40.
Author: Charlaine Harris
Title: Dead in the Family
Publication: Hardback, Ace
Pages: 311 pages
Genre: Vampire/Romance
Acquisition: Purchased May 11, 2010
Date Completed: May 14, 2010
Rating: 2 stars out of 5

I have always had a difficult relationship with the Sookie Stackhouse series. When I read the first few novels I couldn't help but think that some of the subtleties were lost on me due to my own ignorance of Southern culture, but as the series progressed I found myself drawn in. The last three novels have evoked very strong responses from me: I thought book eight was horrible, I devoured book nine, and I found the latest novel to be downright dull.

Harris' narrative style is a mix of action and everyday; readers are as likely to sunbathe with Sookie as they are to fight off evil vampires or face down a maenad. However, this changes in Dead in the Family: almost everything presented is, well, mundane. Sookie ... sunbathes. And babysits. And recovers from the trauma of the previous story. Harris attempts to fill in plots and tie up loose ends, but nothing is truly captivating. There is some consideration of supernatural politics following the developments of earlier books, but even that is rather blase.

In the end, I would say that Dead in the Family reads like Harris is attempting to answer fan mail. What is Eric's maker like? Will Bill ever get over Sookie? Will Jason ever find peace? Who fathered Claudine's baby? These questions are answered in an interview-like fashion, with very little action in between. It feels like the show has taken its toll on the series, and it may be time for me to write off the series once and for all.


And as a side note: I cannot express how much I loathe the cover art for this series. I really hope there is a sentimental or personal reason for the artist selection; otherwise, it's an exercise in ridiculously bad taste. Without fail, the covers are downright hideous and juvenile.