Moondancer Drake’s Dreamtime

Title: Dead as a Doornail (Southern Vampire Mysteries)
Author: Charlaine Harris
ISBN: 0441012795
Publisher: Ace Books; 1st edition (May 3, 2005)
Pages: 304
Cost:  $22.95 (hardcover)
Genre:  Paranormal

Sookie, a telepath, know her brother Jason was going to change into a were-panther before he did.  What she didn’t expect was that someone would begin shooting the shifters in the area and her brother would be blamed for it.  With the help of her strange friend, among them shifters, werewolves, vampires and fae, Sookie struggles to find out who is targeting her family before her or her brother become their next victim.

As a whole I enjoyed this book, though a few things bothered me.  Considering the threat to her brother, Sookie didn’t seem too hard-core in finding out who the real shooter was.  Sookie’s romantic interests flip-fliped between four or five guys, and the number of characters thrown at the reader made keeping track of the story a challenge.

Some of the angst felt forced as is the number of mishaps all crammed into one book all against the main heroine, but she was an endearing if not enjoyable frustration character anyway.  If your looking for a tight adventure or suspense read, this is not likely going to be your first choice.  However, if you want some fun thrown in with excitement and a few twists at the end, then Dead as a Doornail is worth the read.

Newspaper columnist Jim Qwilleran is a man of simple tastes and extensive curiosity.  So when he has the opportunity to ride on the main voyage of am old stream engine reborn through the passion of Floyd Trevelyan, railroad nut and credit union owner, Quinn doesn’t turn that chance down. 

When Floyd Trevelyan disappears just as the state threatens to audit his business, circumstances look suspicious and the law is on his tail.  Qwilleran doesn’t believe the man would abandon his railroad project, so begins to dig into the truth.  With the help of his psychic Siamese cat, Koko, and sleuthing cohort Celia, recently moved to Pickax City from Chicago Qwilleran searches for the truth and finds some surprises along the way.

Though I found the amount of Qwilleran’s personal life the reader was dragged through slowed the story down considerably, the mystery aspects in themselves and the very fully developed characters were very enjoyable.  The antics of the cats were funny, and the clues left by his sweetly “dim” human were very clever.  I have to sheepishly admit to being dim myself, but the intricate plot of the mystery was impressive.

The peace of the quiet faming community of Pepin County Wisconsin is disturbed when a supply of dangerous pesticides and insecticides are stolen from an area coop.  Deputy sheriff Claire Watkins is in the case and finds herself in the middle of a much more sinister plot then the simple prank the police at first suspected.  There is someone willing to do anything to force the truth of what happened to a murdered family on July 7, 1952. 

A savaged garden in the front of the station house, poisoned chickens, with each occurrence the danger escalated further.  After the pesticide is slipped into lemonade at a concession stand during the July Fourth celebration one man ends up in a coma and four others are hospitalized.  Time is running out before death once again visits their little town, unless Claire can find out the truth in time.

If you think my the middle of the tale you know the truth about what happened to the Schuler family in 1952, you’ll be wrong.  Predictability is at a all time low and Claire is a engaging and brilliant detective.  I’ll admit there were many time I wanted to shake her silly when it came to her treatment of Rich, a wonderfully understand love in her life, but it did nothing more then draw me even further into the character. 

The details of the Schuler murder, especially the children, broke my heart, but the detail never became gory.  If you are after horror, then this is not the story for you.  If like me, you like a good brain twister mystery, then Bone Harvest might just be actually what you’re looking for.