Sookie Stackhouse Boxed Set (Books 1-8) - Charlaine Harris [328]
I hadn’t laughed so hard in weeks.
About the Author
Charlaine Harris has produced two mystery series in addition to her Sookie Stackhouse books. She lives in southern Arkansas with her husband, three children, two dogs, two ferrets, and a duck. An avid reader, mild cinemaphile, and occasional weightlifter, her favorite activity is cheering her children on in various sports while sitting on uncomfortable bleachers. Her website is www.charlaineharris.com.
DEAD TO THE WORLD
Ace books by Charlaine Harris
DEAD UNTIL DARK
LIVING DEAD IN DALLAS
CLUB DEAD
DEAD TO THE WORLD
Berkley Prime Crime books by Charlaine Harris
SHAKESPEARE’S TROLLOP
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events or locales is entirely coincidental.
DEAD TO THE WORLD
AN ACE Book / published by arrangement with the author
All rights reserved.
Copyright © 2003 by The ACE Publishing Group.
This book may not be reproduced in whole or part, by
mimeograph or any other means, without permission.
Making or distributing electronic copies of this book constitutes
copyright infringement and could subject the infringer to
criminal and civil liability.
For information address:
The ACE Publishing Group, a division of Penguin Putnam Inc.,
375 Hudson Street, New York, New York 10014.
The Penguin Putnam Inc. World Wide Web site address is http://www.penguinputnam.com
ISBN: 0-7865-4849-5
AN ACE BOOK®
ACE Books first published byACE Publishing Group,
a member of Penguin Putnam Inc.,
375 Hudson Street, New York, New York 10014.
ACE and the “A” design are trademarks belonging to
Penguin Putnam Inc.
Electronic edition: July 2004
Though they’ll probably never read it, this book is dedicated to all the coaches—baseball, football, volleyball, soccer—who’ve worked through so many years, often for no monetary reward, to coax athletic performances out of my children and to instill in them an understanding of The Game. God bless you all, and thanks from one of the moms who crowds the stands through rain, cold, heat, and mosquitoes.
However, this mom always wonders who else might be watching the night games.
My thanks to Wiccans who answered my call for knowledge with more information than I could use—Maria Lima, Sandilee Lloyd, Holly Nelson, Jean Hontz, and M. R. “Murv” Sellars. I owe further thanks to other experts in different fields: Kevin Ryer, who knows more about feral hogs than most people do about their own pets; Dr. D. P. Lyle, who is so gracious about answering medical questions; and, of course, Doris Ann Norris, reference librarian to the stars.
If I have made mistakes in the use of the knowledge these kind people imparted, I’ll do my best to somehow blame it on them.
I FOUND THE NOTE TAPED TO MY DOOR WHEN I GOT home from work. I’d had the lunch-to-early-evening shift at Merlotte’s, but since we were at the tail end of December, the day darkened early. So Bill, my former boyfriend—that’s Bill Compton, or Vampire Bill, as most of the regulars at Merlotte’s call him—must have left his message within the previous hour. He can’t get up until dark.
I hadn’t seen Bill in over a week, and our parting hadn’t been a happy one. But touching the envelope with my name written on it made me feel miserable. You’d think—though I’m twenty-six—I’d never had, and lost, a boyfriend before.
You’d be right.
Normal guys don’t want to date someone as strange as I am. People have been saying I’m messed up in the head since I started school.
They’re right.
That’s not to say I don’t get groped at the bar occasionally. Guys get drunk. I look good. They forget their misgivings about my reputation for strangeness and my ever-present smile.
But only Bill has ever gotten close to me in an intimate way. Parting from him had hurt me bad.
I waited to open the envelope until I was sitting at the