Dead Until Dark by Charlaine Harris

Sookie Stackhouse was born with a peculiar disability: she can read minds. Her family never talks about it and everyone in town knows there's something strange about her. When she meets the handsome Bill Compton she's thrilled to finally be able to let her guard down around someone, as his is the only mind she can't hear. One slight problem, however: Bill is a vampire, who, thanks to the advent of synthetic blood, has finally been able to "come out of the coffin" along with the rest of his kind. Soon after his arrival in her small Louisiana town (he's Bon Temps' first vampire) several mysterious and incredibly violent murders start happening. As Sookie and Bill begin to fall in love, Bill is accused of committing the murders and Sookie is dragged into the affairs of some seriously scary vampires who aren't quite as adept at mainstreaming (i.e. not drinking human blood) as Bill. This is the first book in the Southern Vampire series.

If this book sounds familiar to you it's probably because the series is the basis for the HBO series True Blood, which will start its second season in mid June. I was a fan of the series, so it's difficult for me to judge the book against the series, which I saw before reading Dead Until Dark. Obviously, there are going to be some differences, but I really felt that the book improved where the series was lacking. I've never been a huge vampire fan and the traditional mythology has never appealed to me, so it was really fun to read a "what if" scenario about present day America dealing with a new minority who are asking for civil rights and acceptance. The vampires have only just "come out of the coffin" a few years prior and already this entire subculture has formed, including churches who preach that vampires are evil and women who have sex with the vampires ("fangbangers"). Even though many vampires own businesses now and are trying to mainstream, they still operate under a separate set of rules and hierarchy that I can't wait to learn more about.

The vampires aren't the only interesting characters. I've read broad spoilers for later books and I know to expect more fantasy type characters at some point. There's something a little different about Sookie's boss, Sam, that I won't tell you about -it comes out of nowhere and is a great set up for future stories. Sookie herself is a fun character because, despite her "disability", she's a normal woman who's just as in awe of the whole vampire situation as I was. When she meets Bill she cracks up after he tells her his name -Bill is such an ordinary name for a vampire and she was expecting something a bit more exotic. The other townspeople are the best kinds of supporting characters: both familiar and hilarious. Since I'm from a small southern town I could totally relate to them and all their drama (of which there is a ton).

If you're like a great many people in this world you're totally burnt out on vampires right now -believe me, I understand. But trust me, this book is in no way similar to other vampire books you may or may not be sick of. These vampires are allergic to silver and the sun, can't procreate, their blood has some intense side effects when drunk by humans (yes, the blood drinking goes both ways), and they won't make you get married before you're old enough to drink before they'll have sex with you. This is a fun, interesting series that I can't wait to finish!

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