Dead in the Family

Dead in the Family is the latest in the Sookie Stackhouse series by Charlaine Harris. This is the tenth novel in the series. It continues the storyline from the previous book, with Sookie recovering from the Fairy War and the Two Natured dealing with the ramifications of “coming out”.

This books plot centers around a few events. Eric’s maker shows up and brings his “brother” (a relatively new, and historically significant, vamp). In addition, there are some issues with a few Fae who were left behind after the Fairy War. And if that wasn't enough, the Weres have some political issues that they have to deal with, too. As usual, Sookie finds herself in the middle of it all. Her cousin’s child, Hunter, makes a return to this book, as well.

I love this series, but I was a little disappointed with this one. While the book was certainly enjoyable for any Sookie fan, I found the relationships and the politics in the Vampire and Were communities to be quite complicated. I had a hard time keeping it all straight. That may be because it has been five months since I read the last book. This book definitely could not have been a stand alone novel; the reader would have been too confused. For that reason, I did not enjoy this book as much as the other Sookie books.

I also thought the ending was wrapped up too quickly. While I was still trying to figure out what happened with one branch of the plot, the other completely wrapped up, too. It ended very fast, without complete closure. There is the big climax of the plot (which in these books is typically a violent scene where some of the good guys and most of the bad guys get hurt or die) and then the book ends a few paragraphs later.

Overall, I feel that the complicated plot line was carried out to completion too neatly and there wasn't enough of what brought me to this series in this book. I would still recommend this book to Sookie fans, because if you want to find out what happens next you need to read it. I am not done with this series yet, but I fear that if the next book in the series is the same way I may not continue. There is still so much potential for this series, many places Charlaine Harris could go with Sookie and her adventures. I really hope she hasn't run her creative course with Sookie, and that the next one brings me back.

Happy Reading!