Dead in the Family by Charlaine Harris

Sookie Stackhouse has finally settled into a relationship with the Viking vampire Eric, and her errant brother Jason seems to have his life in order, too. 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 shows up with Eric’s ‘brother’ in tow, the ailing Bill can only be healed by a blood sibling, and Sam’s brother’s marriage is about to take place... or will it? The furor raised by the coming out of the two-natured has yet to settle; some people are just not ready to sit down to dinner with a man who turns into a dog. And Sookie herself is still recovering from her last ordeal. She’s definitely improving, physically and mentally, but she’s always going to have some dark moments now. The werewolves tell her that there have been strange and ominous passers-by in the Stackhouse woods; now Sookie is about to come face-to-face with one of her more distant relatives. [via GoodReads]

Yes, I am a big fan of this series and, yes, I did enjoy this book. It was just lacking something for me.

Let me make it clear, when I crack open one of Charlaine Harris' Sookie novels I am thrown into this world from the first page and I will practically not eat, drink or sleep until it spits me out in the end. Thus was still the case with Dead in the Family, but, this was really just a filler book. There was nothing utterly important in it to really make it stand out for me.

Sookie is a different girl in this novel. And I think I actually like her this way better. Since her last ordeal in the previous book - she has a tougher no-nonsense attitude. She's not taking crap from anyone and that includes FBI agent Lattesta, boyfriend Eric, ex-boyfriend Bill and father-by-vampire-law, Appius Livius Ocella. I like this new Sookie even though she still says stuff like Howdydoo(?) or crapanola.

My fave part of the book of course = Sookie & Eric!! Eric & Sookie!! Oh yes, they are together, they are in love and they are married by vampire law, of course. My only complaint was that there was not as much Sookie & Eric time as I would have liked and their few intimate moments were VERY PG - you know, of the fade to black variety. I would have liked a tad more detail... call me naughty if you must.

Other than that, there are plenty of storylines running amok throughout the story: Bill still being sick from the silver poisoning he acquired during the Fae war, a possible cure by use of a "sibling", Tara's pregnancy, Sam having issues with his family and their shifter ways, the government looking to add shifters/weres to the national registration bill which would limit their rights as US citizens; the possibility that Victor wants Eric, Sookie and all our fave vamps out of the picture, Eric's maker making a surprise visit bringing along his new "son", and "were" politics with Alcide's pack that land Sookie as Shaman to the pack. Not to mention there are a few straggler faeries that are hanging about Sookie's land. Oh yes, I know, if you can think of it, it was probably a storyline in this book.

Overall, I enjoyed the book but, to be quite honest, you won't miss much if you skip it. It's one of those. Nothing is really resolved in it. A few storylines were added and some minor one's were resolved but the big issues were left hanging. I'm taking the next book in the series will deal more with Victor and his big, bad self, and I'm sure we'll learn more of Bill and his "sibling" as well as get more were/shifter drama.

Although not as exciting as previous books, you can still find a good dose of Sookie in here and, a good dose of Sookie is never a bad thing.