Review: Dead in the Family by Charlaine Harris

Okay.  First of all, can I say how angry I am that I missed Charlaine Harris being here on Saturday?!?  I was grading book reports for end of term grades on Saturday, so I didn't end up making it.  Yep.  Angry.  I hope one of our awesome book bloggers in this area got to go and posts some pics for me!

Anyway, I didn't get to go, but I did finish Dead in the Family recently.  I'm still behind the most recent release, but I'm getting caught up!

Synopsis:  From Goodreads, "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."

Review:  I still love the Sookie Stackhouse series and will keep reading the books until I'm worn out--whichever comes first, I'll never know.  I will admit that I pick them up and find myself trying to remember how the previous book ended and what details I've maybe watched in the show on HBO, so that I can distinguish the stories.  This book was no exception to that.  I found that I still knew where I was at with the vampires, but the ever-changing wolf pack and who has died or been killed off by whom was still a struggle for me.

If you're looking for the progression of the Sookie and Eric storyline, then this was not quite the book for that.  The series seems to now be focusing more and more on Sookie's past, her parents, and her grandmother.  For now, that's definitely enough to keep me reading!  I'm glad there is still stuff to uncover, so I'll be there. 

In the end, what CAN you say about the tenth book in a series?  If you've read this far in a series, or plan on it, then you understand the writer's style and storytelling techniques.  This wasn't one of the ten that stood out the most to me, but I still really enjoy them for pure reading escape.

*FTC Disclosure:  This review was based on a library copy of the novel.