Crossover Crime: Sookie Stackhouse Southern Vampire Series

Reviewed by: Mandy Wrangles

Unless you’ve been hanging out in a coffin of late, you’ve probably heard of the television series True Blood. Yes, the one about the vampires with lots of sex, nudity and even more gloriously gooey blood.

But have you read the books?

Those fabulously kooky characters from Bon Temps began (and continue) their lives in the imagination of author Charlaine Harris in the Sookie Stackhouse Southern Vampire Series. Given that book number eleven – Dead Reckoning – has just hit the shelves, I thought it was about time we looked at this fantastic example of Paranormal Crime Fiction. Yes, Paranormal Crime.

So what have vampires, shifters, fae and a telepathic waitress have to do with crime? Plenty, actually. Charlaine Harris is a crime writer to the bone, with a number of other crime and mystery series under her belt. The Sookie Stackhouse novels are each centred around a crime (or three or four, depending on the novel) and always smack bang in the middle of it is Sookie herself, trying to put two and two together to get three. This is one of the many areas the books differ to the television program – but don’t get me wrong, I’m a big fan of the True Blood; it’s just a different animal, that’s all. Throughout the book series are continuous story arcs, but each novel is also a self-contained mystery. A who or whatdunnit. And since the books are all told from telepath Sookie’s point of view, we get a great insight into exactly what she hears transmitting from other people’s heads, even if they’re trying to hide it themselves.

Book One, Dead Until Dark introduces us to many of the long term characters of the series. We meet Sookie, her brother Jason, Bill the vampire as well as his ‘boss’, Sheriff Eric Northman and Eric’s right-hand gal, Pam, Sam the Shape-Shifter and Sookie’s boss and loads of other favourites from Bon Temps. Vampires are out of the closet / coffin and slowly integrating into human society when a couple of Fang-Bangers are murdered (for those not in the know, a Fang Banger is a human who err, likes to ‘hang out’ with vampires. In a very intimate manner.) At first it looks like a rogue vamp is on the loose, inciting hatred from bigoted humans, but it soon becomes obvious – to Sookie anyway – that this is the work of something more sinister, a set up of some kind. And unfortunately her brother, Jason looks like he may well have played a part. So begins Sookie’s quest to uncover the true murderer and clear her brother’s name.

This is a pretty typical scenario in the Sookie books, although they’re by no means formulaic. As a reader, you’re never quite sure who the bad guy or girl will be, if they’re a ‘supe’ (supernatural being) doing wrong by humans, humans doing wrong by supes, or just supes doing bad by eachother. But the crime and the twist are always there, and Sookie just keeps on getting in – and out – of trouble. Sookie herself is by far one of the strongest, most engaging female protagonists I’ve read in forever. After eleven novels and a short story collection, she feels like an old friend I only get to visit with once a year as each new novel is released. She’s laugh-out-loud funny, compassionate, whip smart and ready to stand up for herself and her friends. She also has utterly exquisite taste in men – or should I say vampires.

Most of the Sookie Stackhouse novels are what I’d classify as one or two day reads. They’re just too much fun to put down. Sure, some of the eleven novels are stronger than others, but in such a complex world this is bound to happen. Even by Dead Reckoning, the magic is still there. I would, however, recommend reading the books in correct order to get the most out of the back story.
Sookie Stackhouse Southern Vampire Series (True Blood) novels in reading order:
Dead until Dark
Living Dead in Dallas
Club Dead
Dead to the World
Dead as a Doornail
Definitely Dead
All Together Dead
From Dead to Worse
Dead and Gone
A Touch of Dead (short story collection)
Dead in the Family
Dead Reckoning

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