In bestseller Harris's perky sixth Southern Vampire novel to star Sookie Stackhouse (after 2005's Dead as a Doornail), the telepathic waitress of Bon Temps, La., is off to (pre-hurricane) New Orleans to close out her dead cousin Hadley's apartment. Hadley's death six weeks earlier had been unexpected, since, as a vampire, she was already dead. Still, she'd led a lively existence as the main squeeze of the Queen of Louisiana, an omnisexual vampire, whose political marriage to the King of Arkansas occurred the night before Hadley's demise. Sookie and Amelia Broadway, Hadley's landlady and a pretty cool witch, immediately discover a mess of trouble left behind in Hadley's closet, and Sookie's soon neck-deep in even more. Though most of the intrigue doesn't come till halfway through, Harris keeps the action going nonstop in this bubbly brew of supernatural spice and whimsical whodunit that's more fun than a barrel of beignets. Alan Ball, the creator of HBO's Six Feet Under, plans to shoot a TV pilot based on the series later this year. 12-city author tour. (May) Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information. From: Reed Elsevier Inc. Copyright Reed Business Information

Mind-reading sleuth Sookie Stackhouse once again finds herself embroiled in supernatural mayhem as she is ordered by the vampire queen of Louisiana to remove the contents of the apartment once belonging to Sookie's cousin Hadley. This young woman died twice-once when changing from human to vampire and then, sadly, when murdered by another undead jealous of the queen's affection for her. Hadley's landlady, Amanda, is a certified witch who had put a protective spell on the apartment, which unfortunately is not quite effective-as Sookie and Amanda find out to their peril. But that's not all. Someone or something is stalking Sookie. With more twists and turns for Sookie, including complications in her unconventional love life, this sixth book in Harris's "Southern Vampire" series offers a grand blend of mystery-cum-fantasy with dollops of romance and humor. [Alan Ball, creator of Six Feet Under, is planning a new television series based on these books.-Ed.]-Patricia Altner, Information Seekers, Columbia, MD Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information. From: Reed Elsevier Inc. Copyright Reed Business Information

Sookie Stackhouse once tried to keep her mind-reading capabilities secret, but the word is definitely out in Bon Temps, Louisiana, her hometown, leading local police to call on her to help find a missing child. There's a new man, were-tiger Quinn, in the picture, too, but on their first date, two were-people attack them. Sookie isn't sure whether she or Quinn was the target but is soon distracted by a more pressing problem. Cousin Hadley, a vampire, has been murdered, and Sookie has inherited her apartment, meaning she has to go to New Orleans to uncover the mysterious circumstances surrounding the death and meet with Hadley's lover, the Vampire Queen herself. Though not quite as driven as past entries in Harris' Southern Vampire series--Sookie doesn't get to New Orleans until a third of the way in--this is a gratifying read for Sookie's fans because of a major surprise for Sookie about one of her old lovers. --Kristine Huntley Copyright 2006 Booklist From: Syndetics Solutions, Inc. Distributed by Syndetic Solutions, Inc.