Sookie Stackhouse Book 5 – Dead As A Doornail

Vampires, shape-shifters and werewolves, oh my! These characters continue to provide intrigue and mystery in a small, sultry Louisiana bayou town in the fifth installment in Charlaine Harris’ Southern Vampire series. The series revolves around Sookie Stackhouse, a cocktail waitress and mere mortal who happens to have the ability to read minds. Dead As A Doornail picks up with Sookie’s brother, Jason, relishing his new existence as a were-panther after being turned against his will.

All is not well though, as a murderous sniper is terrorizing the shape-shifters residing in town. With three shifters already dead, all eyes are on Jason as the possible killer. After Sookie’s boss, Sam, a bartender and shape-shifter, is shot and wounded, she begins to investigate in an attempt to clear Jason’s name. Her efforts are not appreciated however, and in a vicious attack, her house is set on fire. Charles, a new vampire bartender on the scene, manages to rescue her. Although Jason is no longer a suspect, things are decidedly not looking up for Sookie Stackhouse.

On top of that, when the local werewolf pack leader dies the handsome werewolf Alcide, wanting his father to gain control of the pack, pulls Sookie into the battle, intending to use her mindreading powers as a weapon against his father’s opponent. Additionally, Sookie’s best friend Tara appears to be dating an abusive vampire, and a group of werewolves is investigating the sudden and mysterious disappearance of a female shape-shifter who publicly threatened Sookie’s life. With this last incident Sookie finds herself being considered the prime suspect in the disappearance.

Charlaine Harris takes these seemingly discongruous threads and weaves them into an enjoyable fantasy reading experience. Dead As A Doornail, along with the later books in the series, pulls the reader into a more complex and darkly intriguing world than the earlier installments. Harris is adept at providing enough history so new readers will not feel entirely lost, while retaining the interest of hardcore Southern Vampire Mystery fans.

As such Dead As A Doornail leaves its readers eagerly awaiting the arrival of another chapter in the lives of Bon Temps and its dark denizens.

Dead As a Doornail can be purchased from online retailers like Amazon. For an even better deal, check out the Sookie Stackhouse Box Set which includes Books 1-8. The box set is ON SALE which greatly reduces the cost of each book.

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See also: Sookie Stackhouse Book 6 – Definitely Dead