In volume 5 of the series, Sookie's suspicion that her brother Jason is now a lesser shapeshifter after being held prisoner and bitten several times by a were panther who was jealous of his relationship with a female shifter, has been borne out. This makes him a suspect with the rest of the shifter community when a sniper starts shooting were wolves and other shapeshifters, as some believe Jason may be taking revenge for his involuntary change. Meanwhile, Sookie herself becomes a target for arson and other attacks, and is trying to help her friend Tara, who has fallen into the power of a rather nasty vampire. And as ever, she is trying to balance her relationships with the multitude of men in her life, all of whom are non human and keen to get her into bed, with or without the intention of forming a steady relationship.

The elephant in the room is tackled early on when werewolf Alcide points out that Bill did rape her when she was trapped by his very nasty and now deceased ex-girlfriend. Again, Sookie excuses Bill by saying that he was suffering from torture and blood deprivation, and desisted when he realised it was her he was attacking - something that hardly excuses it in reality. Later, she feels happy and safe when Bill arrives to cuddle her in her hospital bed. This is just wrong on so many levels.

In this story, Sookie provides more evidence of her lack of taste in men and her inability to keep her distance, raising expectations in various shifters and vamps. If she had any sense, she would take up with Sam who she admits is a good friend, and fancies, is a hard worker with his own business and as a minor character confirms, is "nuts about her".

The books do seem to suffer from changed premises and another occurs when the fairy character suddenly acquires a brother whom Sookie has met off stage as it were, despite no previous mention and a time lapse between this book and the previous one of only a few weeks. At one point also, a certain character suddenly acquires a title, as in Sir Charles, which is a one off and seems to be an error.

More minor characters - one introduced previously and two others in this book - come to premature ends. There is a huge cast of characters by now and the book does rather lack focus, especially with such emphasis on werewolf politics. So many characters appear that most are very sketchy and I struggled to recall who one was whenever he appeared - the werewolf who opposes Alcide's father in the contest for leadership of the Weres.

On balance, this is more of a 2 and a half stars, but given the Goodreads rating system, comes out as 3. ( )

Dead as a Doornail
4 Stars

In the aftermath of the witch war, Sookie Stackhouse only wants to live a quiet life. Unfortunately, this is not to be as someone is using the local shifter population in Bon Temps for target practice and Sookie's brother, Jason, the newest member of the Were-Panther community is the prime suspect. Added to this is the arrival of a menacing vampire from out of town and a struggle for pack leadership amongst the Werewolves. Poor Sookie has her hands full!

Dead to the World is a hard act to follow, but Harris does an admirable job in Dead as a Doornail.

Let's start with the plot.

Although there are three storylines that develop independently, each demonstrates the more negative aspects of the various supernatural groups, which have, until now, been presented in a generally positive light. The sniper mystery emphasizes the disastrous consequences of shifter behavior while the Alpha contest brings out the worst in the wolves, in general, and in Alcide in particular. Finally, the sinister vampire, Mickey, who has his hooks into Tara reveals the threat posed by rogues who view humans as little more than food.

With regard to Sookie's love life, she is, once again, the object of affection for numerous supernatural males. While she is a smart, witty and resourceful heroine, it is not clear why so many of them have the hots for her.

Bill has been out of the running as Sookie's love interest for several books and this does not appear to be changing any time soon. At this point, he is more of a stalker than anything else.

Eric is as enigmatic as ever and his interactions with Sookie are a highlight as she tries to thwart his determined attempts to discover what really happened between them when he lost his memory.

Alcide's true nature is also revealed via the Alpha contest sub-plot. Whereas the sexy Were truly appeared to care for Sookie in previous books, the darker of his nature is revealed as he attempts to use and manipulate Sookie for his own selfish needs.

Calvin Norris, the were-panther leader, does not fare much better. It is clear that he wants Sookie as little more than a brood-mare and is not above using Jason as leverage.

Sam appears to be the only one who truly cares for Sookie's needs and well-being, but does not appear to be the friends with benefits type.

Finally, we are introduced to a new character in the form of John Quinn, a were-tiger of all things, and one can only assume that he wants into Sookie's pants as well.

All in all, an entertaining addition to the series and I look forward to the next one. ( )

Too many shifters. Bring the vampires back. ( )

Decent Fluff. ( )

Another book in the series and the continuing adventures of Sookie. This book focuses more on Sookie's brother Jason and what he goes through as a werepanther. This book was good and fun to read. ( )