Dead in the Family: A True Blood Novel (Sookie Stackhouse, #10)

by Charlaine Harris

If you think your family relationships are complicated, think again: you haven't seen anything like the ones in Bon Temps, Louisiana. Sookie Stackhouse is dealing with a whole host of family problems, ranging from her own kin (a non-human fairy and a telepathic second cousin) demanding a place in her life, to her lover Eric's vampire sire, an ancient being, who arrives with Eric's 'brother' in tow at a most inopportune moment. And Sookie's tracking down a distant relation of her ailing neighbour (and ex), Vampire Bill Compton. In addition to the multitude of family issues complicating her life, the werewolf pack of Shreveport has asked Sookie for a special favour, and since Sookie is an obliging young woman, she agrees. But this favour for the wolves has dire results for Sookie, who is still recovering from the trauma of her abduction during the Fairy War.

• ISBN10: 0575089342
• ISBN13: 9780575089341
• Publish Date: 29 March 2011 (first published 20 April 2010)
• Publish Status: Out of Print
• Out of Print: 22 November 2014
• Publish Country: GB
• Imprint: Gollancz
• Format: Paperback (B-Format (198x129 mm))
• Pages: 320
• Language: English

Reviews

[Kate (Blogging with Dragons)]

Really wasn't a fan of this book. Nothing really seemed to happen in it. I felt no real fear for Sookie's safety when danger came, as she is always saved. And furthermore, it just felt like a rehash of all the other plot points--trouble with the Weres and Sookie being forced to a meeting, Eric and Pam needing saved, trouble with the faeries, and so on. There was nothing new or exciting here.
And to top it off, I actually rolled my eyes when the tsarevitch, Alexei Romanov was introduced as a vampire, who just happened to be Eric's brother. It just seemed like an entirely unnecessary and cheap plotline.
I'm hoping the next book is better, but the series really has seemed to go downhill. I'm still not over how big of a letdown Sookie's at-last romance with Eric was! I was waiting for the entire series for this and it was just so anticlimactic. This book didn't really do anything to rectify their love life or even make it appealing--it was just so bland. Unfortunately, so was the rest of this book.

[celinenyx]

I can see why other people were disappointed with Dead in the Family, but for me it was a solid addition to the Sookie books.

I think the main problem for most people was their anticipations. If you've waited for this book for a year, it better be a great and action-packed book - which it is not. However, looking back, I don't think the Sookie books were never that action packed. They never seem to have such clear a plot or mystery. Mostly it's just Sookie being Sookie, mingling with Bon Temps locals while doing some supernatural smooching and killing on the side.

After the happenings in Dead and Gone, Sookie is having a very hard time. She is traumatised, and the first few chapters of Dead in the Family are focussed on that. She needs some time with her family to regain herself, and I though this was quite well executed. This also means that she's not off doing vampire business all the time - but to be honest that's not why I read the books anyway. I just really like the simplistic style of the prose, the straight-forward storyline and clear-cut characters. They make for such easy reading when life is stressful, and Dead in the Family delivered the hard-needed distraction.

I also didn't mind seeing Sookie and Eric in what people call "an old married couple" relationship. Plenty of relationships in books only deal with the first attraction phase of falling in love. Couples actually staying together, working things out after the first rush of attraction has faded are severely under-represented in fiction, and I was quite interested in seeing how Sookie and Eric would work out long-term.

All in all, Dead in the Family might not be the strongest book in the series (at least, that is the consensus amongst fans), I wasn't disappointed in getting my light paranormal fix.

This is the last Sookie book I've read in the series. This book was just meh and it made me question why I've stayed with the series for so long. I'm glad I stopped here because I hear the next couple of books are terrible.

[inlibrisveritas]

It took me awhile to get around to it because I didn't want to read it before the next one came out for the fear I'd forget what happened. I love this series, I'd forgotten how quick of a read they were. I can't wait to get the next one. I adore Eric so having things involve him more is awesome, I just hope nothing horrible happens between them...I am kind of tired of Sookie exploring all the males in her supernatural neighborhood (probably because I'm bias). I really want to see how the BVA and Shifter thing turns out too, so far everything has been pretty believable on that aspect.

[ibeforem]

And with this book, I am officially caught up with the series! Unfortunately, this one wasn’t that great. There was no overall story or theme here, just a bunch of smaller problems that have to be solved all at once. Sookie is starting to lose some of her depth, and is almost becoming a parody of herself. I’m hoping that the next book is a little more thoughtfully written.

[lizarodz]

I have to say that I was a little disappointed with this book. I waited a year to know what would happened with Sookie and it seems like nothing much did. Erik is walking on egg shells here and seems to have lost power and seems almost to be whinning all the time. Their relationship seems genuine, but a little out of character for Erik.

Bill's health and it seems his love life was neatly fixed, but he is hardly in the book. Overall it lacked the fast paced narrative of the previous books. I hope the next book is better (and longer!)

[Terri M. LeBlanc]

Another solid Sookie Stackhouse novel where you learn a bit more about the key characters in the series. It's a quick, escape read.

The novel was a bit disappointing because there were so many story lines happening at once--Eric and his Mysterious Visitors, Sookie's New Stalker, Sookie's New Roommate, Sookie and more Werewolf Problems plus political issues with Shifter/Were rights. It was a lot to be happening in one book.

[Linda]

I love it so far!!