Betrayed by her longtime vampire lover, cocktail waitress Sookie Stackhouse has her hands full dealing with every kind of undead and paranormal creature, as well as the new man in her life, the shapeshifter Quinn, and the upcoming vampire summit.

With her knack for being in trouble's way, Sookie witnesses the firebombing of Merlotte's, the bar where she works. Since Sam Merlotte is now known to be two-natured, suspicion falls immediately on the anti-shifters in the area. Sookie suspects otherwise, but her attention is divided when she realizes that her lover Eric Northman and his "child" Pam are plotting to kill the vampire who is now their master. Gradually, Sookie is drawn into the plot...

In Bon Temps, Louisiana, a race of unhuman beings--older, more powerful and far more secretive than vampires or werewolves-- is preparing for war. And Sookie Stackhouse will find herself an all-too human pawn in their battle as she investigates the murder of a were-panther.

The Maenadian reign of terror may be over, but Sookie Stackhouse and the townspeople of Bon Temps face a new calamity that makes the bacchanalian evils of Maryanne Forrester seem tame by comparison. Sookie desperately tries to locate her fiancé, ending up in a netherworld of human and undead interlopers, among them the powerful Vampire King of Mississippi, Russell Edgington.

Harris's rousing fifth Sookie Stackhouse fantasy-mystery pits vampires, were-creatures, shifters and one fairy godmother against a sniper with an apparent aversion to nonhumans. If trying to discover who's behind the shootings isn't enough, the telepathic cocktail waitress from Bon Temps, La., has to cope with a few other distractions: her sexy "Were" friend, Alcide Herveaux, needs her help in his father's bid to become the next leader of the local...

After an unfortunate incident, Sookie finds herself beholden to a group of Louisiana vampires. So she agrees to travel to Dallas with her undead boyfriend Bill and track down a missing vamp, but only if the vampires promise to let local humans go unharmed. That seems easier said than done when an upstart religious cult threatens to destroy all things vampire--including Sookie, who is quickly scheduled for sacrifice.

"As a person with so few living relatives, Louisiana cocktail waitress Sookie Stackhouse really hated to lose one. But she never guessed that it would be her cousin Hadley - a consort of the vampire queen of New Orleans. After all, technically speaking, Hadley was already dead. And now, as unexpected heir to Hadley's estate, Sookie discovers the inheritance definitely comes with a risk." "Someone doesn't want Sookie looking too deeply into Hadley's...