Dead in the Family is a 2010 New York Times Bestselling Gothic mystery novel by Charlaine Harris and the tenth book in her The Southern Vampire Mysteries series.[1] The novel was released on May 4, 2010 by Ace Books and follows Sookie as she deals with her increasingly more complicated romantic and personal relationships with the supernatural creatures around her.
When the novel begins, Sookie Stackhouse is still recovering physically and emotionally from the torture she received at the hands of demented fairies Lochlan and Neave in the previous book (Dead and Gone). She has finally settled into a relationship with the Viking vampire Eric, and her errant brother Jason seems to have his life in order, too, with a solid new girlfriend, Michele. But all the other people in Sookie’s life—Eric himself, her former lover Bill, her friend and boss Sam—are having family problems. Eric’s maker, Appius Livius Ocella, shows up with Eric’s ‘brother’ in tow—he is Alexei Romanov, only son of the last Czar of Russia, who as an adolescent witnessed the Bolshevik Revolution, including the slaughter of his entire family. He developed emotional problems as a result. Appius has sought Eric out as a last resort, to see if Eric can help restore Alexei to sanity. Meanwhile, Bill is still suffering from the silver poisoning he got via the teeth of Neave when he rescued Sookie from her torturers. He is not getting better, and may only be able to be cured by the blood of a vampire made by Bill's maker, the dead Lorena, but Bill refuses to ask his sibling for help.
The furor raised by the coming out of the two-natured continues, as Calvin Norris reveals himself to his co-workers and Sam's family deals with the news of having the two-natured in the family. Certain forces are agitating for a were registration system, and the weres suspect that they are under surveillance by the government.
Sookie begins to recover from her torture at the hands of Lochlan and Neave, but still has post-traumatic stress and anxiety. She wants to kill Victor because she realizes he is a major threat to Eric, Pam, and Bill, wanting them dead. But Sookie struggles with the idea of killing Victor in cold blood, rather than in the heat of battle or in self-defense. Victor sends assassins to kill Sookie, Pam, and Bill, without success. Sookie's cousin Claude comes to live with her, claiming he suffers without the company of other fairies (his triplets, Claudine and Claudette, are now deceased). Sookie's mad half-fae uncle, Dermot, has been wandering the property for reasons unknown, as has another unidentified fairy. Sookie seeks out Bill's "sibling", Judith Vardamon, to ask for her help. She learns that Judith was made vampire by Lorena in an attempt to placate a sullen Bill, her reasoning being that having a companion who so resembled Bill's late wife would please him. However, Bill avoids contact with Judith, believing that she blames him for her vampiric state. Judith won't contact Bill because she fears and hates Lorena. Sookie contacts Judith for the sake of Bill's health. Upon learning of Lorena's death, Judith is overjoyed and happily anticipatory of her visit with Bill. Her blood serves to heal him, and the two seem to build a rapport quickly.
Sookie is called upon to babysit her cousin Hadley's young son, Hunter, who is also telepathic. She helps him with the social nuances of being telepathic. Sookie attends a trial by the Shreveport pack, to learn why the body of Basim, a new were, was found buried on her property. She learns that Alcide's second is the bloodthirsty Jannalynn, who is dating Sam Merlotte. Sookie struggles to prevent the pack from killing any of their own. Ultimately, she learns that Colman, father of the baby Claudine was carrying, is seeking revenge on Sookie for the part he perceives she played in Claudine's death. He was going to kill her, but after seeing her mothering Hunter, he can't bear to kill her, and instead wants her to be arrested. Meanwhile, Alexei has been carelessly draining people and refusing to be controlled by Appius, and Eric struggles to control him. Ultimately, Alexei attacks and almost kills Pam and Eric, and kills Bobby Burnham (Eric's "day man"), and Felicia. The stories converge at Sookie's house, where Eric kills Alexei, Colman kills Appius Livius while attempting to kill Sookie, and Dermot kills Colman. Sookie and Claude free Dermot from the spell that had made him mad.
Critical reception for Dead in the Family was mostly positive,[2] with the News and Sentinel giving the novel a positive review.[3]Publishers Weekly and the Los Angeles Times also praised the book, with the Los Angeles Times saying that the book had "genuine heart".[4][5]Tor.com gave a mixed review for Dead in the Family, praising Harris for creating an interesting world and characters, but stating that "even she is getting tired of these people".[6]
Sookie Stackhouse is a fictional character and protagonist of The Southern Vampire Mysteries book series, written by Charlaine Harris. In HBO's television adaptation, True Blood, Sookie is portrayed by Anna Paquin.
Eric Northman is a fictional character in The Southern Vampire Mysteries, a series of thirteen books written by New York Times bestselling author Charlaine Harris. He is a vampire, slightly over one thousand years old, and is first introduced in the first novel, Dead Until Dark and appears in all subsequent novels. Since the book series is told from the first person perspective of Sookie Stackhouse, what readers perceive of his character is influenced by what Sookie comprehends. HBO's television series True Blood is based on this book series and the character of Eric Northman is portrayed somewhat differently. A list of True Blood characters has a detailed description of Eric's character from the TV show.
The Southern Vampire Mysteries, also known as The True Blood Novels and The Sookie Stackhouse Novels, is a series of books written by bestselling author Charlaine Harris. The first installment, Dead Until Dark (2001), won the Anthony Award for Best Paperback Mystery in 2001 and later served as the source material for the HBO drama series True Blood (2008–2014). The book series has been retronymed the True Blood Series upon reprinting, to capitalize on the television adaptation.
True Blood is an American fantasy horror drama television series produced and created by Alan Ball. It is based on The Southern Vampire Mysteries, a series of novels by Charlaine Harris.
William Thomas "Bill" Compton is a fictional character from The Southern Vampire Mysteries series by author Charlaine Harris. He is a vampire and is introduced in the first novel in the series, Dead Until Dark
Tara Mae Thornton is a fictional character in Charlaine Harris' The Southern Vampire Mysteries and their television adaptation, HBO's True Blood.
Dead Until Dark, published in 2001, is the first novel in Charlaine Harris' series The Southern Vampire Mysteries. It was adapted into True Blood's first season.
Living Dead in Dallas is the second book in Charlaine Harris's series The Southern Vampire Mysteries. This second novel follows the adventures of telepathic waitress Sookie Stackhouse of Bon Temps, Louisiana, as she is employed by Dallas vampires to use her telepathy to help find their lost companion. Sookie agrees to help investigate the whereabouts of the missing vampire on one condition: any humans found to be involved must be turned over to human law enforcement rather than subjected to vampire justice. In Dallas Sookie Stackhouse has her first encounter with the anti-vampire organization "The Fellowship of the Sun," as well as meeting and learning of the existence of werewolves.
Club Dead is the third book in Charlaine Harris's series The Southern Vampire Mysteries, released in 2003. In Club Dead, Sookie's boyfriend Bill disappears while working on a secret project, and Sookie heads out to Jackson, Mississippi in hopes of retrieving him alive. In this quest, she enlists the aid of a werewolf, Alcide Herveaux, and a vampire Eric.
Dead to the World is the fourth book in Charlaine Harris's series The Southern Vampire Mysteries, released in 2004. In Dead to the World, Sookie aids vampires Eric and Pam in their struggle against a coven of witches seeking to take over control of their area, and takes care of Eric after the witches erase his memory.
Pamela Ravenscroft, known as Pamela Swynford De Beaufort is a fictional character from the television series True Blood by Alan Ball based on The Southern Vampire Mysteries by author Charlaine Harris. Portrayed by Actress Kristin Bauer van Straten Pam is a vampire created by Eric Northman and the co-owner of Fangtasia, a vampire bar. Her age is not mentioned in True Blood. However, in the short story "Two Blondes," it is later revealed that she is approximately 160 years old.
Dead as a Doornail is the fifth book in Charlaine Harris's series The Southern Vampire Mysteries.
Dead and Gone is the ninth book in Charlaine Harris's series The Southern Vampire Mysteries. This title was released on May 5, 2009.
Alcide Herveaux is a fictional character from the Southern Vampire Mysteries/Sookie Stackhouse novels by author Charlaine Harris. He is a Were who owns a construction company in Jackson, Mississippi with his father. He is depicted as a tall man with green eyes, olive skin, and thick, tousled black hair.
The first season of the American television drama series True Blood premiered on September 7, 2008 and concluded on November 23, 2008. It consists of 12 episodes, each running approximately 55 minutes in length and was, for the most part, based on the novel Dead Until Dark, the first entry in The Southern Vampire Mysteries by Charlaine Harris. The story takes place in the fictional town of Bon Temps, Louisiana, two years after vampires have made their presence known to mankind, and follows telepathic waitress Sookie Stackhouse as she attempts to solve a series of murders that seem to be motivated by a hatred of vampires.
A Touch of Dead is a collection of short stories from Charlaine Harris's series The Southern Vampire Mysteries. This title was released on October 6, 2009. This book only contains the short stories Harris has published in which Sookie Stackhouse is present.
Dead Reckoning is a 2011 New York Times Bestselling gothic romance novel by Charlaine Harris and is the eleventh book in her Southern Vampire Mysteries series. The book was released on May 3, 2011 by Ace Books and deals with Sookie discovering more about her heritage and dealing with more supernatural difficulties.
Deadlocked is a 2012 urban fantasy novel by American author Charlaine Harris and is the twelfth and penultimate book in her The Southern Vampire Mysteries. The book was released on May 1, 2012 by Ace Books.
Dead Ever After is a fantasy novel by Charlaine Harris. It is the thirteenth novel in The Southern Vampire Mysteries series. On May 14, 2012, Charlaine Harris' Facebook administrator announced that Dead Ever After would be the final book of the series and it was released on May 7, 2013.
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