Dead and Gone, the much anticipated installment of the Sookie Stackhouse series by Charlaine Harris, leaves readers at a loss for words.

In this last installment, the beloved heroine Sookie Stackhouse finds herself surrounded by conflict, betrayal, death and war, while readers get lost in a series of unexplained plots, characters without depth, and a story that has "sequel" written all over it. 

The great Were Revelation brings our furry friends to the forefront of the social scene but don't be fooled, Eric, Pam, and Bill continue to be the cool kids in the block. 

Sookie learns that she is wedded to the sheriff of Area 5 and finally gives her viking - and us readers - the passionate sex that heated up the pages of book 4. 

Quinn is back, oops, sorry, he is not back.  

With gruesome death of a were-panther, which is left at Merlotte's parking lot, one would think that hell has come to take control of Bon Temps, but the story is not quite simple and there are other forces that want to mess up with the humans in Louisiana. 

While the fae war is at the core of the story and intends to give readers a better understanding of Sookie's heritage and Niall's world, it does not bring closure or depth to the leading female. Instead, it shows Sookie as a shallow character whose only emotions are driven by tantrums and irrational behaviors, more characteristic of a teenager than a woman who is supposed to be exceptionally strong.  

Although, Mrs. Harris has indicated numerous times that Sookie will never be turned vampire, her lack of emotion when faced with the death of her friends and family, make one wonder if her heart is turning cold from all the vampire blood she has ingested. 

As a follower of her work, I trust that Charlaine Harris will eventually deliver the goods, but in this book I felt disappointed by the lack of closure and definition that leaves me hanging on to the story until the next book comes up in 2010.