Dead in the Family by Charlaine Harris
The blurb: If you think your family relationships are complicated, think again: you haven’t seen anything like the ones in Bon Temps, Louisiana. Sookie Stackhouse is dealing with a whole host of family problems, ranging from her own kin (a non-human fairy and a telepathic second cousin) demanding a place in her life, to her lover Eric’s vampire sire, an ancient being, who arrives with Eric’s ‘brother’ in tow at a most inopportune moment. And Sookie’s tracking down a distant relation of her ailing neighbour (and ex), Vampire Bill Compton.
In addition to the multitude of family issues complicating her life, the werewolf pack of Shreveport has asked Sookie for a special favour, and since Sookie is an obliging young woman, she agrees. But this favour for the wolves has dire results for Sookie, who is still recovering from the trauma of her abduction during the Fairy War.
My review: *SPOILERS*
Dead in the Family is the tenth book in the Southern Vampire series and as such possibly not one to start with. I have loved Charlaine Harris’s creation from its beginnings and this is a worthy book for fans of Sookie and True Blood.
The end of book nine saw the most traumatic scenes in the series so far, torture, war and death. Sookie is no longer the same girl she once was with her sunny disposition – wishing to meet vampires and trying to find someone she can be herself around.
This Sookie is a different creature, angst ridden and needy, her relationship with Eric never seeming to quite satisfy her, she seems to have turned into the Carrie Bradshaw of Bon Temps. I was saddened by this change but needed to remind myself that her character has been through a hell of a lot! The harrowing scenes at the end of book nine have taken their toll and while I was keen to read more of Sookie and Eric’s chemistry, that area falls flat but with good reason. I implore Charlaine Harris to reignite their sparkle in the next book, Eric is probably the sexiest character ever written!
Don’t expect big things. This novel has a much subtler message. Emotional consequences to violent actions don’t often happen in fictional worlds and it’s a refreshing change that these are addressed. Sookie isn’t a superhero but someone much more relatable. Dead in the Family holds the ground work for some really interesting future developments. Not my favourite Stackhouse book but definitely not one to be left out in the cold.
7.5 stars out of 10! *******.5
(I havent reviewed all of the Southern Vampire books on this blog as I’m going for diversity but as a recommendation my favourites – the ten star entries are Dead to the World and Dead and Gone)
