupie-like hope that Prince Dracula himself might grace their humble club, and consequently, his judgement is a little off. But Sookie has her finger on the pulse, and takes the necessary action, although this draws the ire of the club’s patrons. A mini-dose of vampire fun.
One Word Answer: Whilst Sookie is doing some evening yard work with Bubba the Vampire, visitors arrive in a fancy black limo. The passenger brings news of the death of Sookie’s cousin Hadley, and a legacy coming her way. But Sookie is interested in how her cousin met her end, something that, apparently, the vampire limo driver knows more about. Sookie is grateful that her talent for telepathy allows her to keep a poker face when the full story is revealed. Bubba shows some initiative when it matters. Sookie’s enigmatic one word answer may not please all readers, but is guaranteed to bring a smile to most.
Lucky: Sookie and her current houseguest, Amelia Broadway, get a visit from Insurance agent, Greg Aubert. He’s worried that someone has been going through his files. With a combination of spells and psychic talents, Amelia and Sookie find out just who has been in Greg’s office, and quite a bit more besides. A vampire refugee is discovered, and Sookie is tempted by a puppy. A nice little interlude between Sookie instalments.
Gift Wrap: Alone on Christmas Eve and feeling sorry for herself, Sookie takes a walk in the woods behind her house, checking if there is any sign of what caused the noise that briefly woke her in the night. A naked, injured and definitely gorgeous man is not what she expected to find, but unable to ignore someone in need, Sookie takes him back to her house. The remainder of her evening is also quite unexpected, though hardly unwelcome. And the surprise guest who shares her Christmas Dinner is perhaps the most unexpected of all, but one who ensures that Sookie’s Christmas is indeed a happy one. A sweet and funny dose of Sookie.
October 13, 2009
A Touch of Dead consists of 5 short stories that fall in various places in the Southern Vampire Series, featuring heroine Sookie Stackhouse. I absolutely love that Harris has collected up all of the Sookie short stories into one volume. Now I really wish all the other series that I read would do the same thing!
The stories in A Touch of Dead fall in various places throughout the Sookie novels, and are thoughtfully put in chronological order in the collection. Some give us a little more back-story about events that we’ve read about in the series, while others just tell a fun little Sookie side-story.
The stories in the order the occur in Sookie’s life are “Fairy Dust” (from Powers of Detection), “Dracula Night” (from Many Bloody Returns), “One Word Answer” (from Bite), “Lucky” (from Unusual Suspects), and “Gift Wrap” (from Wolfsbane and Mistletoe). I’m assuming these stories were also written in that same order because they get better and better as they go along.
“Fairy Dust” tells the story of how Fairies Claudine and Claudette lost their triplet Claudette. While I enjoyed getting back-story on the Fairy twins, I found the mystery to be a bit confusing. I was tired when I read this story, so that could have something to do with it, but this was my least favourite of the bunch.
“Dracula Night” is a fun little story that has Sookie joining Eric and Pam at Fangtasia to celebrate Dracula’s birthday. No real information in relation to the series, but a cute story nonetheless.
“One Word Answer” gives us much-wanted back-story on how Sookie learned of her cousin Hadley’s death. I was thrilled to finally learn how Hadley’s death fit into the greater story told in the Southern Vampire novels.
“Lucky” is another cute story that doesn’t have much bearing in the series, but is still a very enjoyable read. Featuring Sookie and her new housemate Amelia, “Lucky” has the two ladies playing a little supernatural detective as they try to uncover who has been messing with the local insurance agents. Fun stuff that had me wishing Sookie played detective more often!
“Gift Wrap”, the final story in the collection tells the story of Sookie’s most recent Christmas. A great little story that had me smiling, “Gift Wrap” features a new character that I’d love to see more of (despite the fact that that doesn’t seem likely to happen), and a bit of twist that made for a great ending.
Overall, A Touch of Dead is a very enjoyable read, and a must have for any Sookie lover!
This review was originally posted at http://withagoodbook.com/
The stories in A Touch of Dead fall in various places throughout the Sookie novels, and are thoughtfully put in chronological order in the collection. Some give us a little more back-story about events that we’ve read about in the series, while others just tell a fun little Sookie side-story.
The stories in the order the occur in Sookie’s life are “Fairy Dust” (from Powers of Detection), “Dracula Night” (from Many Bloody Returns), “One Word Answer” (from Bite), “Lucky” (from Unusual Suspects), and “Gift Wrap” (from Wolfsbane and Mistletoe). I’m assuming these stories were also written in that same order because they get better and better as they go along.
“Fairy Dust” tells the story of how Fairies Claudine and Claudette lost their triplet Claudette. While I enjoyed getting back-story on the Fairy twins, I found the mystery to be a bit confusing. I was tired when I read this story, so that could have something to do with it, but this was my least favourite of the bunch.
“Dracula Night” is a fun little story that has Sookie joining Eric and Pam at Fangtasia to celebrate Dracula’s birthday. No real information in relation to the series, but a cute story nonetheless.
“One Word Answer” gives us much-wanted back-story on how Sookie learned of her cousin Hadley’s death. I was thrilled to finally learn how Hadley’s death fit into the greater story told in the Southern Vampire novels.
“Lucky” is another cute story that doesn’t have much bearing in the series, but is still a very enjoyable read. Featuring Sookie and her new housemate Amelia, “Lucky” has the two ladies playing a little supernatural detective as they try to uncover who has been messing with the local insurance agents. Fun stuff that had me wishing Sookie played detective more often!
“Gift Wrap”, the final story in the collection tells the story of Sookie’s most recent Christmas. A great little story that had me smiling, “Gift Wrap” features a new character that I’d love to see more of (despite the fact that that doesn’t seem likely to happen), and a bit of twist that made for a great ending.
Overall, A Touch of Dead is a very enjoyable read, and a must have for any Sookie lover!
This review was originally posted at http://withagoodbook.com/
December 23, 2011
This was a lovely little addition to my Sookie Stackhouse collection. Although I had read most of the books before reading these short stories and could see where they would fit on the timeline you really don't need to read them in order. The only disappointing thing - I finished them way to quickly. There are a total of five stories which are all very good:
Fairy Dust
This is a miniature mystery as Sookie is asked by her fairy godmother to investigate the death of her sister. Along the way we are also introduced to the very handsome (but gay) Claude who would later become a feature of the book published following this story.
Dracula Night
During this story Eric invites Sookie to Fangtasia to celebrate Dracula's birthday. Eric absolutely worships Dracula, but unfortunately his night doesn't turn out quite the way he had hoped.
One Word Answer
This story concerns the death of Sookie's cousin Hadley, an event that will prove influential in the following books. Unfortunately as I read this after reading the books I was already a little familiar with what happened in this story, but even so it was a pleasant read.
Lucky
Another mystery, this time much more light hearted. Sookie investigates who may be trying to sabotage Bon Temps' insurance agencies.
Gift Wrap
During this very short story Sookie is confronted by a very mysterious, very handsome stranger and while it didn't really connect too much to the books, it was a sweet way for Sookie to spend Christmas Eve and the right note to end this volume on.
Fairy Dust
This is a miniature mystery as Sookie is asked by her fairy godmother to investigate the death of her sister. Along the way we are also introduced to the very handsome (but gay) Claude who would later become a feature of the book published following this story.
Dracula Night
During this story Eric invites Sookie to Fangtasia to celebrate Dracula's birthday. Eric absolutely worships Dracula, but unfortunately his night doesn't turn out quite the way he had hoped.
One Word Answer
This story concerns the death of Sookie's cousin Hadley, an event that will prove influential in the following books. Unfortunately as I read this after reading the books I was already a little familiar with what happened in this story, but even so it was a pleasant read.
Lucky
Another mystery, this time much more light hearted. Sookie investigates who may be trying to sabotage Bon Temps' insurance agencies.
Gift Wrap
During this very short story Sookie is confronted by a very mysterious, very handsome stranger and while it didn't really connect too much to the books, it was a sweet way for Sookie to spend Christmas Eve and the right note to end this volume on.
April 26, 2016
Brevemente...
November 23, 2009
Harris' Sookie Stackhouse series has really hit it big. Besides being a nice mix of the occult and humor, everyone is diving into the long-popular series since it has been converted into a television show on HBO. This volume collects a number of stories that have been written over the years and included in collections of vampire tales from popular writers in the genre.
In "Fairy Dust," readers got their first chance to meet Claude AND Claudine, two twin fairies that eventually play a major role in Sookie's life. In this case, they have approached Sookie so she can use her psychic abilities to help identify which employee of a local strip club killed the third sibling in their triplet set.
"One Word Answer" connects the citizens of Bon Temps with New Orleans when Sookie learns what happened to her long lost cousin who disappeared a short time earlier. It turns out that she ended up becoming a vampire before being dusted, but she had connections to the high vampire court.
In "Lucky," Sookie and Amelia, a new character in the series and a friend with a quirky talent in witchcraft, find themselves on a case. They have been asked by a local insurance agency to find out why people seem to be after him.
And finally, Sookie gets a little bit of Christmas in "Gift Wrap." She was gearing up for a quiet holiday since everyone she knew was busy with their own family obligations while she was running a little short with having a family of her own. That all changes when she runs across a badly wounded Were in the woods. She brings him home to her home to help clean him up and protect him from another group of Weres out to hurt him, leading to quite a pleasant time.
The stories are fun, and fans of the series will find that they either fill in some background information or further some character development. It would be difficult for readers not familiar with the novels in the series to know what is really going on.
In "Fairy Dust," readers got their first chance to meet Claude AND Claudine, two twin fairies that eventually play a major role in Sookie's life. In this case, they have approached Sookie so she can use her psychic abilities to help identify which employee of a local strip club killed the third sibling in their triplet set.
"One Word Answer" connects the citizens of Bon Temps with New Orleans when Sookie learns what happened to her long lost cousin who disappeared a short time earlier. It turns out that she ended up becoming a vampire before being dusted, but she had connections to the high vampire court.
In "Lucky," Sookie and Amelia, a new character in the series and a friend with a quirky talent in witchcraft, find themselves on a case. They have been asked by a local insurance agency to find out why people seem to be after him.
And finally, Sookie gets a little bit of Christmas in "Gift Wrap." She was gearing up for a quiet holiday since everyone she knew was busy with their own family obligations while she was running a little short with having a family of her own. That all changes when she runs across a badly wounded Were in the woods. She brings him home to her home to help clean him up and protect him from another group of Weres out to hurt him, leading to quite a pleasant time.
The stories are fun, and fans of the series will find that they either fill in some background information or further some character development. It would be difficult for readers not familiar with the novels in the series to know what is really going on.
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