Part of Sookie Stackhouse, book 2
First published 2004
Sookie Stackhouse serves drinks and reads minds in small-town Louisiana. When her coworker dies and nobody cares, her bad luck gets worse. A vicious creature attacks her, leaving poisonous wounds across her body. Vampires arrive to save her life by sucking the toxins from her blood. They claim they helped her out of kindness, but Sookie knows better. Soon after, the undead call in their favor. They need her telepathic abilities to locate a missing vampire in Dallas. Sookie agrees to interview the humans who might know something, but she sets firm rules. The vampires must control themselves and leave the humans alive. Her conditions seem reasonable until the investigation begins. In Dallas, one attractive blonde woman and a single error in judgment threaten to destroy everything. Sookie discovers that keeping vampires on their best behavior requires more than good intentions. The missing vampire case becomes a fight for survival where one mistake could turn deadly.
Genres: romance, mystery, fantasy, adult-fiction, paranormal, urban-fantasy
Vibes: atmospheric, dark, fast-paced, suspenseful
Tropes: enemies-to-lovers, found-family
Setting: Dallas, Louisiana
Period: 21st-century
291 pages · Mass Market Paperback · Orbit
Content warnings: violence