If you didn’t need to use them to read my review, right now I would be saying “close your eyes and picture this….” Sookie Stackhouse, MENSA-type genius history/government teacher. Eric Northman and Alcide Hervaeaux, both Special Agents with the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Predator Task Force. Jason Stackhouse, another MENSA-type genius turned family business man. Bill, well……he’s Bill and around here, we don’t like Bill….
(banner designed by LEI and borrowed from the official website of fanfic author EricIzMine)
Take everything and everyone you know from the Southern Vampire Mysteries/True Blood world and toss it right out the window! The ONLY thing this “fan fic” has to do with those series is the names. The personalities are completely different from the characters you know of the same name. The characters that are there are in totally different roles in the grand scheme of things. And everyone is (for lack of a better word) mundane. No vampires, no weres, no shifters, no fairies, no telepaths……there is absolutely nothing supernatural about this story at all.
That being said, I LOVED this story!!!!!!! I couldn’t put it down!!!
‘Saints and Sinners’ follows from the point of view of Special Agent Eric Northman with the FBI’s Predator Task Force. He and his partner, Alcide Herveaux, are hot on the trail of a serial killer that the bureau is calling The Vampire. Their search brings them to Bon Temps Louisiana after tracing a taunting e-mail from friendly neighborhood psychopath. Tracing the e-mail back, they are directed to a computer’s ISP address that leads them to a landscaping company. Upon arriving there to question the owner, Eric meets Sookie…..and the rest, as they say, is history….
I don’t want to give away too much story line because this book (note that I called it a book) is totally worth reading!!! I honestly don’t know much about this author but whoever she is, she’s amazing. There are a few intersecting storylines in ‘Saints and Sinners’ and every single piece of the puzzle that makes up this thriller is so thoroughly thought out. Right down to the most miniscule detail. The M.O. of the serial killer alone is so intricate and detailed that you will be impressed.
If you decide to give this one a try (and you should), I want you to go into this book banishing the word ‘fanfic’ from your mind. ‘Saints and Sinners’ is not a fanfic in my eyes. In fact, I STRONGLY feel that the author should go back through this ENTIRE work (all almost 700 pages of it!!!) with an editing crew, change all of the character names, change the town name and PUBLISH THIS STORY!!! Aside from the character’s names and the town name, this is an original work and it DEFINITELY deserves its own recognition! I feel that leaving this story labeled as a fanfic is doing it a great injustice. ‘Saints and Sinners’ goes well beyond the realm of just writing a story that could fit right into a series of books or slip in as an episode of a show. This is its own. 100% Like I said, change the character names, change the town name, do some minor polishing and this baby is ready for the masses. Ok, I am done ranting.
This is an unbelievably well written mystery/suspense/thriller/rom-com/love story. ‘Saints and Sinners’ fits into a few different categories due to the several crossing story lines. I say mystery/suspense/thriller due to the storyline following the serial killer. I say rom-com/love story because of the romance that’s happening throughout the book. I should also slip straight up comedy in there because there are a good many parts of this book that had me laughing my ass off. Seriously. Let me explain.
Sookie of ‘Saints and Sinners’ is a FAR CRY from the Sookie you know and love. She’s tough as nails, sarcastic and can kick some serious ass when someone needs to be put in their place. She’s no half-scared little barmaid. She holds her own against anyone that crosses her path. Devastatingly beautiful, a body that wont stop and a mouth that she refuses to stop. Here’s an example, upon meeting Alcide, he’s less than gentlemanly to her. As she’s walking away to give Alcide and Eric a moment to chat, here’s what goes down:
I held her skirt and stood us up. “Alcide, your manners are for shit… Sookie, is there a motel he can stay at?”
“Yeah, I hear there’s some really nice ones inMaine. I’m going for a drink, do you want something?” That sounded good to me. He’d probably likeMaine.
“Sure. While you’re gone I’ll try to remind him what etiquette is.”
Sookie had barely walked past him when he started in. “Nice trick. I’m surprised a town this small has a red light district.”
I didn’t have the chance to tell him to shut the fuck up before he fell to his knees. I couldn’t help but laugh when I realized that Sookie had pushed his knee out from under him. I still hadn’t recovered when she leaned over to ‘warn’ him.
“You need to remember yourself. Rule number one of assimilating in a small town: Watch your fucking mouth because we’re all armed and we all know a pig farmer.”
I was laughing my ass off as she stood up and slapped him across the back of the head before she headed to the kitchen. “Alc, man you picked the wrong night to be on your period.”
Sookie of ‘Saints and Sinners’ is also probably the most caring person in the world. She does volunteer work, works with the troubled kids at the school…you name it, she does it. And everything she does has a lesson to it. Here’s a great example of her getting her message across in a way that only she can:
While the grownups went to the kitchen to set the table and finalize the food, Sookie grabbed some oranges and kiwis from the fridge and took the boys ‘for a walk’.
Corbett watched her walk out the door with a smile on his on his face. “She got it from my mom you know… Being so good with people… My mom could read a person from a mile away.”
I smiled at the thought. “Where is she taking them?”
“You ever see that movie Twister?”
Alc and I nodded.
“You know that scene where they finally get that contraption where it needs to be so that all those little sensors go up in the funnel?”
More nodding.
“Well the woods back there are full of bats.”
“She took them out there to feed bats?”
Corbett snorted at Alc. “In a manner of speaking… It’s black as pitch back there at night… Sookie’ll find a good spot and rip open the fruit, drop it on the ground around them and that’ll bait the bugs… the bats will flock so fast it’ll cause a breeze… they’ll be standing in the middle of a swarm… a tornado of bats… if I know my daughter, she’ll tell the boys that no matter how scary things get, there’s always a constant in the middle of all the shit.”
“What’s the constant?”
Corbett smiled at him. “How much their father loves them… And then she’ll catch a bat and let them pet it while she explains that shit isn’t as scary when you take it apart.”
There are laugh out loud moments. There are moments that will have you on the edge of your seat. There are moments where your heart will ache.
Oh!! And it wouldn’t be fanfic without the smattering of rather graphic sex scenes. So beware, we got lemons all over the place in this one. If this were to ever become a published book, I would back off on the number of them. However, it is completely normal for fanfic in this particular series so it works. *wink wink*
THIS BOOK NEEDS TO BE PUBLISHED.
Overall, I give Saints and Sinners 5 stars. 5 VERY enthusiastic stars. If I had one wish, it would be that the author would take my advice and pull this out of the fan fic world and publish it. With a little love and polishing, this would make such an amazing book!
And there is a continuation/sequel in the works as well called Life and Death. However, when I checked this morning, there were only 2 chapters completed so far. I will be keeping an eye on it to watch for when it says ‘complete’. *wink wink*
If you would like to read Saints and Sinners, you can do so by clicking here.
Wow, what an amazing review for an amazing story! Thank you, Jena, for highlighting this story, it is truly well-crafted and thought out to the smallest details. Agree, it has a potential to be re-worked into an original story for publishing. As always, congrats on a great job with the review,
Thanks for recommending it! I was glued to it for DAYS. lol I got all excited when I reached the end and there were chapters for a “sequel”. lol
Jenna, If you liked this story you should check out some of her others. Ericizmine is an amazing writer. I have been following her progress for years and watched her writing mature and grow. She has an amazing talent and the ability to make you laugh in the middle of the most crazy situations. She currently has a multi-verse going that sticks closer to the cannon of the story, but still has Sookie being that sassy bitch we all loved in Saints and Sinners. The multi-verse is a what if type story. It is actually up to twelve stories I believe. It branches out at different major events in Sookie or Eric’s lives and changes there world just enough to make things extremely interesting. Check it out and let her know what you think. I know she loves to get feedback, but is super humble about her abilities as a writer. http://ericizmine.wordpress.com/ Check it out and let us all know what you think. Thanks for the great reviews for a writer that truly deserves the accolades.
Jenn
If you like S&S. You should check out alcide in wonderland. It is amazing to see how a completely different story in interwoven into the original story of S&S.
Fantastic review! I have read S&S at least three times and Alcide in Wonderland at least four times. AIW is great for seeing everything from a different point of view or even read about things left out of S&S.
I’m a dedicated EricIzMine reader and just to let you know, Saints and Sinners has a companion novel “Alcide in Wonderland” that follows the same storyline from Alcide, Eric’s partner’s, POV. Even though it follows the same story, it’s still so different simply by changing who is telling the story. It’s definitely worth a read if you liked Saints and Sinners. I also recommend the Multi-Verse Series, which starts with “Bored to Death”. Even though it follows canon, it takes it a whole new direction.
My thanks to both of you!
I blushed while I read the review.
😀
This was an incredibly well written review, made better still because I delighted in agreeing with you. I wholeheartedly believe that this story should be given the small bit of love and adjustment needed to then be published. Ericizmine has a talent which needs to be shared with the world!
This is a better link for your “click here” above, if you’re interested. http://ericizmine.wordpress.com/index/saintssinners/
While Life and Death is technically the sequel, Alcide in Wonderland is the companion story that SHOULD NOT be missed. It is almost complete and is every bit as gripping and entertaining as the original. You might be inclined to think you know what will happen in AIW… You’ll be pleasantly surprised by the many new scenes, subplots, intense emotions, and opportunities for hilarity you’ll find while reading Alcides experiences during the Saints & Sinners timeframe.
Please read for yourselves and see. You’ll fall in love with the characters and the author in a whole new way.
http://ericizmine.wordpress.com/index/alcide-in-wonderland/
Enjoy!
WOW… I don’t think I could have said it any better… EIM is in a whole other class of writers… I think your review and opinion is right in line with how a large majority of her following fan base feels. I was never one to read AH. But this Fic blew me away, and still does 🙂
Proud member of the Ericizmine Brat Pack. We all love her work. Thank you for the wonderful review of our girl’s work
Thanks everyone! So glad you enjoyed my review! I throroughly enjoyed this fanfic and I hope in my heart of hearts to see it revamped and published one day. I will deff be checking out the other stories you all mentioned soon. I just have to get through my giant pile of author commitments first. 🙂
[…] ago? Maybe three? Anyway, the story is completely unique and very well-written. I immediately wrote a review of it on Pure Textuality, fanfic reviews being something I very rarely write. I raved about the story and how the author […]
[…] ago? Maybe three? Anyway, the story is completely unique and very well-written. I immediately wrote a review of it on Pure Textuality, fanfic reviews being something I very rarely write. I raved about the story and how the author […]