Book Review: Dead Until Dark by Charlaine Harris
Author: Charlaine Harris 
Book: Dead Until Dark
Genre: Horror/Murder Mystery/Romance
Julia Rating: 10
Comments: Dead Until Dark
Dead Until Darkis a book about a world that has recently come to accept vampires. Vampires have “come out of the closet” so to speak, since a new kind of synthetic blood has been produced and they no longer need humans as victims. It’s the story of a beautiful young telepath (Sookie Stackhouse) finding comfort in another person who is also not quite human. It’s also the story of Bill the vampire trying to reconnect with his human roots – lost over a hundred years ago.
But, while all this lovey-dovey romance is occurring, murders have hit the small town of Bon Temps where Sookie and Bill live. The victims all have old vampire marks on them and all have been brutally killed. Sookie’s brother, Jason, is a bit of a player and he has had sex with all of the victims, so is the prime suspect. Sookie needs to find the real killer before Jason goes to jail – and she has to investigate Bill in her search. But, as Bill points out, the girls would have been drained of their blood – not strangled. Who is the murderer? You just have to read an find out.
One thing I liked about the book is that while it explores some vampire sexuality, it’s not overdone to a deeply dramatic point. Some books are almost pornographic and into how much pain and sex are intertwined when it comes to vampires. Not so with this one.
Also, I started watching True Bloodthe TV show based on this book and I liked it. It mostly stays true to the books, which is always a relief.
10/17/08: PS: If you are into vampires, check out the vampire blog I helped set up. A friend of mine writes for it.