One Word Answer

Sookie Stackhouse #6.1

by Charlaine Harris, Johanna Parker (Narrator)

This is an audio version of the short story "One Word Answer" that was originally published in the anthology "Bite" and was reprinted in "A Touch of Dead." It is set between books 5 & 6 of the Sookie Stackhouse series.
__________
Unabridged, 1 disc, 45 minutes

Genres: Vampires, Fantasy, Paranormal, Urban Fantasy, Romance, Short Stories, Audiobook

1 pages, Audio CD

First published December 1, 2004

About the author

Charlaine Harris has been a published writer for over forty years. Her first two books were standalones, followed by a long sabbatical when she was having children. Then she began the Aurora Teagarden book, mysteries featuring a short librarian (eventually adapted for Hallmark movies). The darker Lily Bard books came next, about a house cleaner with a dark past and considerable fighting skills.

Tired of abiding by the mystery rules, Harris wrote a novel about a telepathic barmaid that took at least two years to sell. When the book was published, it turned into a best seller, and DEAD UNTIL DARK and the subsequent Sookie books were adapted in Alan Ball's "True Blood" series. At the same time, Harris began the Harper Connelly books. Harper can find the bones of the dead and see their last minute.

When those two series wound to a close, the next three books were about a mysterious town in Texas, called Midnight.

A change in publisher and editor led to Harris's novels about a female gunslinger in an alternate America, Lizbeth Rose. The Gunnie Rose books concluded with the sixth novel.

She's thinking about what to write next.

Reviews

[Jess the Shelf-Declared Bibliophile · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very intriguing short story introducing the vampire queen of Louisiana into the series. I'm excited to read about Sookie and Bill's trip to New Orleans that she mentioned.

[A Book Vacation · Rating 3 out of 5]

Although it doesn't say it anywhere... you have to read this short story BEFORE you read Definitley Dead in order to understand it. I don't know why Harris didn't just tack this short story onto the end of book 5... kinda dumb to write a seperate short story that explains everything in book 6, without telling the public about it...

[Marianne · Rating 4 out of 5]

One Word Answer is a short story in the Sookie Stackhouse series by popular American author, Charlaine Harris. Whilst Sookie is doing some evening yard work with Bubba the Vampire, visitors arrive in a fancy black limo. The passenger brings news of the death of Sookie’s cousin Hadley, and a legacy coming her way. But Sookie is interested in how her cousin met her end, something that, apparently, the vampire limo driver knows more about. Sookie is grateful that her talent for telepathy allows her to keep a poker face when the full story is revealed. Bubba shows some initiative when it matters. Sookie’s enigmatic one word answer may not please all readers, but is guaranteed to bring a smile to most.

[Christopher · Rating 3 out of 5]

This short story is found in the compilation titled Bite, which features only one short story written by Charlaine Harris; the remainder of the stories are written by writers such as Laurell K. Hamilton. The story is also featured in A Touch of Dead, a compilation of short stories strictly written by Charlaine Harris, all set in Sookie's universe. The short story serves as a prelude to the novel Definitely Dead, which I actually read before having read this short story, simply because I wasn't aware of it, and it really should be included in Definitely Dead as a prologue because it's crucial to that novel. Not much really happens in this story until the very end (granted, it is not very long at all; only about twenty pages), and it isn't really anything terribly exciting (ultimately entertaining but lacking in comparison to the author's usual material), but it is nice to finally read what sets the stage for Definitely Dead. I just wish that I had had some sort of warning that a short story was written that is set beforehand because I would have been sure to have read it then.

[Elena Rodríguez · Rating 3 out of 5]

Debería ser un 5.5 no un 6.1.

[Choco Con Churros · Rating 4 out of 5]

Leído por primera vez hace la tira. Releído el 6 de Mayo del 2024
Relato en el que sabemos sobre una pariente de Sookie, cierta herencia y conocemos un personaje peculiar. También sobre política vampira y algunas sorpresas sobre el árbol genealógico de la protagonista. Son detalles que importarán de cara a la novela posterior GL Bis (Sangre fresca)

[Sonia · Rating 3 out of 5]

read between books 5 and 6

Sookie gets a visit and finds out that her cousin Hadley was murdered.

Except it’s not the cousin she remembers; this cousin became a vampire 😅 and Sookie’s her beneficiary 😱.

Someone killed her cousin… but who 👀? And whyyyy?!?!

This was a fun little short story and should be read BEFORE book 6.

Also… I will ALWAYS appreciate seeing Bubba… AKA Elvis 👏🏻

⚠️safety squad ⚠️
-death of a relative recounted
-killing of the bad guy

[Bethann · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked the ending, but I wish I had known this story existed before I read Definitely Dead. I was SO confused; it was really frustrating!

[Jessica ❁ ➳ Silverbow ➳ ❁ · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sookie 5.1

This short is about what happened the night Sookie was informed that her cousin Hadley had died. All of those references in book 6--this is what they're talking about.

[San · Rating 3 out of 5]

Una historia corta sobre como murió una prima lejana de sookie y como está conoce a la reina de Luisana y tiene un poco de rifirrafe porque no quiere matar al tipo que mato a su prima, interesante pero cortito.

[Diana · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fun introduction to what the queen of Louisiana is like.

[Malinda · Rating 3 out of 5]

3-3.5 stars

This was an interesting short which I found for free on the internet. It tells about how Sookie finds out about her cousin's death and that she has a inheritance that she'll have to deal with in book #6 of the series.

[Jeff Yoak · Rating 5 out of 5]

So much for Harris not being the best at short fiction. This story rocked.

[Mark Gibbs · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Demon lawyer of Definitely Dead's role is finally explained - darkly funny little tale that was a laugh from start to finish - but one for fans only!

[Reilly Hacker · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love the sudden introduction to the Queen of Louisiana and a riveting short story

[Seohyung · Rating 5 out of 5]

I wasn’t expecting that. The Queen planned Waldo’s death. And she wanted Sookie to kill him. Honestly, I remained so shocked after this short story. Not much to say, just that: Hadley, tf u did?

[✨ Lauren ✨ · Rating 3 out of 5]

A little story with Bubba (I’m a Bubba simp okay???), Bill and two men from the Queen of Louisiana’s court about the murder of Sookie’s cousin Hadley.

Baby girl has a ruthless side to her and I love it.

[Nicole Brasher · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’ve read this many times. This is one of my favorite short stories in the Sookie universe. This is the introduction to Mr. Cataliades, an interesting part demon, and to the vampire queen of Louisiana, Sophie-Anne Leclerq, and the fate of Sookie’s cousin Hadley.

[Chella · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars
Reading this story from the Complete Sookie Stackhousr Stories books.

[Dharia Scarab · Rating 3 out of 5]

Since I don't normally write reviews unless I have something specific to say, here's the break down of how I rate my books...

1 star... This book was bad, so bad I may have given up and skipped to the end. I will avoid this author like the plague in the future.

2 stars... This book was not very good, and I won't be reading any more from the author.

3 stars... This book was ok, but I won't go out of my way to read more, But if I find another book by the author for under a dollar I'd pick it up.

4 stars... I really enjoyed this book and will definitely be on the look out to pick up more from the series/author.

5 stars... I loved this book! It has earned a permanent home in my collection and I'll be picking up the rest of the series and other books from the author ASAP.

[Samantha · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think it would've been more fun to see this in another POV since it's a short anyway. I was hoping for a bit more intrigue but oh well. I can see how it wouldn't have fit into the 6th book very well, though. It was still jarring to see it referenced and to know I had missed something (though this wasn't much and the book itself explained well enough that I would've been fine not reading this). Still, I liked how Sookie was able to be clever and shocking in a few pages. I liked the ambiguity of the ending: Did she do it on purpose or was she meaning for Waldo to face worse punishment? Probably both.

[Brandi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reread ending 10/18/24

I really like this short story/novella bc we meet Mr. Cataliades. He’s a good one, for a half demon fella.
It’s also the first time we meet the queen of Louisiana. Poor Sookie just can’t catch a break.

+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+

Reread ending: 11/21/25

Though short, and easy to remember, I think it's best to read it before going into Definitely Dead every time. I enjoy most of the short stories, but it gets to be difficult when some of them are duplicated in other books and then shuffling through on audio to find the specific one, so just this one for me, this time around.

[Meigan · Rating 3 out of 5]

This nicely filled in the gaps that were missing from the sixth book, Definitely Dead. While I appreciate having some back story, I would have liked it better if this novella were eliminated and the story was written in the actual book. I experienced some confusion and felt like much of the story was missing while reading the book, and in fact it was because the important details are in the novella, not the book. Novellas to me are considered "extras" and not "required reads". My advice - read this before book number 6.

[Gitte · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was an OK short story in the Sooky Stackhouse series, but I don't really understand why Harris didn't just make this one part of the next novel in the series, as that would have been much more convenient - I downloaded it as a free pdf where all the O's were missing! Quite ann ying, if y u kn w what I mean ;-)

[JaNae · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a good little story that takes only minutes to read. I found out about it from reading reviews for Definitely Dead, which said to read this short story first as it gives you details and is basically a prelude to that book. It was interesting and quick to read and I also recommend reading it during the Sookie Stackhouse series.

[LyndiLea Hardman · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of my guilty pleasures when it comes to reading is the Southern Vampire Mystery Series. I absolutely love the World of Sookie Stackhouse. I have read all of the books so I figured it was time to tackle the short stories. This one doesn't disappoint! Definitely a must read for Sookie and True Blood Fans!

[Emma · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read this short story in "Bite" collection of short stories. A nice expansion on Sookie's cousin Hadley's backstory as a child and new vampire, and her final death. Also a good look at Sookie's developing ability to handle vampire politics.

[Alusha NotYourBusiness · Rating 1 out of 5]

Didn't quiet understand if this book was really needed... It was just like one chapter...

[Emilija · Rating 1 out of 5]

Boring. Also, this should have been in the appropriate book because I read whichever book it is where Sookie is going to sort out Hadley's estate, and I was so confused.

[itchy · Rating 3 out of 5]

16February2021

Read as part of the collection A Touch of Dead.