In this novel, a ton of changes take place in Sookie's life, yet not a lot happens. It's an interesting combination. Here's how it goes:
Sookie hasn't heard from Quinn since the Pyramid explosion. She figures he thinks she's too much trouble and just breaks up without actually breaking up. Kinda lame.
Sophie-Anne is badly wounded and in hiding trying to recover from the explosion. Louisiana is pretty weak from a vampire standpoint.
Jason and Crystal get married. Yay. What a couple. In the Hotshot community, when a couple gets married, they have a person speak for both of them to say that if the bride or groom anything wrong or against the marriage and can't or won't take the punishment, the backer will. Sookie is Jason's second. Calvin Norris is Crystal's. Sookie knows this is a bad idea; that something bad is going to come of this. She's so right. But more on that later.
Eric takes Sookie to meet someone at a restaurant. It's a tall, smooth, and beautiful creature with long white hair: a fairy prince. He also happens to be Sookie's great-grandfather, Niall. Turns out that Sookie's Gran had an affair with Niall's son and had Sookie's father as a result. That's how Sookie is part fairy. This also makes Sookie is cousins with Claudine and Claude. Niall wants to start a relationship with Sookie and be as much of a real grandfather to her as a fairy prince that lives in another realm can. Mostly he just wants to Sookie to tell him anything she needs and he'll help her out. Sookie is pretty excited to have some family.
On the ride back, Eric and Sookie are attacked by a werewolf disguised highway patrol. He tries to kill them, shoots Eric, but not fatally, and Eric drains him dry.
Sookie learns that a female werewolf has been murdered in her home. It's Alcide's new girlfriend. That makes two women connected to Alcide whose lives have been threatened. Sookie knows things have been tense in the Shreveport pack since Alcide lost his father in the competition for pack master against Patrick Furnan. Since Sookie revealed Furnan trying to cheat, she starts to think it's payback for people on Alcide's side of the dispute. When Sookie gets Amelia and her witch mentor to do another reconstruction for the female werewolf's death, they discover that it was the Were who helped Furnan cheat that murdered the female Were. Alcide is enraged and wants revenge. He's pretty gruff with Sookie, and her patience has about run out with him. Sookie meets with Furnan and is convinced he's not behind the murder. His own wife was murdered too. He's willing to meet with Alcide to figure out who's doing this.
Sookie goes to the meeting to be the designated mind-reader and tell if anyone is lying. Sam goes with Sookie to keep her safe. Plus, with the Weres getting more and more open (or at least having huge fights in public that people can't explain everything about), he knows that soon the Shifters are going to go public too. At the meeting, another group of Weres, displaced from hurricane Katrina, come upon the scene and announce that it was them behind it all, and that they had convinced Furnan's number two to join them. He is killed fairly quickly after that. Sam TURNS INTO A LION and rips people's faces off. It's pretty impressive. There is definitely something to be said for pure shifters. The battle is bloody, but very sudden. And just as suddenly, it's over. Furnan is dead. Sookie and Sam are ok. Alcide is great. So great that he declares himself the pack master of Shreveport and no one disputes it. His eyes look pretty scary, and Sookie and Sam skidaddle before they witness him "making his mark" on a fertile young female of the pack. Werewolves.
Sookie thinks things will calm down. Ha. Who is she kidding?! Amelia's mentor turns Bob back into a human. Amelia had accidently turned him into a cat in New Orleans. That's why she left town and moved in with Sookie. Well, Bob isn't too happy about being kept a cat for so long. But he doesn't cause much of a ruckus and leaves. However, Amelia's mentor stays. Sookie has two roommates now. Both powerful witches. Hey, it could be worse.
Then one night Eric and Bill show up at Sookie's. The King of Nevada is taking over Louisiana. In a hostile way. He murders Sophie-Anne while she was lying helpless recovering from the explosion. He kills every other sheriff, but Eric. Good thing he's at Sookie's though, because Quinn leads them right to her door. He was once again fighting in the pits for his mom. The vampires told him to lead them to Sookie or his family was dead. So at least he wasn't ignoring Sookie, right? Anyway, the Nevada vamps give Sookie's group an ultimatum. Join them, bend the knee so to speak, or die. Yeah, that's a tough choice... So Louisiana has a new vampire King. And of course he has learned what Sookie can do and wants her under his control. There's not much Sookie can do about that at the moment, but she doesn't like the idea of not having her terms met anymore. Her deal with Eric was that if she helped him find things out, he couldn't just kill people that wronged him. He had to turn them over to the justice system. Not looking like she'll get those conditions from Nevada.
Sookie also decides to break up for good with Quinn. Even she can't explain her reasons that well to herself, but she knows that she doesn't want to come in second place to the guy she's with. Quinn will always put his mother and sister first. Sookie knows she kind of sounds like a...mean female dog...about all this. But give the girl props; she knows what she wants. Maybe we'll see Quinn again in later books, but he doesn't have a role at all in the HBO series, so I doubt it.
In other relationship news, Jason tricks Sookie into going to his house to catch his wife in the act of cheating on him. Since Crystal is pregnant (oh yeah, pregnant and cheating on her husband, what a classy gal), Calvin has to take her punishment. Jason has the option to inflict the punishment or let his second do it for him. Guess what he picks. Sookie tells Jason that she never wants to see him again and, with tears in her eyes, smashes Calvin's hand with a brick.
New Were pack master who is kind of Sookie's friend. New vampire King who thinks Sookie is property. Sam is getting antsy about Shifters going public. Sookie lives with two witches. She isn't on speaking terms with her jerk of a brother, but she has a new and amazingly powerful great-grandfather. There is a lot of new in Sookie's life, and I honestly don't know where the next book will take us. But it's sure to be a fun ride!
Before that though, I'll tell you about my encounter with the American Tolkein. That's right, A Song of Ice and Fire author, George R.R. Martin! Get ready for the next installment of Writin' Nerdy!
