Oh, Sookie. I think it's time to say good-bye. Twelve books in, the Southern Vampire series has run its course and then some. 
 Things I know after reading Deadlocked: 
 - where Sookie shops for groceries 
 - how she likes to dry her hair 
 - whether or not she shaves her legs each day 
 - how much thought she puts into what she wears 
 - how she makes sweet potato pie 
 - that she applies make-up more heavily on days when she's feeling down... 
 I could go on and on... which is what Charlaine Harris does in this book. Endless, endless detail about the minutiae of Sookie's life. If only we were spared even a few of her countless showers, this book would have been a lot shorter. 
 Not to say that there aren't plot developments -- but not really enough of them, or ones weighty enough to sustain an entire novel. Clearly, the author is trying to spin out the story until we get the final book in 2013. However, I do feel that Deadlocked, with a bit of pruning and editing, could have encompassed a good wrap-up and spared us the year of waiting we'll now have until the next book comes out. 
 So what do we get? A mystery that's not very mysterious, a bunch of werewolf drama, fae intrigue and plotting, a random phone call from an ex-lover, and some very slow-moving changes in Sookie and Eric's relationship. That's about it. If I understand the end correctly (and I think I do), then the stage is set for what I've believed for some time will be the series finale and Sookie's happily ever after. I won't go into detail, because that would be a bit spoilerific. I guess I'll have to wait a year to find out if I'm right. 
 Sookie, it's been a fun ride, but I won't be sorry to see your story brought to a conclusion, at long last. It's really time.