A Touch of Dead (Sookie Stackhouse: The Complete Stories)

In A Touch of Dead you get five Sookie Stackhouse short stories that Ms. Harris has written over the years and have finally been published together for the first time.

"Fairy Dust" takes place after Dead To The World.
There we meet Claudine and Claude who have asked Sookie for "special" help in order to solve a murder mystery.

"Dracula Night" takes place before Dead As A Doornail.
Eric is throwing a big bash at Fangtasia to celebrate the birthday of the one-and-only, you guessed it Dracula. And Sookie's got an invitation to the fun.

"One Word Answer" takes place after Dead As A Doornail.
Sookie finds out that her long lost cousin is dead and meets some well-known characters for the first time.

"Lucky" takes place after All Together Dead.
Sookie and Amelia are approached by local real estate agent to help him solve a mystery. But this mystery is much more complicated then the girls originally anticipated.

Gift Wrap" takes place before Dead And Gone.
Sookie is spending this Christmas on her own. But when when she finds a naked man on her property and an unexpected guest pays a visit, it just might be a Christmas that is unforgettable.

As a fan of Ms. Harris' Sookie Stackhouse novels - this book is a needed addition to your collection. I don't know if you're like me, but there was a time or two where I would start one of the books and feel like.. huh? did I miss something? Now we know why. These short stories fill in some of those gaps no matter how small they were. THIS is what you were missing. I personally never went out to buy any of the books Ms. Harris and Sookie were featured in. With A Touch of Dead, you have them all in one volume and can read them as you are reading all the books or, like me, who is all caught up in the series, can read them all together.

This was a fun, quick read... with a special dose of the Sookie Stackhouse universe we have all come to love. This is a must-read for any fan of the series.

I did enjoy this collection of short stories, but if you purchase, I would wait for the paperback version; it's a little pricey even for a discounted hardback, but I think it's a worthy addition to any Sookie collection partly because it is rich in the humor that this series is famous for and partly for insights into characters we've grown to know and love (or hate.)

When you read this book, it's best to view it in context with the rest of the series and from the time when they were originally published. The first story, Fairy Dust, takes place shortly after book 4, Dead To The World. In DTTW, we meet the fairy Claudine for the first time. At that point, fairies seem benevolent; after all, Claudine shows up as Sookie's fairy godmother saving her from falling asleep at the wheel of her car.

In "Fairy Dust", Claudette the triplet of Claude and Claudine has been murdered, and Claudine enlists Sookie's telepathic aid to find out what happened. We meet Claude, Claudine's brother, for the first time. We learn how Claude acquired Hooligans, and we learn that fairies aren't as nice as they seem. When the culprit is finally revealed and complains about "fairness," Claudine says, "Fair is only part of fairy as letters of the alphabet. If you can dodge us for a year, you can live." Then there are a few chilling tell-tale comments afterwards.

My problem with "Fairy Dust" is that lemon juice appears to be fatal only to those fairies especially susceptible to it - not lethal to all as indicated in Dead and Gone.

"Dracula Night" (one of my favorites) takes place after book 4 and prior to book 5, Dead as a Doornail. This is a favorite since it contains my favorite characters besides Sookie - Pam and Eric.

Dracula is celebrated by the vampires and Eric has a serious case of hero worship. Each year the vampires hold parties and tradition says that Dracula graces one worthy's party. This year Eric is convinced it will be his party. I liked the comparison of Eric to Linus. As Pam asks Sookie, "Have you ever seen It's the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown?...Eric is like that on Dracula Night. He thinks every year that this time Dracula will pick his party to attend. Eric fusses and plans; he frets and stews...Now that the night is actually here, he's worked himself into a state."

This story is one of my favorites since it is so full of the humor that made the early books delightful to read. It's full of little comments from Sookie when it was a pleasure to be inside her head. She asks Eric to see the special blood that he ordered for Dracula. After viewing it, she tells Eric, "'Very nice, I said, underwhelmed.'" When Dracula does appear and wants to drink from Sookie as Eric kneels at his feet, Sookie thinks, "...I felt a stirring of fear. What would Charlie Brown have done if the Great Pumpkin wanted to eat the little red-haired girl?" (Although the allusion probably should have been Linus and Sally but still funny.)

I know by the reviews that some people felt Eric is out of character in this one. I didn't. I think it was just another side to his personality. How many sensible people do you know in real life who wouldn't go a little crazy if their favorite celebrity was going to attend their party? This story also illustrates Pam's character richly.

"One Word Answer" takes place after the fifth book. This is the one short story that really impacts the plot of the other books as it deals with Hadley's death and the reason Sookie has to go to New Orleans in book 6. I remember going from book 5 to book 6 wondering if I missed something and then later learned about the short story. It was an effort to track down the anthology it appeared in at my local library, but it did fill in the gaps.

This is one of the stronger short stories. There is more insight into the characters particularly Bill and Sookie although we get glimpses of characters that appear in book 6 - particularly one of my personal favorites, which I can't give away or it would spoil this story if you haven't read it.

"Lucky" is a fun story. It's an adventure with Amelia and Sookie trying to figure out if someone is breaking into Greg, the insurance man's, files. It still has touches of humor. After Amelia "freezes" a potential culprit who has grabbed Sookie, Sookie thinks, "The problem was, he froze with me clasped with my back to his chest in an unbreakable hold...his left hand was still hard over my mouth, his right hand around my waist. So far, the investigative team of Sookie Stackhouse, telepath, and Amelia Broadway, witch, was not doing a top-flight job."

"Gift Wrap" is the last story in the collection and takes place before Dead and Gone. I was a little apprehensive to read this one since I had heard about it and many people have strong opinions about Sookie having a sexual fling. I wouldn't believe it either, but the story made sense to me.

In this one, Sookie is feeling down and a bit sorry for herself since she's alone at Christmas. We get insight into Sookie's stubborn, independent nature when she explain why she's alone,"I had other friends...that if I'd made puppy-dog eyes when they were talking about their holiday plans, they would have included me on their guest list...In a fit of perversity, I hadn't wanted to be pitied for being alone. I guess I wanted to manage that all by myself."

Sookie finds a naked, wounded werewolf in her woods and brings him home. Preston is odd since he appears to be healing too rapidly, and he can change effortlessly. However Sookie resists her physical urges for him.

This story is pretty funny also. Sookie notes how fast he can change into a were.

"You must be some kind of super werewolf," I (Sookie)said.

"My family is gifted," he said proudly. He stood, and his towel slipped off.

"No kidding," I said in a strangled voice.

Then when the werewolves that injured Preston are at her door, Sookie tries to find out why they are after him.

Preston: "I was payment for an offense."

Sookie: "Explain in twenty words or less." He stared down at the floor, and I realized he was counting in his head.

Eventually Sookie and Preston have sex. In the end we find out that GGP Niall has arranged the entire thing. I didn't find it unusual since Niall is a fairy and does not have Christian values. Considering Niall was very gung ho on giving Sookie something in FDTW, it's not so surprising either. Plus I've never liked Niall and have mistrusted his motives for being in Sookie's life. Preston isn't what he claimed to be, and we learn that he influenced Sookie magically to accept the gift, which explains an apparent out of character decision.

The intersting thing about this story is how much it parallels book 4 - Dead To The World. As we find out, GGP Niall gave Preston the formula to win Sookie. "She loves to help people, so I was 'hurt'; she loves to protect people, so I was 'hunted.'" So Niall gives him the scenario that would recall memories of Eric back to her. Once inside her house, Sookie covers him like she did Eric; she tends his wounds like she washed Eric's feet; she even hides him in the vampire "hidey-hole", which mirrors hiding Eric from the bad witches. Everything designed to mirror her most significant love affair? I don't think it was accidental.

I saw some of the reviews that say that these are light stories or not in depth or don't impact the plot, etc. Short stories in anthologies should NOT impact the main books. I'd really be upset if they did. I wouldn't want to go out and buy anthologies for only one short story that contains an important plot point in twenty pages. I think I'd be really mad at an author who does that.

Instead short stories should be like getting a triple fudge brownie for desert. You don't really need it, and you won't miss it if you don't have it, but if you do decide to indulge, then Yum! Consider this book a triple fudge brownie with a scoop of ice cream on top!

First, let me say that I adore True Blood. It's one of my all-time favorite shows. However, I'd never read any Charlene Harris before that. Too bad for me! Wow--I really, really got into this book. I think it was the perfect introduction to this talented author. Firstly, her main character, Sookie, is just so great. She's complex and interesting and really touches the reader with her vunerabilities--which, of course, is the recipe for a great character. Bill is good too, though sometimes, he can be a little overbearing. But the show is about Sookie and so is the books. All I can say is that if you are looking for a good book to read that will introduce you into this great, new, vampire world, I don't think you can go wrong with this one. Just my opinion. I also would recommend Dead Sexy Vampire Erotica: Two Dark and Thirsty Stories.

These mysteries are interesting, and occassionally helped to fill holes that the series novels skip over. The stories lack complexity - the plots are not very developed due the length of each story.

Having read all of Charlaine's Sookie Stackhouse Series novels, I couldn't wait to get my hands on the short stories that revolve around the same characters. I was disappointed. I knew they were short stories, but hadn't realized how different they would be. For me, this wasn't a valuable addition to my collection or to the Sookie Stackhouse series.

Bottom line: These are fun, easy, quick reads - but don't expect what you're used to in the series.

As Charlaine Harris says in her dedication, this book is for all her readers who want "every last sip of Sookie" they can get their hands on. It contains several short stories - all canon - about our favorite telepathic waitress from Bon Temps, LA.
* "Fairy Dust" is where she first meets Claude, and she assists Claude and Claudine to discover just how their triplet sibling Claudette was murdered.
* "Dracula Night" finds Sookie invited to Fangtasia to celebrate the birthday of the Prince of the Vampires, where she discovers Eric has a bad case of hero worship. This one is really funny.
* "One Word Answer" gives us the story of when Sookie was informed of her cousin Hadley's death, and Sookie's introduction to the Queen of Louisiana, as well as Mr. Cataliades.
* In "Lucky," Sookie and her witchy roommate Amelia team up to try to discover who has been breaking in to Greg Aubert's office (the most successful insurance agent in Bon Temps).
* Finally, alone on Christmas Eve, Sookie has the blues in "Gift Wrap" until she discovers a naked, injured Were in the forest behind her house. A very attractive, quickly healing, naked Were. Did I mention he was naked? Things are looking up for Sookie!

This was a great deal of fun to read - it was a fast read; I think it took me about 2 1/2 hours to get through it. I couldn't help myself - I just devoured it like it was a big ol' bon bon. If you're a fan of Sookie, you'll love this collection of short stories, to get you by until the next book comes out (Dead in the Family: A Sookie Stackhouse Novel (Sookie Stackhouse/True Blood), May 4, 2010 in hardcover).