Dead Ever After

In the final installment of the Sookie Stackhouse series%E2%80%94on which HBO's True Blood is based%E2%80%94Harris's heroine once again finds herself torn between potential suitors and threatened by a host of supernatural beings. Despite her desire to live a somewhat normal life, the telepathic waitress becomes further tangled in the violence and rivalries of the supernatural realm. After using the magical cluviel dor to bring her friend Sam back to life, Sookie's vampire lover Eric becomes jealous and starts ignoring her. While Sam is coping with the trauma of coming back from the dead, Sookie has bigger problems when her former co-worker Arlene is found dead. Since Arlene had previously conspired to have Sookie killed, Sookie becomes the prime suspect and needs her friends to come to her defense. Harris's wry humor and the novel's strong sense of place in working-class Louisiana shines throughout%E2%80%94at one point, "the devil was eating beignets". Amid the fast-paced, action-filled novel, Harris manages to tie up loose ends for the series' large cast of characters and longtime readers will appreciate Sookie finding closure. (May)