Charlaine Harris’ tenth Sookie Stackhouse novel Dead in the Family delves even deeper into the life of Sookie and the vampires, shapeshifters, werewolves, fairies and other creatures which surround her. The magic of Charlaine Harris is that she has succeeded in creating a world where nothing shocks the reader, is unacceptable or unbelievable. After the introduction of vampires into mainstream society Harris manages to introduce werewolves, fae, maenads and demons without so much as batting an eyelid, and the reader accepts their presence, as the mythology surrounding the novel encloses them.

Most readers of Harris that I have spoken to admit that the paramount reason for reading these novels is for the escape factor they offer and the fun of the world she creates: this is not ‘literary’ fiction, however Harris is talented at executing the dark romance plot. Dead in the Family follows Sookie after her injuries and the death of many of those around her during the fae war. When a werewolf Basim discovers the scent of two fae on Sookie’s property and is killed the next day, Sookie must discover the significance of this death and the burial on her own land. She must also deal with the arrival of Eric’s maker Appius Livius Ocella and his ‘love child’ Alexei in Bon Temps and the threat their presence has on her relationship with him.

Charlaine Harris’ presence in the expansive dark romance genre has largely been assisted by the huge success of the HBO series True Blood directed by Alan Ball. Following the success of teen vamp romance Twilight, Ball’s creation is sexier and edgier, an explicit and clever twist on the dark fantasy plot. The dark romance genre is certainly having a renaissance, leading on from nineties hits Interview with a Vampire and Buffy the Vampire Slayer, however the vamps are no longer reclusive, but integrated into our society, whether due to scientific advances (synthetic blood) or a more accepting culture.

The Sookie Stackhouse novels have the right balance of excitment, twists and romance of a real page turner, however having read all ten novels, I am starting to feel that maybe the world has grown too large, and that I am struggling to feel the same sense of excitement for the next installment. Although Sookie makes for a great protagonist with her endearing yet fiesty nature, her humour and courage, I feel there is only so much more I can get from the character and the world around her. I cannot see where Harris is ultimately taking the plot, and the sub plots within each novel are starting to feel similar, lacking the intrigue which they originally inspired.

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