The 5 Most Gut-Wrenching Literary Deaths

We've all read (hopefully you read regularly) those books that we love, but that make us cry like little babies when a certain character dies. In some ways the loss of the character makes the book even better (I won't say enjoyable.) and more profound. Here are my top 5 most difficult and poignant literary deaths in no particular order.

SPOILERS!

1. Helen Burns in Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte

Jane meets Helen at the boarding school she is sent to by her evil aunt. Jane's life is rough and the school is deplorable. But there is Helen with bright red hair and a sweet kindness - Jane's first friend. Jane's world is brightened by Helen's presence and friendship, and reading the book, you really feel like finally Jane has someone who cares about her. It's beautiful. When Helen contracts and dies of a fever most likely due to the conditions at the school, we feel the loss as surely as Jane. Bronte makes us fall in love with Helen's friendship as much as Jane. When that is tragically ripped away, the only happiness we have felt in Jane's life is gone. We empathize with Jane, and we too are hardened by the experience. But that didn't stop me from crying my eyes out when I read it. Not Helen!

2. Stormy Llewellyn in Odd Thomas by Dean Koontz

While the movie did a pretty good job of telling the overall story, I felt the love story between Stormy and Odd is so much better understood by reading the book. You really understand their intense and deep connection. True soulmates that doesn't even have to speak to communicate their love. It's what every couple aspires to. Odd and Stormy have this force running through them that can only be called fate. They are two pieces of the same whole. When Odd realizes that Stormy is visiting him as one of the silent dead, this surety is broken and lives are shattered. I remember tears running down my face as I finished the book, and I just knew nothing would be the same. and even though I knew what was coming, I cried again when I watched the movie. That's how profound the pain was. Oh it hurts!

3. Sydney Carton in A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens

"It was the best of times, it was the worst of times..." This opening begins a juxtaposition between England and France at the height of the French Revolution, but it is the similarities between Sydney and Charles Darnay that actually end up being the device to conclude the story. Sydney's love for Darnay's fiancé Lucie is made manifest in his last act on the earth when he switches places with Charles in jail to free Charles but condemn himself to the guillotine. In the climax, the drums are banging a steady rhythm as Sydney is walking to his death. The guillotine falls with the beat as do his footsteps. Boom. Boom. Boom. It is the most selfless act of heroism I have ever read. Sydney gives his life to save the one of his rival all because Lucie loves him, not Sydney. In the very end, he only wants her happiness, at whatever cost. On pain of death. Boom. Boom. Boom. Say what you want about Dickens and his lengthy writing, but at the end of the day, he could tell a story. This death has stayed with me for years and I still find myself hoping that Sydney has found happiness somehow.

4. Sirius Black in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix and Albus Dumbledore in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince by J.K. Rowling

I have to admit, I was angry at Rowling for these. First Harry loses the only "family" that has ever cared about him in Sirius. Sirius is also Harry's tie to his parents. Harry is able to be connected to them through Sirius's stories. When Sirius is killed by Bellatrix, we lose that connection so it feels like we are tripling the loss. By losing his godfather, Harry also loses his parents all over again. Crushing.

When Dumbledore sacrifices himself by having Snape murder him, he is giving Draco Malfoy a shot at a real life, but in essence removing one of the only adult figures that always believed in Harry and was always trying to help him. Harry is left broken and vengeful with his rage directed at Snape. The reader is also left in confusion, and definitely upset. Why Dumbledore, why?! Harry is all on his own trying to find the horcruxes with nowhere to start and a head clouded by grief. While this loss does propel the story of Harry, Ron, and Hermione's friendship forward and serve as the purpose of them teaming up, it still hurts so dang much.

5. You decide! What's been the hardest death of a character you've ever read? Let me know in the comments!

Honorable Mention: Bing Bong from Pixar's "Inside Out"

It is only an honorable mention because Bing Bong isn't a literary character. But I WEPT in the movie theatre when Bing Bong sacrificed himself for Joy and Riley. If a movie makes me cry, it's pretty good. If a movie makes me break down in sobs in front of strangers, it's lasting. Take her to the moon, Joy! All. The. Feels.

Imhotep by Jerry Dubs

I got this book as an ebook download from BookBub because it was free and historical fiction - two of my favorite things.
After being transported to ancient Egypt (think thousands of years before the Great Pyramids) through a door created by a simple slip up in hieroglyphs, three American tourists try to find their way in this new time and place, but also find their way back home. They must survive the wild terrain as well as several political plots and attempts on their lives. While you guess pretty early on that the protagonist Tim will become Imhotep, luckily that is not the climax of the story. Tim, of course, decides to stay in Egypt and becomes the most recognized name from that era.
My favorite thing from this book is Dubs's imagery when he describes the way of life in ancient Egypt. How he explains daily life and even the concept of work vs time is so poignant and it really impacted me. You really feel that you've been transported to this other time and place. Dubs does a great job of conveying the feel of the landscape through the characters and their interactions with others. It is haunting and lonely with a touch of the otherworldly.
I recommend this book to anyone. I loved it.

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

I really didn't know what I was getting myself into when I started reading these books. I enjoyed the movies (because who doesn't like dystopian badass women with bows and arrows fighting for their lives against an evil tyrant), but I wasn't prepared for how much I would lose myself in the books. Immediately after finishing The Hunger Games I ran out to get Catching Fire and Mockingjay. I read the series in about 2 weeks (I do have a full time job, and I'm addicted to TV). I absorbed them. You get so much more out of the books than you do the movies, which I find to be true about pretty much all books-turned-movies out there. Plus, having the inside track on a character's thoughts really gives you a lot more to go on when trying to understand their actions.
Collins creates a believable, fractured world system in which the government can choose children from each District to fight to the death as a reminder to not ride up against the powers that be. The people of the Capitol are so removed from the reality of Katniss's District and other poor Districts that the juxtaposition is constantly bringing the reader into unity with Katniss. The character really comes alive because she is thinking what we are all thinking.
Katniss is such a complex character that you can't help but believe her veracity. She is straightforward in her goal - staying alive. She really hasn't thought too much about love or boyfriends because she's constantly trying to feed her family and provide for them back in District 12. When the Hunger Games start, she eventually realizes that she will have to show the world watching that she and Peeta are deep in love if she has any hope of survival. He's likable and, to the viewers, has been trying to help Katniss the whole time. Katniss just sees the boy with the bread, the boy who saw her at her lowest and saved her life, the boy she can never repay. She knows she can't kill him, this boy who gave her family a future, but she has to walk a fine line of survival and love story. For Peeta, it's real. Katniss has been his dream since the day he first saw her. But Katniss has to "fake it til she makes it" and play a role to win her life. By the end, she's not sure where the pretend stops and the real feelings start. In the arena, with Katniss and Peeta as the final two tributes, Katniss makes a decision to test the Capitol's resolve. Will they allow both victors to live and appease the masses or force them to take their own lives and have a Hunger Games with no victor? When Seneca Crane, the designer of this year's Hunger Games finally tells them that they both can live, Katniss thinks she has finally won her freedom. However, by standing up to the Capitol, Katniss has unknowingly become the face of a revolutionary movement. Now she and Peeta are in danger. To convince the Capitol and President Snow that they aren't revolutionists, Katniss and Peeta must continue to play out their love story for the cameras. With the Games over, Peeta realized Katniss was only pretending. He's hurt, but he also wants to live. They decide to only play their parts when cameras are on them. If they aren't being filmed, they don't even talk. It's a difficult life to live, but they have to survive. Katniss is confronted by feelings of guilt for betraying Peeta, but she's unsure if she's really betraying him. She might love him, if she had time to give it any thought. But that thinking creates friction between her and Gale, her best friend who wants to be more than friends. He isn't convinced it's all an act on Katniss's part, and while he knows that she had to do what she had to do in the arena to survive, he can't help but be hurt to learn that she loves Peeta, true or not. Gale has been with Katniss through every hard time in her life, but he couldn't be with her in the Hunger Games. He couldn't be the one to help her or the one she shared feelings with. Suddenly he feels useless to her and jealous of that baker.
It seems every character is fighting to understand what they really feel and why. Peeta is fighting between loving Katniss and holding back from her because he can't be sure how she feels about him. Gale is trying to reconcile that Katniss's feelings were an act and his feeling of loss and jealousy over her actions. Katniss is trying to understand how going from trying not to starve got her attention from two young men that she suddenly has to decide how she feels about. She feels pushed to make a decision that she can't make yet because she isn't sure how long the Peeta-Katniss love story must go on to appease the Capitol. She also has never thought about how she feels about Gale. He's just always been there for her. He was a constant in her life that she didn't know she needed to claim or lose. Over all though, is the shadow of the Capitol and President Snow making this "love triangle" and the confused feelings almost insignificant were it not for those feelings having saved Katniss and Peeta's lives.
Bottom line: it's a story of real people with real feelings and an incredibly real tyrannical government dictating the lives of individuals. How those lines intersect makes for a wonderful, terrible story that grabs you and won't let go until you know how it all ends.

National Readathon Day!

Saturday, January 24th is National Readathon Day sponsored by Goodreads to help the National Book Foundation! Join me and countless others across the country as we read from 12pm to 4pm this Saturday. The National Book Foundation is a nonprofit committed to promoting literacy and reading programs as well as to broadening the reading audience in America. That's definitely something I can get behind. Whether you want to join in reading, start a reading party, or just make a donation, visit the National Readathon Day page to learn more.

This Saturday I'll be reading Tempt the Stars by Karen Chance. This is book 6 in the Cassandra Palmer series. I got hooked on this series in college, and now I gobble each one up (when I get to it on my to-be-read shelf).

I'm excited to have a set time carved out to focus only on reading. It seems like I usually try to cram in a chapter here or there, so to dedicate myself to four whole hours... Well, I can't wait to fully immerse myself in the world of Karen Chance!

I'm trying to raise $200 to support the National Book Foundation, and have already donated to a cause I believe in highly. If you also feel led to give to this organization, please visit my donation page. Every little bit helps!

If you plan on reading, what's the book you won't put down for four hours? Let me know in the comments!

Strip Tease by Carl Hiaasen

My father-in-law recommended this book to me and subsequently lent it to me in the summer. I returned it as his Christmas gift. It goes without saying that I have made it a resolution to read more books in 2015. I mean, 6 whole months to finish one book??? The situation is dire. Since then, however, I have actually read 6 books, so I feel pretty accomplished. I'm starting off the year right. Strip Tease started my reading habit back up, so I just have to review it.
This is the only novel by Carl Hiaasen I have read as of now, but it will not be the last. If Strip Tease is any indication of his writing ability, I'm in for years of reading pleasure.

The story follows Erin Grant, a stripper with a heart of gold who lost her job and decided she could make more money taking her clothes off for men than working for the government (duh). Erin went through a costly divorce to rid herself of a drug-addicted, abusive husband, but since her ex is a criminal informant and Erin is a stripper, Darrell got custody of their daughter Angela. So Erin spends her nights shaking it on stage to get enough money together to pay for her lawyer to fight against the ruling.
One night a man in a fake mustache visits the club, and when a bachelor party gets a little rowdy and snuggly with Erin, the mustachioed man takes a champagne bottle to the bachelor's head. The man gets escorted out by his entourage who paid off the bouncer to let them leave. The bachelor ends up in the hospital.
It turns out the fake-mustache guy is Senator David Dilbeck. Only one other person at the club actually realizes this though, Mr. Peepers, a man who has a crush on Erin and watches her dance almost every night. He tells Erin he has a plan to get her custody ruling over-turned. Obviously, a Senator would have some pull with a civic judge. Mr. Peepers' black mail scheme doesn't exactly play out though, and he ends up sleeping with the fishes. Turns out, Dilbeck has a "handler" that keeps him out of the newspapers using payoffs and, apparently, even murder.
On vacation, homicide detective Al Garcia finds the body of Mr. Peepers and decides to investigate. With the help of Erin, Shad, the bouncer at the club, and the FBI, Detective Garcia ends up closing his case and looking forward to vacations without dead bodies. Erin gets custody of her daughter while her ex definitely ends up getting his. I won't ruin that story for you; it's a good one. Plus there's the fiance of the man in the hospital and her cousin, a lawyer, looking to make a easy million for so with their own ideas for black mail. And the ever-present brains and muscle behind Senator Dilbeck that add to the stories varied characters and growing plot lines. So much happening in such a average sized book. Hiaasen knows how to add color to a story without everything coming out muddied.

What a fun book! The characters are rich and witty while the varying plot lines intersect each other to make a web of beautiful fiction. Everyone is out to get something in this story, and Hiaasen does a great job of explaining their motivations and processes without being boringly specific. There's a semi-crooked lawyer, a scheming fiance, FBI agents, strippers, bouncers, feuding clubs, sugar daddies, playboys, wolves, trailer parks, and pretty much anything else you can imagine that might happen in Florida. When their goals meet in the climax, it's a heck of ride. Plus, you gotta love a story with a happy ending.
What I enjoyed most about this book was the witty and dry humor Hiaasen writes. Sometimes it's situational, what with pasta wrestling at the club getting the health inspector called in, but most of the time one of the characters has the perfect quip at the perfect moment that makes you smile, if not laugh out loud. I recommend this to anyone looking for a fun, stand-alone book to bring up their reading mood (I just finished Gone Girl, so I need a palette cleanser myself.). You'll thank me for it.

Alice's Adventures in Wonderland - Lewis Carroll

I love reading classics. I also love the Disney cartoon Alice in Wonderland. So I thought it was about time that I read this book. I am so glad I did! Side note: if you haven't seen the cartoon, I don't think we can be friends.
Here's the back story: Carroll, whose real name was Charles Lutwidge Dodgson, was a math teacher at Christ Church (which surprisingly isn't a church but a college). One day, Dodgson, a friend named Robinson Duckworth, and three girls Lorina, Alice, and Edith, daughters of the dean of Christ Church, went rowing up the Thames (could they get anymore British?). When they stopped to picnic, Dodgson began a fantastical story in which Alice is transported into a world of pure imagination (maybe she got a golden ticket? ;) ) by following a rabbit down his hole. At Alice's insistence, Dodgson finishes the story, writes it all down with illustrations, and gives it to her for Christmas in 1864. Others read it an convinced Dodgson to publish it, which he did under his pen name, Lewis Carroll. The rest is history.
When you know the historical context of the book, you realize just how forward thinking Carroll was for his day. Just recently, laws had been enacted to keep most children from child labor in factories, but little else had been done in terms of caring for children. At the time, children were told to "be seen but not heard." School for children was pretty dull and matter-of-fact. There was a lot of recitation and mind-numbing lectures. Carroll's novel tells a story of fun, excitement, and of a child just being a child - something quite rare. He twists and parodies many of the classic poems and lessons the children of the day had to memorize to show the silliness that he thought it was. Throughout the book characters that Alice meets act in strange and unconventional ways, ways that she at first thinks are silly and childish. Eventually, she starts to think that maybe being childish is the only way to be, especially in a place like Wonderland. Wonderland, I believe is Carroll's idea of a perfect childhood. Anything you can imagine can happen. It exists solely to not make sense. It's pure fun, and nothing serious. Most children's books of the day were for education or religious purposes. For Carroll to write a fantasy book for children was going against the grain of thought. And while Alice's Adventures in Wonderland is a children's book, as an adult, knowing the context in which it was written, and having a "notes" section in the back to explain the poem Alice is reciting incorrectly, I found it is much more than that. I believe Carroll wrote this book to also speak to the adults of the day for several reasons. One, I believe he wanted them to think back on their own childhoods and remember what it was like to dream and create worlds of fancy in their heads. I think he wanted to sway the adults' thinking of children in general. He wanted children not to be small adults, but their own beings, ones more carefree, more imaginative, and more fun that what the adults of the day had made them. I also think he wanted to draw to light the absurdity of the recitations that children learned. Most of all, I think he wanted to tell the world to just let kids be kids.
This novel was, in a word, delightful. I found myself smiling constantly at the trouble and hilarity Alice found herself. The characters, often based on actual people Carroll knew (the Do-Do  was actually Carroll himself) made the story really come to life with their wit and unconventional wisdom. Definitely pick up a copy of this great work of art and let me know what you thought of it. Happy reading!

Sookie Stackhouse Novels Book 9: "Dead and Gone"

Let's just jump right in, shall we?
When Sookie goes to work at Merlotte's Bar and Grill, owned by her pure-shifter friend, Sam Merlotte, Sam tells her that tonight is the night the shifters make themselves known to the human race. You can feel the excitement. When Sam and few other were-animals get the attention of the bar, do some explaining, then turn from human to animal, a hush falls over the bar. It's a little tense. But Sam, in collie-form, goes over to Sookie and lets her pet him. Some of the other shifters also play nice. Soon, people are laughing and telling Sam to turn back so he can fill their drink orders. Good job, Bon Temps, Louisiana. Good job. Apparently, folks in rural Louisiana can be pretty accepting. all except Sookie's ex-friend, Arlene. Arlene has been hanging with some Fellowship of the Sun "church" members. She calls for the other patrons to "strike dead" the shifters or God will. People shut her up and she and her buddies leave. Then the bar goes back to normal. Bill was there, and Sookie made polite conversation. Jason was also there with a friend named Mel who worked with him on the road crew. Sookie didn't speak to him. Business as usual.
Sam gets a phone call from back home in Texas. His mom revealed her true nature to his step-dad, and the jerk shot her. Luckily it wasn't fatal, but his siblings who aren't two-natured need some explanations, and his mom needs some caring for. So Sam has to leave the bar and Sookie cleans up and shuts it down. She'll be charge while he's gone.
The next day at work, Sookie learns some info about her brother's friend, Mel. Mel used to live in HotShot, the were-panther community that Jason is now pack-mates with since he was bitten and turned into a panther. However, since Jason was bitten, not born, he doesn't really fit in in HotShot. Mel didn't either, that's why he no longer lives there. Sookie didn't get any specifics, but figures if Jason has a new friend, then he must be doing ok.
One of Eric's underlings comes to the bar and tells Sookie that she needs to come to Shreveport when she gets off work. Eric needs to see her. He hands her something wrapped in velvet cloth and says she also needs to bring it. He gives her strict orders to hand it to Eric when she gets there in front of Victor Madden, the King of Nevada and Louisiana's second in command. Bobby, the underling, doesn't know what it is, Sookie is too busy running the bar to find out, and puts it in her purse.
After she gets off, Sookie heads to Fangtasia, the vampire bar Eric owns. Because of the blood-bond, or because she likes him, Sookie gets more and more excited to see him the closer she gets to the bar. When she gets there, she's greeted by Pam who guides her to Eric's office and reminds her to hand him the bundle Bobby gave her. When Sookie asks why, Pam says that she's saving her own skin. Well, that's pretty good motivation. Sookie doesn't waste any time giving Eric the bundle. Victor is watching intently as Eric unwraps the package to reveal a ceremonial and decorative dagger. Victor's face becomes serious, and he and Eric stare at each other for a minute. Sookie wants to ask questions, but gets a big push from Eric to not say a word. Victor says, "Very interesting. Then I'll take the tiger's request off the table. We acknowledge your formal attachment to this one." This one meaning Sookie. Turns out Quinn asked to see her privately, but he can't enter Eric's territory without permission. The handing over of the knife SPOILER ALERT made Sookie Eric's wife! So Eric won't give Quinn permission to enter his part of Louisiana, and now that he and Sookie are married in the vampire sense, Victor says he'll tell Quinn she doesn't want to see him. As much as the blood-bond makes Sookie happy to be near Eric all the time, she hates that he's managing her life. Understandable. Plus, they haven't seen each other in months. Not cool, dude. But Victor can't kill Sookie without facing Eric's and his boss's wrath now that she and Eric are married. So he helped some, right?
The next day Sookie gets a visit from two FBI agents looking into she and Barry the Bellboy and how they were able to help rescue people from the collapsed vampire hotel in Rhodes. They ask about Sophie-Anne, the now-late former Queen of Louisiana (whom Victor's boss had killed when he took over the state), and if Sookie has seen her. Big fat "nope." With the help of her roommates, Amelia and Octavia, Sookie evades the questioning well enough. Then the phone rings with news from Merlotte's. A woman's crucified body has been found in the parking lot.
Crystal, Jason's estranged wife, is strung up on a cross with nails through her were-panther paws. Because her two-naturedness was on display the FBI agents who followed Sookie to the bar believe it to be a hate crime. Sookie calls Sam and gets him to come home. Luckily Jason had an overnight visitor the night before, and isn't a suspect. Calvin Norris shows up at the scene and tries to get a scent of the killer from Crystal's body. There are too many smells on her though, and Calvin's sniffing doesn't give him any information. Jason's friend Mel comes by and takes him home. Sookie gets in her car to wait until the crime scene is cleared away. She begins reading the newspaper and learns that there are mixed reactions to the coming-out of the two-natured community. The government is unsure of their rights as humans (vampires don't have equal rights), churches and religions are conflicted about accepting them, and many people feel betrayed or confused by the revelation. Sookie can start to comprehend how someone could have murdered Crystal, a werepanther, and left her body on a cross outside of a bar owned by a shifter.
That night, with the bar still closed from the police investigation, Sookie heads to Fangtasia. Sookie tells Eric about her day, and to reciprocate, Eric actually reveals some of his past. We learn a bit about his days as a Viking and how he was turned into a vampire by a gay vampire named Appius Livius Ocella. Sookie learns about Eric as a young and not so in-control vamp. Not very pretty. But then he reveals the reason that he was running by Sookie's house the night he got bewitched and lost his memory SPOILER ALERT: the curse had a part in it that he would be close to his heart's desire without ever realizing it. Cute, right? Then they finally talk about the elephant in the room: their "marriage." It turns out that if Eric hadn't laid his claim on Sookie, she would have been shipped off to Nevada to sit in on the new King's meetings day in and day out. She'd be his human pet. So there is an upside, but she still can't find out how to get out of it.
The next morning, Merlotte's is cleared to open, and Sam is back in town. His mom is doing fine. Mending quickly because she's a shifter. His mom and step-dad are getting a divorce though. Understandably. Sookie shares with him her new relationship status with Eric, and he is none too pleased. So much so to make Sook mad enough to leave the bar. She heads to Tara's clothing store and shares her news with her. Tara isn't too happy about it either since she is very weary and untrusting of vampires. However, she listens to Sookie's story and asks questions. It's good girl time for Sookie.
Sookie goes to work that night and Bobby is there again. He gives her an envelope from Eric. She puts it in her purse and sends Bobby on his merry way. The FBI agents also come to the bar. And what do you know, Sookie's fairy great grandfather, Niall comes to the bar too. Sookie is a popular lady. Niall and Sookie talk some about Crystal's murder, and he promises to help. He also tells Sookie that there is trouble for the fairies, but doesn't go into much detail. He says that if Sookie sees any other fairies besides himself, Claudine or Claude, that she should call him immediately. Not comforting.
Most of the people in the bar are thinking about Crystal's death and Jason's innocence or guilt. However, the FBI agents are thinking about Sookie. They think she has a gift that can help the FBI save people and help them and the country. But Sookie knows her telepathy doesn't work that way. She isn't psychic; she can't find the answers by digging through people's heads. She also knows that she would never be free again. Between the FBI or Victor Madden and the new King of Louisiana, she begins to think it's not so bad to be married to a vampire.
When Sookie gets home, Octavia introduces her long lost boyfriend who has come to take her home. Sookie is down a roommate, but it's for the best. The next morning, Amelia heads off to work at the insurance agency, and Sookie is home alone. But not for long. Andy Bellefleur and Agent Latesta are soon at her doorstep to ask about Crystal's murder. Sookie is as helpful as she can be without giving away her secret. After they leave, Sookie goes outside to do one of her favorite (and mine) activities: laying out and tanning. Diantha, the friendly part-demon messenger we met in the previous book, comes up to warn Sookie about the fairy unrest. Sookie is in danger. Niall is on one side of the war and the fairies on the other want to hurt Sookie to get at him. Turns out the bad fae killed her grandfather Fintan. The main fairy leading the opposition is named Breandan, the only other fairy prince. Sookie knows a few things about hurting fairies: iron and lemon juice, but that's still not a lot of information. She goes to meet up with Claude and Claudine at the mall. She asks them to spill about Niall and the fae troubles happening. Breandan is Niall's cousin. After his father Rogan died, no one has been able to rein him in. Breandan disagrees with Niall on his policy regarding humans. Breandan believes fae shouldn't fraternize with humans at all, and that they should shut the portal to Faery. Niall loves humans, obviously. There is another fairy royal on Niall's side: his son Dillon, Claude and Claudine's dad. Breandan has Dermot on his side. Dermot is Niall's son, Sookie's grandfather Fintan's twin brother, and looks shockingly like Jason. He's only half fairy, but hates his human half. And he's one bad dude.
When Sookie goes home, she decides it's just too pretty to stay in. She grabs an old trowel and starts weeding her Gran's flower beds. She hears a voice say, "I'll enjoy killing you for my lord." Sookie comes up with the trowel in the stomach of the would-be attacker who turns out to be fae. He crumples from the iron in the trowel. Dead. Sookie calls Niall, who comes very quickly along with Dillon. The fairy Sookie killed was a friend of Breandan's. Turns out, fairies turn to piles of glittery dust when they die. Sookie ends up just washing the dead fairy away with a water hose. Niall and Dillon tell Sookie that she did a great thing in killing her enemy, and they're both really proud. They also say the stay sharp, because more fairies could be coming. Cue the dramatic music.
When they leave, Sookie is looking forward to getting back to her relaxing day that has now turned into evening. But knowing Sookie, that's not going to happen. Who should drive up but Quinn, the were-tiger. He's pretty pissed at Sookie, and Sookie just isn't in the mood. She may have not been delicate when telling Quinn that she didn't want to see him again, but she was plain. However, Quinn has a lot to say, mostly about how Eric doesn't really love Sookie, and she'll always come in in after his bar, and his immortality. He was being really rude. Then Bill comes over and all hell breaks loose. Quinn vs Bill; were-tiger vs vampire. Whew! Rough. ...and Sookie gets knocked unconscious. Thanks, guys. Good job.
Sookie wakes up in her room with Eric tending her. Bill and Quinn will be ok, just a few cuts and bruises. Bill was sent over there when Quinn was sighted entering Eric's territory. Eric gave Sookie some of his blood to help her heal. After some other things that make her feel even better, she gets to tell Eric about her very interesting day. When Eric invites her to come stay at his place and quit work until the fairy scariness ends, she realizes he expects her to be a kept woman now. Sookie definitely disagrees. Men. She's not 100% sure if she can trust her feelings for him because of the blood exchange, but she knows she isn't his property now - regardless of the knife ceremony.
The next morning, Jason comes over. It's the first time Sookie has really spoken to him since he set her up to walk in on Crystal cheating. They talk about the funeral and how Jason is holding up. His friend Mel has been keeping him busy and helping him feel better, but Jason says he misses Hoyt. Then Jason asks Sookie to "listen in" on people and help find out who murdered Crystal. He thinks if he could end the mystery, he could get back his life. Sookie realizes Jason is a changed person - grimmer, less carefree.
After Jason leaves, Sookie checks her answering machine to find a message from Arlene tell her that she is sorry for everything and to come by her house and talk. Sookie is a bit suspicious. After all, Arlene said some terrible things about her and Sookie isn't sure she wants to mend that friendship. But Sook calls, and Arlene says to come over, just give her some time to clean up the house. Sookie, however, leaves for Arlene's as soon as she hangs up. She just feels like something is up. Sookie pulls up behind Arlene's house on a hidden road-that-isn't-a-road and creeps up behind Arlene's trailer to scope it out. There is a lady leaving with Arlene's kids that says "She's only getting what she deserves." To which Arlene responds, "I'll call you when the kids can come back." Getting creepy now. Then add on that there are long pieces of wood in the back of a pick up parked in front of Arlene's. There are two guys inside with her and Sookie listens in to learn that they have terrible things planned to do to her - like what they did to Crystal. Sookie calls Sheriff Andy Bellefleur who says that he needs some evidence of Sookie's findings, and asks her to go in while he and the FBI agents head her way. They're 7 minutes away. Sookie goes for it. As Arlene is outside about to leave while the men are inside (yeah, she was totally leaving those guys to it), Sookie comes out. She reads Arlene's mind and learns that the men didn't kill Crystal, they were just going to do the same to Sookie to emulate her death. Sookie keeps Arlene in the yard by telling her the horrible truth about what's inside her head. Arlene screams and the men come out with rifles as the cops come out with guns of their own. It was a firefight! (Please read that in the style of Willem Dafoe.) Agent Weiss is shot though not fatally. The bullet that hit her grazed Arlene. Sookie is shaken up but uninjured. One of the bad men is dead and the other injured. While Sookie is recuperating in stunned silence as the police and paramedics round everyone up and start asking questions, she sees in the woods the figure of a man. It's a fairy. He vanishes before Sookie can get to him, and she is called away to talk to the sheriff and lots of other people. What a day. But then Sookie goes to work. Luckily for her, nothing happens, which is a rarity. Though if I had been shot at, I think I would take a personal day.
When left with her thoughts at work, Sookie almost gets overwhelmed about the week's events, but her ability to compartmentalize pulls her through to closing time when she and Sam are cleaning up. His family is going better, those his sister-in-law is distrustful now that she knows what Sam and his mom are. (Throughout the books, Sams relationships seem to echo the general population's views about the "abnormal.") He and Sookie exchange small talk until her hugs her and smells Eric. Sam isn't too happy about that, but what can he do? So he walks Sookie to her car and she goes home.
The next day, Sookie gets a call from Remy Savoy, the father of Sookie's cousin's child, Hunter, who is also clairvoyant. Remy wants some help with Hunter so he can learn to control his "gift" and hide it from other people. As much as Sookie wants to help, being on the look-out for murderous fairies doesn't leave a lot of time for tutoring in supernatural powers. Good thing Sookie has some lemon juice to fight the fae off. It's deadly to them. Later, Amelia is getting ready for a date with the Were Tray and invites Sookie to come along to meet his friend Drake. When Amelia says that "Drake" looks strangely like Jason, flashbulbs of warning go off in Sookie's head. She tells Amelia to steer clear of "Drake," who is obviously Dermot, Niall's son who is on Breandan's side of the fae war. Then she calls Eric. Since the new king owes her, Sookie is thinking he could give her some protection. Eric offers to talk to Victor about it.
Jason's friend Mel came into Merlotte's when Sookie was working and she was listening in on people's thoughts. She found herself wondering why the werepanthers of HotShot kicked him out. Sookie also got a couple of text messages that brightened her night though. One was from Eric saying that protection was coming, and the other was from Alcide who said that Tray told him Sookie was in some trouble and that his pack owed her. Sookie rolls deep, y'all. With vampire and Were protection, plus the lemon juice she was keeping at her hip in a plastic squirt gun, the girl was doing alright.
Turns out Sookie vamp protection is good ol' Bubba from Memphis, and the Were protecting her is Tray. Bubba has the night shift and Tray has the days. Early the next morning, Sookie wakes up early to hear Tray getting sick the bathroom. Weres just don't get sick. Turns out he was poisoned by a woman he met out in the woods saying she was Bill's new girlfriend. He couldn't resist what she offered him to drink, which seemed like wine, but turned out to be vampire blood. Because Tray is so sick, Sookie sends him home and calls Jason to come protect her. After she walks Tray to the door, she turns to find Niall who has come to warn her that the fighting has escalated. So Sookie calls Jason when Niall leaves. She definitely needs a bodyguard today. Jason tells Sookie a story of a guy who showed up at his place this morning that looked a lot like himself. Jason also said the man was crazy and started talking to him like Jason knew him. When Mel, who has spent the night after drinking too much, got in between them, the man threw him across the room, called him a killer, then went into a spiel about their great-grandfather. Dermot, as we know the man to be, said all cross-breeds must die, but that Jason was obviously his kindred. He called Jason ignorant and the he didn't know or understand what was going on around him. But Jason is fine, and brings Mel to Sookie's to spend the day protecting her. Sookie fills Jason in on their fae heritage and the war. Jason finds a way to blame their troubles on vampires. If they hadn't come "out of the coffin" things would still be normal. Then he goes on to say that he hates fairies and he'll kill Dermot if he sees him again. Speaking of killing, Jason decides he needs his gun, so he and Mel head back to his house to get it. Sookie leaves shortly after to go pick them up to run errands. On the way, Sookie calls Amelia who is at work. She hasn't heard from Tray and wants to check on him, so she and Sookie make plans to meet at his place after Amelia gets off work. As Sookie drives on, she thinks about Dermot's confrontation with Jason and Mel. How Mel was the only one banged up, and why a reclusive, crazy fairy would keep trying to meet them. Sookie thinks she's onto something, and calls Calvin to meet her at Jason's. When she arrives, she feigns concern for Mel's injuries from being thrown across the room and touches him to be able to look deep into his thoughts. He was Crystal's killer. Calvin Norris and few other HotShot pack members show up to hear Mel confess. Mel is gay and in love with Jason. Crystal came by one day while Jason was out and Mel was there. She started taunting him about how Jason would never love him back and said some pretty trashing things about Mel and herself getting it on. Classy. Anyway, Mel slapped her, and she fell onto some wood he had on the tailgate of his truck. He thought he killed her, but she wasn't dead. This we know because she bled on the cross when she was crucified and lost the baby at that time too. But Mel says he went in the house to have a drink and think about where to move her, and when he came out, she was gone. He thought she just got up and left. He also swears he didn't crucify her. However, pack law and all that. Sookie drives away as the HotShoters start tearing Mel apart. Sookie goes where Sookie always goes when she needs to get things off her mind - work.
With her mind on other things, Sookie almost forgets to meet Amelia after work at Tray's, so she gets there late. However, when she arrives, she doesn't see Amelia's car and there are no lights on inside. Sookie calls her house, Amelia's cell phone, and Tray's house phone - no one answers. Then she calls Bill (because he's closer, right? Right? Uh huh.), and Bill comes up to meet her at Tray's. She sends Bill, who is always the gentleman, to check for dead bodies. While he's inside, Sookie gets a call from Amelia. She's safe at home. She had gone to Tray's but he wasn't there so she went home. Whew! But where is Tray? When Bill comes out of the house, he tells Sookie that there has been a fight; there's lots of blood inside. Sookie is really worried and tells Bill about the woman Tray met when he was trying to bodyguard her. Bill says he doesn't have a girlfriend, so now they really have no clue who could have poisoned Tray with vampire blood. Figuring that maybe someone stole Bubba's blood to give to Tray, Sookie and Bill take off for her house with Bill in the car behind hers. Sookie beats him there and tries to run inside, but she hears mumbling then blacks out.
Sookie wakes tied up in an abandoned house with a male and female fairy. They tell Sookie that will keep her here until Niall gives into Breandan, then Breandan will shut up the portal to Faery. All things considered in her current circumstances, Sookie thinks that's not too bad of an idea. Niall doesn't want to portal closed because he wants to be able to visit his human kindred. Sookie's captors talk about how they eventually found her, and admit to finding Jason first, along with a "gift outside in a truck." Crystal. They crucified her and left her for all to see. Now they can have fun with Sookie. Anything, short of death. It's not looking good for ol' Sook.
For the next hour, Sookie is tortured by her captors. Thankfully, Harris doesn't go into much detail, but judging by how utterly insane and sociopathic these fae are, it is not a good time. While they were cutting Sookie and enjoying her pain, they revealed that SPOILER ALERT they were instrumental in the death of Sookie and Jason's parents. Sookie becomes sure that they aren't going to be able to leave her alive. They can't control themselves that much. Then SPOILER ALERT she sees Bill sneak up behind them. AND. THEY. GET. THEIRS. It's a great telling at this part. Harris does a great job of suspense build up and the satisfaction of the two insane fae meeting their ends. It's rewarding.
Sookie wakes up in a pseudo-hospital. She is hurt very badly. Very very badly. It would be hard just bouncing back after being tortured. Claudine is there knitting at Sookie's bedside, and Dr. Ludwig, the supernatural doctor, tell her she'll be alright. But not anytime soon. Claudine says she's lucky, but Sookie doesn't feel lucky. She knows she'll have scars from this, and not just those on her skin. She came so close to death that it will take a while to feel real happiness for awhile. Her captors are dead, but Bill has silver poisoning. Niall is waging full out war now. Claude is with him. Claudine is guarding Sookie. Eric is on his way. Bill and Tray are in another room recuperating. Tray was badly hurt. They're sure Breandan is trying to find them, especially since his henchmen are dead. Claudine reveals that she's going to have a baby. It's huge news because it doesn't happen easily or often for the fae. When Eric arrives, Claudine leaves to give them some space. He is enraged, and checks over Sookie's wounds. Her face is bruised and cut. He legs look like a shark had taken some chunks out of them; the fairies bit her repeatedly. More of her is badly hurt as well. It's not good. Eric feeds Sookie some of his blood to help her heal, so she'll be able to move. Breandan's forces are on their way, and they can track Sookie by scent now. You can literally feel the suspense building. Stuff is about to go down. Sookie learns that Bill and Tray are in the next room. Neither are well enough to be moved, though Bill is being fed. The fairies had fun with Tray before they found Sookie. He is so terribly hurt that he wouldn't survive being moved out of the hospital. Sookie asks why Eric didn't come to her rescue instead of Bill. He says he has a reason, but can't explain right then. He takes Sookie to Bill's room to see him. Bill is grey and looks like death. Not even death warmed over, just death. The silver has spread to every part of his body. It will take a lot of blood to get it all out.
Suddenly, Eric says Breandan's people are here. The few in the room that can fight get weapons. Sookie has her lemon juice water guns and a set of crutches. Bill stands to fight. Tray is still in his hospital bed. Eric and Clancy, who was feeding Bill, have iron swords. Someone takes an ax to the door. All hell breaks loose. As suddenly as it began, it ends. Breandan killed Tray where he lay, but Bill killed Breandan. Sookie killed a fairy with her lemon juice pistol. Niall comes through the door. He is a shining white knight, except for where he's covered in blood. Niall has won, but at a high cost. Claudine has died. It just adds to the torment Sookie feels.
When the dust settles, Bill is still alive, though Clancy didn't make it. Tray's body is taken to his house and the story is that someone broke into his home and tortured him, though no one really knows why. Amelia is torn up about losing him. Sookie is torn up about a lot of things.
A couple of days after the last battle, Niall comes to Sookie to tell her that he is closing the portals to Faery after all. The fairies will have to chose which side to be on, but those that return to Fae will stay there. Sookie won't see Niall again. Though he made her life complicated, and put her in a lot of danger, it was good to know that she had some family that loved her. Niall tells Sookie that Dermot was the one who pulled her parents into the stream where they drowned; it wasn't just the tortuous duo. When Niall leaves, he kisses Sookie on the forehead and says, "The vampire is not a bad man, and he loves you." He vanishes. But which vampire did he mean?

This is probably my favorite book that I've read of the Sookie Stackhouse novels. There is so much action. While it's regrettable what happens to Sookie, the way Harris tells it and shares Sookie's thoughts and feelings with us is incredibly poetic. I've never been tortured, nor have I met someone who has been, but I can believe that they would think and feel that exact way Harris portrays Sookie. It's so incredibly believable. I think that's how you know you've read a good fantasy novel - no matter what crazy, other worldly, or inconceivable thing happens, you can still believe it. Harris is a great story teller, and a fantastic character creator from start to finish. I have enjoyed every single one of her books, in this series and her others.
This will be my last review of the Sookie Stackhouse novels, though I have continued to read them. I hope I have persuaded you to pick up a few and try them yourself. Happy reading!