Club Dead (Book 3)

Club Dead: A Sookie Stackhouse Novel by Charlaine Harris

Club Dead is the third book in Charlaine Harris’s Southern Vampire Mysteries series, and in my opinion it is one of the strongest, the most fun, and critical in shaping what is to come in the rest of the series. Do I have issues with it? Sure – but I have issues with all of the books. So when I read on Twitter that the Sookieverse was looking for guest reviewers, I jumped at the chance to review this book. I won’t lie; I was planning to reread this book before season three of True Blood started back up in June, so why not review it as well?


And so it begins…
Right off the bat in Club Dead we learn some very important things about Bill that play an integral part of the SVM universe. One, Bill is working on a computer program that Sookie can’t talk about. Two, she can’t talk about it because none of the Area 5 vampires, including Eric, can know about it. And three, the Queen of Louisiana ordered Bill to work on the secret project. All of this in the first couple of pages! We also find out that Bill has been less than attentive to Sookie’s needs recently. Does that mean she’d be more willing to have someone else attend to her needs? She may have to, as Bill cryptically tells her, "If I'm not back, or if you don't get word from me, in say ... eight weeks-yes, eight weeks, then tell Eric everything I said to you today. And place yourself under his protection." I say why wait?? But I’m not Sookie, and I digress.

Bill claims he’s going to Seattle, which Sookie knows right away is a lie. She knows she’s being left behind, rejected, and doesn’t understand why. The next evening she is leaving for work only to find Bubba (aka vampire Elvis) on her porch, and he’s there to guard her on orders from Eric. While explaining to Sam about Bubba, Sookie is attacked by a were but manages to get away as Bubba kills him. (This is the scene that many people think is the basis for the first “Waiting Sucks” teaser from HBO, which would be fine with me because it has Eric and doesn’t have Bubba. I don’t care too much for Bubba – I think he’s straight up ridiculous!)

Later that night Pam strolls in Merlotte’s (love Pam) and tells Sookie that Bill is missing. Not only is he missing, but he also did in fact lie to her about going to Seattle. He’s been in Jackson, Mississippi the whole time and was due in that night, which is how Pam and Eric knew he was missing. This is news to Sookie, and not the good kind. She says as much to Eric on the phone, and Pam slips up, telling Sookie that Bill was going to give her bad news. Eric furiously tells Pam to shut up, and Sookie proceeds to get angry (in typical stubborn Sookie way) about how she is out of the loop once again.

I can understand her being angry with Bill, but once again Sookie gets mad at Eric and Pam for keeping her out of the loop when they really have no reason to keep her up to date on Bills plans. But Sookie throughout the nine SVM books is quick to forgive and make excuses for Bill, but never for Eric, despite the vastly different ways each have treated her. That becomes even more apparent later in Club Dead, but I’ll get to that.

After confirming Bill’s lying, Sookie heads home and cries herself to sleep. I have a problem with this part of the story, as well as Sookie’s character. Bill was distant with her for weeks, she was 95% sure that he was lying to her, she then confirms he’s lying, and finds out that he was going to give her news that she assumes was about him leaving her. Now knowing/assuming all of those things, why in the world would you cry yourself to sleep over it? Here’s a part from this section of the book:

I wanted Bill to curl up against my back; I wanted his cool lips on my neck. I wanted his white hands running down my stomach. I wanted to talk to him. I wanted him to laugh off my terrible suspicions…

Now tell me something Sookie. You know he was lying to you about going to Seattle. What if he did come to you and laugh off your “terrible suspicions”? Would you actually believe him? Unfortunately I think the answer is yes, which I have trouble believing since she is so self-righteous about being lied to and not knowing all of the details of a situation. I guess since Bill was her first love we’re supposed to buy this weakness in Sookie, but I have trouble with it.

Now what I don’t have trouble with is Eric spooning Sookie after she falls asleep the next night. Is it creepy that he climbed into bed with her and started snuggling? Kind of. But is it also sweet and something she would have admittedly welcomed coming from Bill? Most definitely. And then he tells her to shower because she is unhygienic? Hilarious! The banter between Eric and Sookie, starting that first night in Fangtastia, is my favorite part of the books. Here’s the first of many great banter battles between them in Club Dead:

"It's me," said a familiar voice.
"Eric, what are you doing here?"
"Snuggling."
"You son of a bitch! I thought you were Bill! I thought he was back!"
"Sookie, you need a shower."
"What?"
"Your hair is dirty, and your breath could knock down a horse."
"Not that I care what you think," I said flatly.
"Go get cleaned up."
"Why?"
"Because we have to talk, and I'm pretty sure you don't want to have a long conversation in bed. Not that I have any objection to being in bed with you" - he pressed himself against me to prove how little he objected - "but I'd enjoy it more if I were with the hygienic Sookie I've come to know."

And that’s just the beginning with these two. After getting cleaned up and inviting Pam and Chow in, Eric tells Sookie that Bill has actually been kidnapped, but he can’t question the witnesses because they are under the protection of the King of Mississippi. They proceed to tell Sookie what they think happened to Bill, and why; he was working on a special project. Eric asks Sookie what she knows about the project, and she lies, saying she doesn’t know anything. Eric explains that it doesn’t really matter if she knew what Bill was doing behind their backs or not, and Sookie slips up, revealing that she knows something through her face. Eric decides to tell Sookie what he knows about Bill’s lying to her, but not without getting as close to Sookie as possible at her dinner table. Eric, as we know from book 2, is never one to pass up an opportunity – especially if it involves being close to Sookie.

Eric explains to Sookie that Bill’s maker, Lorena, called Bill to Mississippi and he became instantly enthralled with her again. He was coming back to Louisiana to essentially pension Sookie off and make sure she was protected. Eric then tells Sookie about his plan to have a were, who owes him a favor, take Sookie around Jackson’s Supe community to see what she can find out.

Enter Alcide & Club Dead
We meet Alcide , who as described by Sookie, is "huge. His eyes were green. His tousled hair was curly and thick and black as pitch." Alcide tells Sookie that he’s doing this to help out is dad (Eric has a gambling marker of his that Alcide is repaying), and they start discussing their plan for Jackson. Sookie, becoming more attracted to Alcide, asks about his girlfriend to which he quickly replies that he and Debbie Pelt broke up a few months ago. I only mention this because it’s not the last time we hear that name.

It’s finally time to go to Club Dead and Sookie gets all dolled-up in her best fire engine red dress from Tara’s Togs and heads out Alcide. They arrive at Josephine's (aka Club Dead as the Weres like to call it), and are escorted inside. They share a few drinks and soon enough Debbie walks up to their table, being rude and snarky (but not in a good Pam kind of way). Sookie bitch-talks her back to her table and continues to talk and dance with Alcide.

During one dance Sookie overhears a small group of humans and vampires talking about Bill, but has trouble listening and dancing at the same time (go figure), so Alcide sits her near the group and excuses himself for the restroom. Sookie is so engrossed in their conversation (Bill has been tortured but is still not talking) that she doesn’t realize she is being watched until a were grabs her arm. He tries to force Sookie to join his table of “real men” and she tries to fight him off to no avail. It’s not until Alcide comes back that he lets go of her arm and shoulder, but the damage is done – she’s bleeding. Not a lot, but enough to show that she’s been injured in the exchange.

The situation is in a tense standoff until a vampire (the same on in the group discussing Bill) steps in to break it up. The vampire acknowledges Sookie’s bleeding shoulder, and she offers him the chance to lick the blood and heal the wound – as is proper vampire etiquette apparently. Didn’t know that. Turns out this vampire is none other than Russell Edgington, the king of Mississippi, and the very vampire Sookie needed to meet! What are the odds?

I’m sorry, I know this is a story and it’s fiction, but that just seems a little far fetched that the king would be hanging out in a nightclub at the exact time that Sookie is attacked. Seems to me that CH could have found a more believable situation. But that did open up an opportunity for Russell to invite Sookie back to the club the next night, so that her impression of the club would not be a negative one. I guess we can just assume that Russell is one of the only vampires that are nice to humans, since CH has spent a lot of time explaining that most vampires look down on humans.

After agreeing to come back the next night, Sookie and Alcide head home, where they share a kiss and an agreement that it is bad timing for both of them. But the attraction is clearly there. After getting into bed there is a knock on Sookie’s window and only knowing one vampire that can fly, she opens the curtain to see Eric floating out of her window. Another classic Eric/Sookie exchange ensues after Eric asks if they are going back to Club Dead:

"Yes, Russell invited us specifically."
"Sookie attracted his attention tonight," Alcide said.
"But that's perfect!" Eric said. "Tomorrow night, sit with the Edgington crew and pick their brains, Sookie."
"Well, that would never have occurred to me, Eric," I said, wonderingly. "Gosh, I'm glad you woke me up tonight to explain that to me."
"No problem," Eric said. "Anytime you want me to wake you up, Sookie, you have only to say."
I sighed. "Go away, Eric. Good night again, Alcide."

The next day was fairly uneventful, that is until Sookie and Alcide discovered a dead body in the closet in Alcide’s apartment! And not just any dead body, but the body of the were who grabbed Sookie at the club the night before. After successfully removing and disposing of the body (which is a very detailed process, none of which is incredibly exciting in my opinion) they determined he died from a broken neck, but still couldn’t figure out how the body got into the apartment since the door was locked.

Sookie and Alcide continue to express their desire to be together, but now bad the timing is. I always find this line from Alcide interesting:

"What I think I'll do," Alcide said, "is I'll do my best to yank Debbie out of me by the roots. And then I'll turn up on your doorstep, one day when you least expect it, and I'll hope by then you will have given up on your vampire."

Foreshadowing much? I swear if it pops up in a later unreleased SVM books I might freak out.

Later that evening Eric appears again at Sookie's window, and the three discuss the dead body. After explaining that he had nothing to do with it, Eric tells them that he would be at Club Dead tonight – in disguise – in case he is needed. (And who doesn’t need a little Eric in a suit, slicked back hair, AND glasses??). He also lets Sookie know that he has searched all around, with no trace of Bill anywhere, and he is afraid he may be finally dead. Sookie collapses at the news, and Eric legitimately tries to comfort her.

This is again one of those times when Sookie attributes Eric’s surprising kindness to him just wanting to get something from her. Normally she thinks it’s sex, but in this instance it’s information about Bill’s project. When in reality Eric is actually upset that he hurt Sookie by being honest, which is what she has demanded from him, and is trying to save both of their lives. Sookie relents slightly and acknowledges what Eric is telling her; in order to even try to save Bill, she has to get onto Russell’s compound, since it is the only place Eric hasn’t been able to look.

The second trip to Club Dead was, I thought, an incredibly random turn of events. First, Tara was there. What?? What in the world is she doing there? Well, apparently she was there as a friend of someone in Russell Edgington’s group named Franklin Mott. Why? No real reason actually. She serves no real purpose except to perform a sexy dance routine with Sookie from high school, which makes Alcide jealous. And she notices Eric staring at her from the corner with lust in his eyes.

Stake? I didn’t order any stake…
Sookie takes a moment to scan the crowds thoughts again, and comes across someone thinking about staking someone. Being the brave/senseless person that she is, Sookie decides to find the person and stop them from staking the vampire – Betty Jo Pickard, Russell’s second in command. Chaos ensues after Sookie yells “STAKE!” She tries to hold off the man with the stake, realizes the other man in the couple is Steve Newlin, and during the struggle gets staked herself.

She falls to the ground and Alcide, having changed into a wolf to chase after Steve Newlin, is no longer there. Soon Eric (in disguise) is at her side and he expresses how difficult it is not the bend down and lick the blood from her wound, and Sookie has to remind him that if does so will everyone else, but they’ll also bite. Leif, as Eric calls himself, Russell, and Russell’s entourage take Sookie back to Russell’s compound.

I won’t lie to you, I find the book fairly boring up to this point, and it’s almost three quarters of the way through. Sure there are some great lines and moments, especially with Eric and Sookie, but no a whole lot of action. Until now. This is also the part in the book where we get lots-o-Eric, which I always enjoy. Also, from this point on the book gets action packed, and I can only hope True Blood does this part of the book justice in Season 3.

Let the action (finally) begin!
Once Sookie is situated in one of Russell’s bedrooms, it becomes clear that the stake is going to have to come out. Apparently, Russell has a vampire in his entourage whose talent is having extra chemicals in his saliva that aids in healing – Ray Don. Not sure what type of name Ray Don is, but I could care less because the best moment between Eric and Sookie so far in tall the books is coming up, and no, it’s not “Yield to me, Sookie”. That’s good too, but this is so much better.

As Sookie is freaking out about the pain of having the stake pulled out (and really, who can blame her?) Eric is there, demanding her to look at him as she is gripping his arms:

"Let go," he advised me, and I loosened my grip on his hands. "No, not of me," he said, smiling. "You can hold on to me as long as you want. Let go of the pain, Sookie. Let go. You need to drift away."
It was the first time I had relinquished my will to someone else. As I looked at him, it became easy, and I retreated from the suffering and uncertainty of this strange place.

This is such an important moment in Eric and Sookie’s relationship. Why? Not only is it showing how much Eric cares for Sookie, but she is clearly acknowledging the fact that she feels safe with Eric. Something that I’m not sure she would have felt with anyone other than him, maybe not even Bill. I think this also lays the groundwork for why she so willing to (SPOILER ALERT) help out Eric in Book 4 – she feels safe with him, and also indebted to his kindness and help while in Jackson.

And in typical CH fashion, there is a steamy scene between Eric and Sookie, the first one since the corvette hood incident if memory serves. Mmm…Here is one of my favorite Eric/Sookie scene (minus the shower scene of book 4 of course):

"Thank you, Eric." I didn't care for how shaky I sounded, but an obligation is an obligation.
"For what?" His hand gently stroked my stomach.
"For standing by me in the club. For coming here with me. For not leaving me alone with all these people."
"How grateful are you?" he whispered, his mouth hovering over mine. His eyes were very alert now, and his gaze was boring into mine.
"That kind of ruins it, when you say something like that," I said, trying to keep my voice gentle. "You shouldn't want me to have sex with you just because I owe you."
"I don't really care why you have sex with me, as long as you do it," he said, equally gently. His mouth was on mine then.

And lets just say some tasty making out and base-rounding happens. Then Bubba busts in. I told you I hated Bubba!! He has worse timing than Bill, if that’s even possible. Sookie stops their “interaction”, but once Bubba leaves Eric convinces her that she needs his blood in order to save Bill the next day. One would not think that drinking vampire blood after being staked wouldn’t get  you into the mood, but one would be wrong. Especially when that vampire sharing his blood is Eric Northman. Somehow, though I have no idea how, Sookie was able to resist Eric. While laying in bed with him. Half naked. Girl has restraint, I’ll give her that. But Eric has the best parting lines:

"I don't like having feelings," Eric said coldly, and he left. That was a tough exit line to top.

My Major Issue with Club Dead
Jumping ahead Sookie manages to rescue Bill and stake Lorena in the process. However, in a scene that I have a lot of problems with, Sookie is raped by Bill in the trunk of their getaway car once they get back to Alcide’s parking garage. She went to check on Bill, and was pushed into the trunk of the car, presumable by Debbie Pelt. I’m not entirely sure why this scene was necessary. I understand that this unfortunately happens in real life, but it doesn’t make it any easier to read. And, as a plot device, it better have a damn good purpose, and I don’t think it does here.

If it made Sookie completely swear off Bill, then I’d understand it, but it doesn’t! While she doesn’t really forgive him, he explains it away because he was tortured and starved. Sookie doesn’t seem to have any emotional damage from it, which is not accurate and in my opinion dangerous for young women reading this book. The ease in which Sookie can explain away the rape is scary and a bad example. Not only that, but when Alcide tells Debbie that he slept with Sookie, she’s more mad about that, and at Bill planning to leave her! Is that for real??

It’s funny, because when I started this review I really considered it one of my favorites. But the more I’m writing, the more I realize I have big issues with it. The rape scene clearly being the biggest. I think the reason I did like it was for all the Eric scenes, but you can say that about almost any of the books can’t you?

Walking away from Bill…kind of
One of the only moments of clarity Sookie has is when she walks away from Bill and asks Eric to take her home.  Of course, because it’s Sookie, her and Eric can’t even stop for gas with being attacked at a gas station by weres! Like I said before, the last quarter of this book is certainly action packed. But, I’ve got to give it to Sookie. Despite all of the craziness that has happened to her in this book, she still was able to keep her cool. Even when she gets home and gets attacked AGAIN. I think Sookie gets attacked more in this book than in any other, but she does keep her cool through it all – unnaturally so I think. Even after the adrenaline of her adventures dissipates, she still seems oblivious to it all. Or maybe desensitized is a better word.

This book does end in amazing fashion though. First, we get this great exchange between Eric and Bill:

"My Sookie hid a corpse?"
"I don't think you can be too sure about that possessive pronoun."
"Where did you learn that term, Northman?"
"I took 'English as a Second Language' at a community college in the seventies."

And then Eric goes and gets her a new driveway. Of course Sookie freaks, but her stubbornness is an ongoing issue with me, so it’s hard to just be aggravated with her in this book. It comes out in full force at the end of this book when she rescinds the invitations of both Bill and Eric, which I will never understand. Bill of course I understand, but why Eric? Because he was pointing out to Bill that he almost lost everything because of his stupid computer program? Or because he bought you a driveway? Or maybe it was because he stayed with you, and healed you, after you got staked. Yup, those are all great reasons for rescinding Eric’s invitation to your home.

To sum up...
Club Dead is a good book, but more importantly, it’s an essential book. We meet Alcide, Debbie, and Russell Edgington, who all play bigger roles later on in the series. Sookie starts to realize that Bill is not who she thought he was, though she seems to be able to forgive him. But most importantly, she starts to see beyond her perception of Eric and see that he does care for her. Even if it’s only to get in her pants.

So, how would you rate this book? Tell us below in the comments.

xoxo
CatieMak