How to read Sookie Stackhouse books in order
Charlaine Harris’ Sookie Stackhouse series is a collection of thirteen mystery novels featuring supernatural elements. The series was rather popular during the 2000s vampire craze, but it still manages to inspire and draw readers in thanks to its memorable characters and suspenseful storylines.
An overview of the Sookie Stackhouse series
Also known as the Southern Vampire Mysteries, the series follows the adventures of the titular heroine Sookie, a telepath from the fictional town of Bon Temps, Louisiana, working as a cocktail waitress in a world where humans and vampires coexist.
The first novel came out in 2001, introducing the world to Sookie and her love interest, Bill Compton, and the following novels continued to follow their exploits as they navigate the world full of werewolves, vampires, shapeshifters, and other undead supernatural creatures.
The series was adapted into an HBO TV show called True Blood, which aired from 2008 to 2014 for a total of seven seasons. However, the show strayed from the source material in a few significant ways.
Author of Sookie Stackhouse books
Charlaine Harris is an American author of young adult and urban fantasy novels. She was born in Mississippi in 1951, but she grew up in Arkansas. She started writing during her days at Rhodes College in Memphis, Tennessee, when she gave poetry a shot. Eventually, she turned to prose, becoming a full-time novelist.
She is, to this day, most famous for the Sookie Stackhouse novels, the books that inspired True Blood, at least when it comes to the general public. In the literary sphere, she’s perhaps more known for her Aurora Teagarden series, which won her an Agatha Awards nomination.
She’s written a number of other works, such as The Harper Connelly Mysteries and Cemetery Girl, a graphic novel co-authored with Christopher golden and illustrated by Don Kramer, and some short stories.
Exploring the writings of Charlaine Harris
Harris’ writings are known for her strong female protagonists, captivating plotlines with supernatural elements, and re-read potential. As most of her stories take place in fictional towns in Southern US, she also has a talent for capturing the vibes of the southern communities and their social dynamics, even if presented in a fictional setting.
Harris is also known for mixing suspense with humor and romance in engrossing ways, which is exactly why True Blood has managed to garner such a large viewership and inspire a whole fandom movement. Her style is also accessible to a wide audience, which surely contributes to the number of fans she has.
Aurora Teagarden series
The Aurora Teagarden book series follows Aurora, a librarian and an amateur private eye who spends her free time with the Real Murders Club, a group of crime buffs obsessed with crimes that took place in their hometown. When one of the members gets killed, though, Aurora must investigate everything herself — for real.
Lily Bard series
Set in a small town called Shakespeare, Arkansas, the series follows Lily Bard, a woman with a troubled past trying to make peace with her own demons. But the series is much more than that — it’s also a murder mystery in the strictest sense of the word, and it allows Lily’s wit to shine through in the most believable of ways.
Harper Connelly series
The Harper Connelly series follows the titular character and narrator, Harper, a woman with a special power that lets her see how a person died. Unfortunately, she cannot tell who the killer was in those cases where death was not natural. Naturally, Harper charges others for her services.
Cemetery Girl trilogy
The Cemetery Girl trilogy is a collaborative project with Cristopher Golden. The series centers on a young girl who wakes up with no memory of who she is or how she got there — in a cemetery. She names herself Calexa Rose Dunhill, names taken from the tombstones around her, and sets on to find out what happened.
Midnight, Texas series
The Midnight, Texas series is a trilogy of urban fantasy novels taking place in a fictional town in Texas called Midnight, inhabited by all sorts of supernatural creatures. The story is set in the world of Sookie Stackhouse, but it follows a different protagonist, Manfred Bernardo, a human psychic looking for a way to escape the ruckus.
Gunnie Rose series
Gunnie Rose novels is a series of urban fantasy western novels featuring Lizbeth Rose, a gunslinger and a mercenary from the American Southwest. Everything goes in her world, even magic, so her adventures take off when she takes on a job given by a couple of Russian wizards looking for a man believed to be the descendant of none other than Rasputin.
In what order should I read Sookie Stackhouse books?
Maybe you’ve seen True Blood and now want to explore the work of the bestselling author responsible for the lore and the characters, or maybe you’re looking for a fresh urban fantasy series to dive into — it doesn’t matter: we have a list of the complete Sookie Stackhouse series in chronological, that is, recommended, reading order:
- Dead Until Dark (2001)
- Living Dead in Dallas (2002)
- Club Dead (2003)
- Dead to the World (2004)
- Dead as a Doornail (2005)
- Definitely Dead (2006)
- All Together Dead (2007)
- From Dead to Worse (2008)
- Wolfsbane and Mistletoe (2008)
- Dead and Gone (2009)
- A Touch of Dead (2009)
- Dead in the Family (2010)
- Crimes by Moonlight: Mysteries from the Dark Side (2010)
- True Blood Collection (2010)
- Dead Reckoning (2011
- Dead Reckoning (2011)
- The First Sookie Collection (2011)
- Deadlocked (2012)
- Dancers in the Dark (2012)
- Dead Ever After (2013)
- After Dead (2013)
- Games Creatures Play (2014)
In addition to the books mentioned, Harris also wrote several additional Sookie Stackhouse short stories. The Sookie Stackhouse companion stories include Tacky (2006), Dracula Night (2007), Gift Wrap (2009), One Word Answer (2009), Fairy Dust (2009), Two Blondes (2010), Death’s Excellent Vacation (2010), Small Town Wedding (2011), If I had a Hammer (2011), and Playing Possum (2013).
Sookie Stackhouse audiobooks
Maybe you’ve already seen and read everything from the Sookie Stackhouse series, but have you listened to Harris’ stories in audiobook format?
If you’d like to experience your favorite series in a whole new way, you can dive into the audiobooks on Speechify, an app that lets you enjoy a vast library of fantasy and mystery novels on the go, including Amazon best-sellers.
With tens of thousands of titles, Speechify Audiobooks is one of the biggest new audiobook platforms. Whether you want to listen to the Sookie Stackhouse books and follow the adventures of Eric, Jason, Hadley, Merlotte, and Quinn or enjoy Charlaine Harris’ other works, such as those featuring Aurora Teagarden, download Speechify today and listen to the first book for free.
The app is available on both Apple and Android.
