After the natural disaster of Hurricane Katrina and the manmade 
explosion at the vampire summit, everyone—human and otherwise—is stressed, including Louisiana cocktail waitress Sookie Stackhouse, who is trying to cope with the fact that her boyfriend Quinn has gone missing.
It’s clear that things are changing—whether the weres and vamps of her corner of Louisiana like it or not. And Sookie—Friend to the Pack and blood-bonded to Eric Northman, leader of the local vampire community—is caught up in the changes.
In the ensuing battles, Sookie faces danger, death, and once more, betrayal by someone she loves. And when the fur has finished flying and the cold blood finished flowing, her world will be forever altered.
From Dead to Worse is the eighth book in the popular Southern Vampire Mystery series–about Sookie Stackhouse, the bar maid from Bon Temps, a small northern Louisiana town. Sookie is a lot less innocent and naive than she was in that first book (Dead Until Dark) although no less an interesting character. She reflects on that in this book–wondering if she would still save the Vampire Bill Compton the night she met him.
“The night I met Bill, if I’d known what I know now, I wonder if I’d have done anything different,” I said. “Maybe I would’ve let the Rattrays have him.”
…For a long, bleak moment I stood by the bar, my hand on my order pad, trying not to to step over the edge into the chasm of depression. Then I slapped myself on the cheek. Idiot! I have a house, and friends, and a job. I’m luckier than millions of people on the planet. Things will look up.
For a while, that worked. I smiled at everyone, and if that smile was brittle, by God, it was still a smile.
That passage is very indicative of Sookie’s character. She isn’t someone who feels sorry for herself for long. She tries to get on with her life through uncertainties, tragedies, life-changing events, and stays who she fundamentally is even as she grows and changes. She is someone I would like to meet and know. She has kept her moral compass even though she continues to learn more about the supernatural world in each book.
Lots of new events happen and are introduced in this book. I like the way Charlaine Harris weaves in the actual events of Hurricane Katrina and the disaster it has been to Louisiana and other parts of the South. Just as with the human population, the supernatural population has been greatly affected by Katrina. Werewolves, vampires and others have been dislocated by Katrina. That has many ramifications and is the pervading issue in this book.
I felt this was a transition book–many things happened, but the growth and change started in this book has to continue into the next. Much remains unresolved by the end of the book. This is not my favorite book in the series, but I liked it especially as part of the series. I’m looking forward to the next book–but I have a long year to wait!
