Dead Until Dark Book One

Dead Until Dark Plot summary

In Dead Until Dark, Sookie Stackhouse is a telepath who lives in a world where vampires have recently come out to the public and become legal citizens, following the development by the Japanese of a synthetic blood. "Tru Blood" makes it possible for vampires to live in the open without the need to hunt humans for sustenance. Sookie is a waitress and she lives with her grandmother, Adele Stackhouse, and has an older brother, Jason.

Sookie falls in love with a vampire, a Civil War veteran named Bill Compton. Bill's mind is 'silent' to Sookie. In his company, she is free from the constant strain of blocking or ignoring the thoughts of the humans around her. In his first visit, Sookie saves him from the Rattrays (vampire drainers), and Bill returns the favor the next night when the Rattrays attack Sookie.

Sookie asks Bill to come and meet her Grandmother who is a member of the Descendants of the Glorious Dead. He agrees and after some chat where Bill tells her a little about the Stackhouses and the Comptons, Bill and Sookie goes to take a walk. He tells her that he is trying to settle in his old home place and needs an electrician. Sookie offers to fix him up with a list of contractors who will do business with him. This is also the night Sookie kisses Bill for the first time.

The next night, Sookie goes to Bill’s house and meets three evil Vampires named Malcolm, Diane and Liam. Bill immediately invokes the “mine” rule. Malcolm’s boyfriend is offered to Bill for a blood meal and when Sookie hears his thoughts that he is infected with Sino-AIDS, she warns Bill. The boyfriend attacks Sookie and Bill comes to her aid. The three leave Bill and Sookie alone, taking the boyfriend with them. Bill explains the mine rule prevents other Vampires form feeding on her. Sookie is so disgusted she leaves too with out kissing Bill goodnight.

In the meantime, there are several murders in Bon Temps, and people believe that vampires are behind the murders because many of the bodies are of women who have been known to hang out with vampires, and most have been bitten. The Bon Temps police suspect Sookie's brother Jason and arrest him because he has been romantically linked to two of the victims. Sookie wants to help her brother and asks Bill to take her to a vampire bar called Fangtasia in nearby Shreveport.

Fangtasia is owned by Eric Northman, a vampire sheriff who is much older and more powerful than Bill. Sookie shows Eric pictures of Dawn and Maudette and Eric admits to having “tasted” Dawn but was indifferent to Maudette. When Sookie read the mind of an undercover cop and warns Eric of an impending raid she reveals that she is a telepath.

Bill goes to speak to Adele’s group. Sookie attends with Sam Merlotte who has always nursed a crush on her. He kisses her, which is exciting and confusing to Sookie because she likes Bill too. But she and Sam have a little disagreement and she goes home. Sookie finds her grandmother Adele slaughtered in the kitchen.

After the death of her grandmother, and the way Jason acted because her grandmother left Sookie the house and the land, Sookie is alone and sad in the house. She has decided to move into her gran’s bed room. When Bill comes to call, she has just had a bath and he offers to comb out her hair and dry it for her. Sookie begins to feel her desire build and Bill carries her into her bedroom. As they begin to make love, he finds she is a virgin. He makes love with her and feeds from her for the first time.

A couple of days later, Sookie tells Bill about her Uncle Bartlett who molested her. The next day, Jason tells her Bartlett is dead, killed by robbers. Sookie puts two and two together and realizes Bill had her uncle killed and she disapproves of this, regardless of what he did to her. She sort of asks to Bill to leave her alone for a while and he does.

Sookie overhears plans to burn out the Monroe nest (Diane, Liam and Malcolm) and she warns Bill that something bad is about to happen but she does not warn him really strongly. The next morning, she is wakened by the news that the house was burned down and she goes there to discover there were four Vampires in the house. She won’t know if it is Bill til dark. Sam goes home with her and helps her clean her house while they wait for the night to fall. She goes out and calls Bill out of his grave and she tells him what happened and in anger and fear and relief they make violent love in the cemetery.

Eric soon discovers that Sookie can be useful and orders Bill to have her use her telepathic ability to determine the identity of the person who has been stealing from his bar. Bill urges Sookie to drink some blood from him so she will be stronger in more control of her powers when she goes to Fangtasia.

Sookie finds out that Eric's partner, Longshadow (a vampire), has been stealing money, and she almost gets killed in the process. Eric saves Sookie's life by staking Long Shadow when he attacks her.

Bill, concerned with Eric's power over him and Sookie, decides to improve his own position within their vampire hierarchy. He asks Bubba, a dim-witted vampire, to protect Sookie while he is gone. Bubba turns out to Elvis Presley who was made a Vampire the night he oded and the change did not suit him. He prefers animal blood to human blood, but will drink the synthetic blood.

Sookie discovers that her boss Sam is a shape-shifter when she lets a stray dog sleep beside her and finds a naked Sam in the morning. He also breaks the news to her that Bill really hasn't got a virus, that he is really and truly dead and she is upset by that but she explains that she really wants to try to work things out with him.

While Bill is gone, Sookie discovers that the murderer is her brother's friend Rene Lenier. He almost kills her, but she fights back. Badly injured, Sookie wakes up in the hospital and finds Bill by her side. Bill tells Sookie that he has become his area's investigator, working under Eric.

Television adaption

Dead Until Dark has been adapted by HBO into a television series called True Blood. True Blood's first season basically tells the story of Dead Until Dark. Notable differences between the book and the series include:
• Changing the point of view of events to those of various characters, not just Sookie
• The inclusion of Tara Thornton, who did not appear until the second book, and whose character is much changed from that in the book.
• Terry is an Iraq war vet.
• Sookie kills Rene in the series but not the book
• Bill and Sookie make love at Bill’s house
• Sam helps Sookie investigate the murders
• Tara does not like Bill at all
• Tara and Jason meet Bill at his gran’s house
• In the series, Bill tries to rescue Sookie from Rene in full daylight, becoming badly burnt in the process. No such attempted rescue occurs in the book.[1]
• In the TV series, Bill kills Longshadow, while Eric kills him in the book. This means Bill is the one to face the penalty for the killing, which in the series means he is forced to create a new vampire, Jessica.
• Bill asks Sam to protect Sookie while he is gone.
• Bill actually kills Sookie’s uncle
• Sam reveals he is adopted and was abandoned the first time he shifted.
• Bill does not give Sookie blood before she goes to Fangtasia.
• Tara has an affair with Sam.
• There is no Miss Jeanette character in the books.
• Lettie Mae and Tara have an exorcism performed
• We see how Bill was made Vampire
• Eric threatens the red necks who burned down the Monroe Nest.
• There is no Nan Flanagan character in the books
• The vampire Bubba makes no appearance in the tv series
• Jason Stackhouse in the TV series is an active consumer of vampire blood, and becomes a drainer
• Jason kidnaps and drains and kills the Vampire Eddie Fornier.
• Mary Anne the Maenad is introduced and Sam apparently knows her.
• Sookie rescinds her invitation to Bill.
• Bill and Sam fist fights.
• Nan Flanagan and the Magister are created characters.

Sources: Wikipedia, The Sookie Stackhouse Novels and Raki[img][/img]

Okay Guys and Dolls, I would love to start reading some of your impressions of this book...keep in mind, we are just discussing the books here, so don't let elements of the show distract you (that is so very hard to do) and write a little something about the characters or the plots or whatever you see in the books....

Sam Merlotte is the other man in Sookie’s life in Dead Until Dark. We don’t know very much about Sam in the first book except he is a respectable business man who liked the looks of the bar and figured out how to turn it around and make it a money making venture. One of the things we learn about him is that he seems to like the idea of having a home and he creates what he thinks of as the average home in the trailer behind his bar.

Sookie likes Sam and takes care not to read his mind, and I think at first, I was a little bewildered at his acceptance of Sookie’s powers. That she is telepathic does not seem to concern him. He simply accepts her as she is. Whether this is a carefully contrived part of the story so that when Sam comes out of the dog house so to speak we are shocked, or this was just the opening development of a really interesting character I have no clue but the gambit really works.

The complication between Sookie and Sam come along when Bill Compton makes the scene. Sam of course knows his patron is Vampire and he does not like him. One of the interesting things about the whole story set up is that it seems that all the members of the supernatural community has obviously known about each other for some time…something really unavoidable since they sense one another’s uniqueness. They have built up a pretty healthy disrespect or animosity toward one another and stay out of one another’s way.

One of the things I notice though is Sookie becomes a rallying point for Bill and Sam. When Sookie gets yelled at by Arlene for her impulsive embrace after she “hears” that Arlene thinks she is pregnant, Sam takes Sookie into his office and chats with her. He asks her questions about being telepathic, about how she blocks the thoughts of others and what the effort might be like for her. Then he reveals that Bill has said that she can’t read Vampire minds. This is an interesting dynamic for Sam and Bill. That they have discussed Sookie privately suggests a certain level of truce between the two characters for the sake of Sookie. I think Sam realizes Bill and he are on the same page as far as Sookie is concerned: They care about her and want to take care of her and protect her.

So we have a really interesting parallel between Sam’s character and Bill’s character. They are both gentlemen, they both have a supernatural uniqueness, and they both want a family and they want it with Sookie. And they both make the same mistakes with her. Sookie walks a tightrope of independence and southern belle helplessness. She wants to be allowed to make her own decisions and demonstrate her fearlessness and her independence but she also wants to have someone rescue her when things are just a little too hairy. Sam and Bill simply can’t help but be the hero.

Of course the differences couldn’t be more blaring. The fact Bill is a Vampire and Sam is a shape shifter aside, Sam is a creature of obvious emotion and Bill is more closed off, Sam does not kill anyone and Bill is a killer and kills as many people as the Bon Temps Strangler, and Sam is a member of the community and Bill is the outsider makes for interesting contrast.

When Sookie discovers Sam is two natured, she also makes a discovery about Bill. Sookie up to now has been willing to swallow the Vampire explanation for their condition as a “virus” but Sam puts out the truth to her: the old wives tale is true…Bill is undead…comes as a blow to Sookie. I sometimes get the impression Sookie just believed what she was willing to believe about Bill up to then. The revelation that Sam turns into a collie named Dean and Bill is truly dead is just too much for our heroine.

But what makes Sookie chose Bill over Sam? Is it because Bill simply beat Sam to the punch? Is it because she never knew Sam was two-natured and she might have a life that had more semblance of normality because his mind was more difficult to read? Had she known about Sam before she met Bill, would she have taken an interest in Sam and explored the possibility of a deeper relationship, or would she have been too afraid of the chance she would go floundering around in his head with ease whether she wanted to or not?

Or was Bill that touch of the exotic, the completely silent head luring her closer to a companion who would complicate her life so much she would be in jeopardy from other supernatural creatures? Sam stays out of any supernatural politics, he stays far away from Vampire politics but he still loves Sookie. In retrospect, with the other books in mind, I think Sam is the one who will get the girl in the end…..

Dead Until Dark

Timeline

SATURDAY, JUNE 12, 2004. Sookie Stackhouse, telepath, is working the
evening shift at Merlotte’s bar when a vampire comes in to order a drink. Although
vampires have been “out of the coffin” for two years, Bill Compton is the first one
to come to her little town of Bon Temps, and she is delighted by the new
experience. Local lowlifes Mack and Denise Rattray soon move to Bill’s table,
where Denise flirts with the vampire. Worried by their avid interest in Bill, Sookie
“listens” and finds, to her horror, that the Rattrays have been in jail for draining
vampires, a practice that involves forcibly restraining a vampire (a feat unto itself),
draining its blood to sell on the black market, and leaving the vampire to die in the
rising sun. When Bill leaves with the Rattrays, Sookie dithers but finally follows
them to the parking lot, only to find Bill wrapped in silver chains with Denise
crouched over him holding a Vacutainer and with several vials of blood already
beside her. Grabbing a heavy chain from her brother Jason’s truck, Sookie manages
to drive off the Drainers. She unwraps Bill, pulling him out of the way when the
Rattrays attempt to run them down on the way out of the parking lot. Sookie is
stunned to realize that she cannot “hear” Bill. The vampire, who is being less than
gracious after being rescued by a human woman, asks if she wants the blood
already taken by the Drainers, suggesting that she sell it when she assures him she
does not need its medicinal properties. She is insulted but begins to laugh upon
finding out that his name is the very mundane Bill, and she cheerfully leaves him.
She shares the encounter with her grandmother, Adele, when she gets home from
work.

SUNDAY, JUNE 13. Jason arrives at the Stackhouse home, upset after hearing
that Sookie beat up the Rattrays the previous night. Sookie explains what really
happened. Jason then tells Sookie and Adele that Maudette Pickens, a former
classmate of Sookie’s, was found dead in her apartment that morning and that she
had several vampire bites on her thighs, although that wasn’t the cause of her
death. On the subject of vampires, Adele wonders how old Bill is and if he
remembers the Civil War, hoping that he will speak to the Descendants of the
Glorious Dead. Sookie promises to ask him.


When Sookie arrives at Merlotte’s for her shift that afternoon, Sam pulls her
into the storeroom and berates her for taking on the Rattrays in the parking lot. She
is close to tears but finally realizes that Sam was frightened for her. After touching
him, she also perceives that her boss has feelings for her that she did not expect.

MONDAY, JUNE 14. Sookie is relieved that she and Sam are able to return to
their comfortable relationship.

TUESDAY, JUNE 15. Bill returns to Merlotte’s. Sookie is once again aware that
she cannot read his thoughts and feels more relaxed in his silence. While taking his
order, she arranges to meet him in the parking lot after closing so she can ask the
favor for her grandmother. She looks around for him after work, but when he
doesn’t appear, she heads to her car to drive home. The Rattrays attack her, beating
and kicking her. Although she tries to fight back, a kick to her spine does great
damage. As she’s lying on the ground, she hears a dog’s growl from one direction,
a snarl from another, and the screams of the Rattrays. When silence falls, the dog
licks her ear, but she is unable to respond. A bloody Bill appears in front of her,
picking her up to take her back into the woods. Although she is certain that she is
dying, after checking her over Bill assures her that she will live. He offers his blood
to speed the healing process, and as she drinks from his wrist, she begins to feel
better and finally slips into sleep. She wakes in the woods sometime later to find
Bill lying beside her, licking the blood from her head wounds. Feeling much better,
she admits to Bill that she is a telepath and reveals that it causes her to avoid dating
and relationships. She makes her request, and he agrees to meet her grandmother
and to speak to the Descendants of the Glorious Dead. He also asks if he can visit
Sookie at her home.

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 16. Adele gets a phone call about a tornado touching
down in the vicinity of the Rattrays’ trailer, killing them both. While Gran finds the
local gossip interesting, she is more excited about the idea of Bill coming to the
house, and she vows to make sure it’s spotless. Sookie stops by the Rattrays’ place
on her way to work and is stunned by the amount of damage Bill did to the area.
Rene Lenier—Jason’s co-worker, and ex-husband of Sookie’s fellow waitress
Arlene—is in the bar and comes to Sookie’s defense when someone makes an
inappropriate pass at her. Rene tells Sookie that she reminds him of his sister,
Cindy.

THURSDAY, JUNE 17. Adele and Sookie spend the day cleaning in preparation
for Bill’s visit. After inviting him in, they discover that the vampire is actually a
local—just not a recent one. A Confederate soldier, he returned safely from the
Civil War only to fall prey to a vampire. As was customary for vampires at the
time, he then left the area so that he would not be recognized. Now that the
vampires have revealed themselves, he’s finally come back to reclaim his ancestral
home, which lies across the cemetery from Sookie’s house. Adele happily questions
him about the past and about her late husband’s family, and they set a date for him
to speak with the Descendants. Sookie and Bill go for a walk, and he meets her cat,
Tina. Sookie is able to completely relax in Bill’s presence, and he admits that he is
enjoying her company as well. She carefully asks questions about vampires, and
they discover that she cannot be glamoured. She also gets Bill to levitate for her.
They speak a bit about Sookie’s telepathy and how hard it has been on her, about
Bill’s family before his turning, and about his difficulties in getting workers to come
to his house for renovations. Sookie offers to help. She gives in to her impulses and
kisses him good night when he walks her back to her door.

FRIDAY, JUNE 18. Sookie finds various contractors willing to be called at night
by a vampire. Sam calls to tell her that Dawn, one of the Merlotte’s waitresses, did
not show up for work, and Sookie arranges to take part of Dawn’s shift that
evening. While at work, she inadvertently reads Arlene’s mind, and Arlene snaps
at Sookie, bringing her almost to tears. Sam comforts her, reminding her that it’s
not her fault that she can read minds, and she reveals the torment of trying to
function with the thoughts of others in her head. After she confirms that she cannot
read Bill’s mind, Sam invites her to read his sometime, something she has always
tried to avoid doing.

She takes the list of contractors over to Bill’s after work but finds that he has
company. She meets vampires Malcolm, Liam, and Diane, along with their human
companions, Jerry and Janella. Bill fears for Sookie and claims her as his to protect
her from the other vampires. Diane disbelieves Bill’s claim, telling him he
obviously needs real blood and offering him the two fangbangers. Janella is busy
performing sexual acts with Liam, so Jerry willingly steps up. Bill is tempted, but
before he can indulge, Sookie reads the human’s mind and discovers that he has
Sino-AIDS, a virus that weakens and can even kill vampires, and that he wants to
infect as many vampires as possible in revenge for his lover leaving him for a
vampire. Jerry attacks Sookie, choking her, and Bill breaks Jerry’s wrist to free her.
Malcolm slings the unconscious human over his shoulder, and the group leaves.
Sookie is certain that Jerry will be made to suffer before his death. She is appalled at
the behavior of the trio. Bill reassures her that not all vampires are the same.

SATURDAY, JUNE 19. Sookie is dragged out of bed early by a phone call from
Sam. He informs her that Dawn hasn’t shown up for work again and asks if Sookie
will stop by Dawn’s house and check on her because she is not answering her
phone. After Sookie dresses for work, she reluctantly heads to Dawn’s duplex.
There Sookie looks in the bedroom window and sees Dawn’s murdered body. Rene
is across the street at his home and calls the police and Sam. JB du Rone, a friend of
Sookie’s who lives next door, sees her standing outside the duplex and comes out
to help. Police officers Kenya Jones and Kevin Pryor soon arrive, with Sam not far
behind. Sookie is surprised that Sam has keys to the duplex until JB informs her
that her boss owns the building. She also realizes that Sam is able to shut her out of
his mind and picks up that he is not quite human. He apologizes for involving
Sookie in this situation. Detective Andy Bellefleur comes to the scene and, after
questioning Sookie and Sam, allows them to return to Merlotte’s.
Bill is waiting for Sookie in her yard when she gets off work. She informs him
of Dawn’s death, and he casually lets her know that Dawn stopped by his house the
previous night after the vampires and Sookie left. He also tells her that he doesn’t
think he would have bothered to protect Dawn from Malcolm, Diane, and Liam
had she arrived while they were still there. Sookie asks him why he protected her,
and he responds that she is different—although she is not like vampires, she is also
not like regular humans, a statement that sends Sookie into a violent rage. She
strikes out at him, but he effortlessly controls her until her rage subsides. He
continues their discussion as if nothing has happened. He tells her that while he
physically could have killed the murdered women, he would not and did not.
Sookie knows that Bill will be a suspect in the deaths, so she decides to have him
take her to the vampire bar in Shreveport to investigate other possibilities.

MONDAY, JUNE 21. Merlotte’s is full of talk of the killings, and half the
patrons suspect Bill was involved. Jason also falls under suspicion, as he had
relationships with both women.

Sookie dresses carefully for the visit to the vampire bar Fangtasia. She finally
chooses a bright dress that flatters her figure and her tan, but when Bill sees her, he
worries that her attire will draw unwanted attention. Once at Fangtasia, Sookie is
able to briefly question the bartender about Dawn, Maudette, and even Jason,
asking if they’ve been in the bar. She and Bill find a booth, and she watches with
distaste as human fangbangers offer themselves to Bill. He points out that she has
caught the eye of the powerful vampire owner of the bar, Eric Northman, and takes
her over so she can speak to him. When she shows Eric and his vampire associate
Pam the pictures of Dawn and Maudette, Eric acknowledges that he has been with
Dawn, and Pam admits to seeing them both at the bar. Sookie thanks them and
turns to leave, but Bill remains in front of Eric and Pam, holding her beside him.
When Eric asks about Sookie, Bill once again states that Sookie is his.
They return to their booth, and Sookie idly scans the bar, “hearing” that the
place is about to be raided by the police. She and Bill quickly exit, and Bill gives
Eric a sign to leave while Sookie looks at the bartender who answered her questions
and gestures for him to get out as well. Once in the parking lot, Eric questions their
obvious certainty of the impending raid, and Sookie admits that she read
someone’s mind. After they flee the lot, a sexually excited Bill pulls the car over,
and they have a romantic moment, which is interrupted by the police.

TUESDAY, JUNE 22–WEDNESDAY, JUNE 23. The police continue to question
men from Bon Temps and the surrounding areas about Dawn. Detective Bellefleur
visits Merlotte’s several times, sitting in Sookie’s section and trying to get her to
react to his thoughts.

THURSDAY, JUNE 24. While eating lunch at Merlotte’s, Andy thinks an
especially disturbing image at Sookie, so she pours a drink down his shirt and goes
out the back door in tears. Sam is furious at Andy’s actions. When the detective
attempts to apologize, Sam tells Andy to sit in another section if he ever returns.
Sam later asks Sookie to accompany him to Bill’s speech to the Descendants of the
Glorious Dead that evening and then go out for coffee. Sookie agrees, and they
arrange for Sam to pick her up.

Bill’s speech goes well. When he is asked about a member’s great-grandfather,
Bill remembers him as a friend and shares the story of his death. Afterward, Sookie
and Sam go to the Crawdad Diner for coffee, and Sam suggests that he would like
to be more than a friend. Sookie asks why he waited until someone else showed an
interest, and they drive back to Sookie’s house in silence. Sookie enters the house
and immediately senses that something is wrong. She finds her grandmother’s
bloody body in the kitchen. Her screams bring Bill, who comforts her until Andy
Bellefleur arrives. Sookie calls several places to find her brother, including
Merlotte’s. When Sam hears that she is in trouble, he returns to her house. A
distraught Jason arrives, and in his despair and anger, he first verbally assaults
Sookie and then slaps her. Bill is about to attack Jason to keep him from hitting her
again when Sam tackles Jason, taking him to the ground. Andy manages to calm
Bill and tries to defuse the situation.

TUESDAY, JUNE 29. Sookie and Jason maintain a truce during Adele’s funeral,
the largest ever held in the parish.

FRIDAY, JULY 2. While packing up her grandmother’s things, Sookie decides it
would be better to move into Adele’s bedroom than lie across the hall knowing
why it is empty. After that job is done, an exhausted Sookie showers and is
combing out the tangles in her hair when Bill knocks on the door. Sookie allows
him to comb her hair. As they talk and he soothes her with his touch, the mood
between them changes, and Bill begins to make love to her. He is surprised to
discover her virginity. The two begin a passionate affair.

SATURDAY, JULY 3. Jason comes into Merlotte’s for lunch and tells Sookie that
the police have questioned him again about the murders. When her co-workers
learn of her intensifying relationship with Bill, they all warn her away. But Sookie
is happy to see Bill come into the bar. Malcolm and Diane arrive, and their behavior
shocks and angers all the human patrons. The other vampires mock Bill for his
devotion to Sookie as they leave for their home in Monroe. Bill waits outside for
Sookie to make certain his former friends have left. Sookie follows him to his home,
where they enjoy his hot tub together.

SUNDAY, JULY 4. Bill takes Sookie to the movies and out to eat—he abstains.
As they lie in bed later, Bill makes a casual remark about his childhood that causes
Sookie to tell him that her great-uncle sexually molested her as a child.

MONDAY, JULY 5. As she leaves Bill’s house in the morning, she is surprised
to find Jason waiting for her with the news of her great-uncle Bartlett’s death
during a robbery the night before. Jason’s shocked Sookie doesn’t mourn. Sookie
tells her initially disbelieving brother what her uncle did to her and their aunt
Linda, and how Adele protected her after she found out, kicking her brother out of
their lives. It isn’t until Sookie arrives at work that day that she realizes Bill had
him killed. She confronts Bill, who doesn’t deny it. Although they exchange “I love
you”s for the first time, she tells him she can’t see him until she decides whether
their love is worth the misery she might face by caring for him.
Sookie works hard to create a life without her grandmother and Bill. Adele’s
lawyer works to wrap up her estate, and Sookie is surprised to receive twenty
thousand dollars from Uncle Bartlett’s estate. She donates it to a local mental health
center.

THURSDAY, JULY 8. During her separation from Bill, Sookie begins to realize
the amount of resentment that the human bar patrons are feeling for the Monroe
vampires, who have apparently been traveling around the surrounding area and
behaving very badly. She catches thoughts of a plan to burn down their house with
them in it.

TUESDAY, JULY 13. Bill comes into Merlotte’s with visiting vampire Harlen
Ives, who was turned when he was a teenager. When Bill and Harlen announce that
they are going to Monroe to visit Malcolm, Sookie gives Bill a vague warning,
uncertain of what to do and how much to say. The level of anger and frenzy grows
in the bar after they leave, and she calls Bill when she gets home to let him know.

WEDNESDAY, JULY 14. Jason wakes Sookie with the news that the Monroe
vampires’ house has been burned. She rushes to Monroe and sees four damaged
coffins and one body bag with human remains. Unable to ascertain whether Bill
was at the house, she realizes that Sam has arrived and allows him to take her
home. Sam gets her to clean house the whole day to help her pass the time until the
sun sets and she can find out if Bill was home and not in Monroe.
Sookie waits until dark and then heads out to the cemetery between their
houses in the rain, calling Bill’s name. When Bill rises from the earth, she is
overcome and falls to her knees. Sookie tells him of the death of the Monroe
vampires, and he is lost for a moment in his anger and rage. Sookie deliberately
changes his focus to sex, and they make love in the mud. When he comes to
himself, Bill carries her to his home to bathe in his hot tub.

THURSDAY, JULY 15–SATURDAY, JULY 24. Sookie and Bill resume their
relationship. They spend nighttime hours together, watching TV, going to movies,
playing Scrabble, and making love. Sookie works while Bill sleeps; Bill reads, roams
the woods, and does yard work at night while Sookie sleeps. They are uneasy
because of the Monroe fire and the still-unsolved deaths of Maudette, Dawn, and
Sookie’s grandmother.

Jason begins to come into the bar nearly every day to talk to Sookie. He tells his
sister that the police have questioned him two more times and that he has spoken
to a lawyer. Sookie asks why the police keep questioning him, and Jason confesses
that he makes videos of his sexual encounters with women, including the two
deceased, and that the police found copies. Jason asks Sookie to “listen” to see if she
can find out if anyone who comes into the bar is the murderer.
Arlene asks Sookie if she can babysit for her the next night but angers Sookie
when she decides that she cannot leave her children in the company of a vampire.
To release her frustration, Sookie digs a hole in her backyard, telling a watchful Bill
that she will plant a tree. After she calms down and they make love, he informs her
that Eric has ordered him to bring her to Fangtasia. Sookie doesn’t want to go but
realizes that she must obey for both her sake and Bill’s. Bill has her take his blood to
strengthen her for the encounter.

SUNDAY, JULY 25. When Bill and Sookie arrive at Fangtasia, Eric reveals that
someone has embezzled from the bar. He wants Sookie to use her gift to identify
the thief. She promises to willingly help him now and in the future if he promises
to go to the proper authorities rather than taking justice into his own hands. He
agrees, and she interviews the human employees, discovering through one of them
that the embezzler is the bartender, Long Shadow. Before she can inform Eric, Long
Shadow attacks to keep her from speaking and is staked by Eric. As Long Shadow
dies, his blood gushes out all over Sookie. Bloodlust begins to infect the vampires,
so Sookie grabs Bill and flees for home. She has Bill drop her off at her house to
spend the rest of the night alone.

MONDAY, JULY 26. Deciding to stay away from vampires for a while to
remind herself that she is human, Sookie cannot help but notice that having Bill’s
blood again has changed her, enhanced her. Her hair, eyes, and complexion are
brighter; she is stronger and faster. When she gets to work, her fellow employees
notice the difference in her as well. As the lunch crowd rolls in, she does as Jason
asked and listens to the thoughts floating in the bar. She doesn’t pick up anything
about the murders of Dawn and Maudette but does hear a group of men thinking
about their involvement in the Monroe fire. Thinking that she might pick up more
from the night crowd, she heads back to Merlotte’s in her casual clothes and sits at
the bar next to an unusually alone Jason.

Bill enters Merlotte’s with a young woman in tow and informs Sookie that Eric
sent her over as a reward and that Bill needs to send her back. Jason volunteers to
drive her back to Monroe so that Sookie and Bill can talk, and Sookie takes Bill to
the pond on Jason’s property, not wanting to go to either of their houses. She
confesses her fear of Eric and the other vampires who could use her love for him
and her family to control them. Bill ponders their situation and tells her that he may
have a way to get around Eric’s dominion.

Bill goes to his own home to make phone calls, and a nervous Sookie cautiously
scans her yard before hurrying into her house. Suddenly something hits her front
door, and she immediately calls Bill, who rushes over to find Sookie’s cat Tina
dead, strangled, on the front porch. Sookie bursts into tears but finally calms
enough to bury her pet in the hole she previously dug in the backyard. Bill spends
the night with a mourning Sookie.

TUESDAY, JULY 27. Sookie notifies Bud Dearborn about the death of her cat,
and he tells her they may have to dig the pet up to check if the method of
strangulation matches Dawn and Maudette. Arlene once again asks Sookie to
babysit, this time not mentioning Bill, and Rene brings Arlene’s children, Lisa and
Coby, over after work before getting ready for his date with Arlene. The children
meet Bill, accepting him without many questions, although Lisa does suggest that
he bring Sookie flowers occasionally, and the unusual foursome enjoy their
evening. Another vampire arrives just as Arlene and Rene are packing up the kids,
and Sookie is stunned to meet the Man from Memphis. Bill introduces him as
Bubba and tells Sookie that Bubba will be watching over her while he goes to New
Orleans for a few days. He warns her to never call Bubba by his real name,
explaining that something went wrong with the turning and that Bubba is a few
bricks shy of a load. He also likes pets, especially cats, and not in a healthy way. He
is, however, loyal and obedient. Bubba strolls off into the woods as Bill says goodbye
to Sookie.

WEDNESDAY, JULY 28. Arlene and fellow waitress Charlsie Tooten are
impressed that Bill got Sookie a bodyguard while he is out of town, and Arlene
comments on Bubba’s resemblance to a certain musical icon. Sookie assures them
that Bubba isn’t like him at all once you get to know him, an honest truth as Bubba
is no longer of the same mind.

Sam tells them that he needs to hire a new waitress. He asks Sookie to go
through the applications he has on file. She reads Maudette’s application and
reluctantly becomes suspicious as she realizes that her brother isn’t the only man
with a connection to the murdered women. Sam knew them both as well. Sookie
remains uncomfortable with her boss for the rest of the day and finds herself
nervous and restless once she gets home. Terry Bellefleur calls from the bar to let
her know that Jason is there and wants to buy her a drink, so she drives back over
to Merlotte’s, parking in the employee lot and taking a moment to pat a stray dog
on the head. Terry denies having called her. Since the dog is still out back, Sookie
decides to take him home for company for the night. She names him Dean, and he
watches attentively as she gets ready for bed. She initially makes him sleep on the
floor but doesn’t push him back off the bed when he climbs on as she is falling
asleep.

THURSDAY, JULY 29. Awaking the next morning, Sookie is stunned to find a
naked Sam in bed with her. He confesses that he is a shapeshifter and can turn into
any animal he wants. He admits that he wanted to guard her overnight. He
planned on being out of the house before she woke, but he overslept. Sookie
realizes that shapeshifting is definitely supernatural and accepts that vampires are
not suffering from a virus. She understands that Bill is really dead, but she loves
him anyway.

Sam has to return to being a dog when Andy arrives to let her know that
another woman has been murdered. She persuades the exhausted detective to rest
in her old bedroom, and Sam shifts back to human form so that Sookie can sneak
him back to the bar. They are stunned when they arrive to find Jason unconscious
in his truck and covered in blood. Panicked that he is seriously hurt, Sookie has
Sam call an ambulance for her brother. The police, believing that Jason killed the
latest victim and then got drunk, arrest him at the hospital. Sookie leaves a message
for Bill at his New Orleans hotel and then contacts lawyer Sid Matt Lancaster about
representing her brother.

Later that night, Sookie hears Bubba shouting. When she calls out to him, he
tells her that someone was in her yard.

FRIDAY, JULY 30. Jason makes bail. He is too ashamed to even speak to Sookie.
She sits in the bar, doggedly listening into the thoughts of the patrons until Sam
sends her home. She is washing her face when she hears something outside and
goes to the door to yell for Bubba. He doesn’t answer. She calls 911, but her phone
is dead. She decides to run to Bill’s house, figuring his phone will be working. She
looks in the hall closet for an old gun Adele kept there but finds it missing. Sookie
is horrified to realize that the killer has been in her house. She creeps out her back
door and is stunned when she finally gets a peek into the killer’s mind. It is Rene
Lenier, and she reads in his tangled thoughts that his first victim was his own
sister, who was dating a vampire despite her brother’s protests. Rene catches
Sookie and begins to beat her, but he is surprised by her strength when she fights
back. She falls to the ground, and he straddles her, trying to hold her while he feels
around for his rope to strangle her. Sookie’s left hand is free. She is able to get his
work knife off his belt and stab him. When he falls to the ground, she stumbles to
Bill’s house and calls 911 before losing consciousness.

SATURDAY, JULY 31. When Sookie wakes up in the hospital, she finds that
Rene has confessed to everything. She has visitors and flowers from the Merlotte’s
employees, from Sid Matt and his wife, and from Eric. She dozes and awakens to
find Bill at her side. He considers killing Rene, but Sookie tells him to let the law
deal with the killer. Bill promises to take care of her at night when she is released.
She turns down his offer of blood and asks him what he accomplished in New
Orleans. He announces that he is the new investigator for Area Five, Eric’s area.
This puts Bill and, thereby, Sookie under Eric’s protection. As Bill looks forward to
getting back to normal, a collie looks into the room before continuing down the
hall, and a smiling Eric floats past the hospital window.

From the Sookie Stackhouse Companion

I am reading the Charlaine Harris Books now. I am on this book. When I am finished, does anyone want to chat with me about it? I know you ladies have probably already read them to tatters.

I think most of us are always up for an excuse to chat. New insights and opinions are always more than welcome.

Let us know when you're done and we'll set a time and date. Any excuse to chat is always a good one in this house.

Renee

I didn't catch you in time in the chatroom today, sorry about that Terry.