I would say that if you likes the Southern Vampire novels initially, that you should most definitely check out Nicole Peeler's Jane True saga - it's just soooo good!
Here is a link to my last Explorations blog, in which I review the latest Jane True novel Tempest's Fury as well as why the entire series is so entertaining. 
Eyake wrote:
Im a huge Sookie fan! Great series.I am definitely glad I read the books before the HBO show came out. Charlaine Harris is a genius, and I love escaping into her books. Have you tried reading Harris' other books? Great reads.
I actually loved her debut novel Sweet and Deadly. Just awesome!
The Barnes & Noble ReviewOut of print for more than 20 years, the debut novel from prolific mystery author Charlaine Harris (the Aurora Teagarden saga, the Lily Bard stories, et al.) is finally available once again. But unlike her lighthearted and humor-filled Sookie Stackhouse series,Sweet and Deadly is an eerie and atmospheric gem about a young woman named Catherine Linton, who returns to her home in Lowfield, Mississippi, following her parents' tragic death and becomes entangled in the small town's dirty little secrets.
While out target shooting on her family's land, the still-grieving Catherine stumbles across the corpse of a brutally beaten woman hidden away in an old shack. The victim, it turns out, was a decidedly unlikable nurse who worked with Catherine's physician father. Catherine investigates further and soon uncovers the scandalous truth: The nurse was blackmailing someone in the town -- someone prominent and someone desperate enough to kill in order to keep a secret…
Longtime Harris fans will be more than pleasantly surprised by this dark and disturbing murder mystery set in a small town on the Mississippi Delta. Vividly re-creating the unique and sometimes negative aspects of southern culture (replete with underpinnings of racism, sexism, self-righteousness, etc.), Sweet and Deadly is archetypical southern gothic -- especially the novel's shocking conclusion. Highly recommended. Paul Goat Allen
paulgoatallen wrote:
Eyake wrote:Im a huge Sookie fan! Great series.I am definitely glad I read the books before the HBO show came out. Charlaine Harris is a genius, and I love escaping into her books. Have you tried reading Harris' other books? Great reads.
I actually loved her debut novel Sweet and Deadly. Just awesome!
Out of print for more than 20 years, the debut novel from prolific mystery author Charlaine Harris (the Aurora Teagarden saga, the Lily Bard stories, et al.) is finally available once again. But unlike her lighthearted and humor-filled Sookie Stackhouse series,Sweet and Deadly is an eerie and atmospheric gem about a young woman named Catherine Linton, who returns to her home in Lowfield, Mississippi, following her parents' tragic death and becomes entangled in the small town's dirty little secrets.
While out target shooting on her family's land, the still-grieving Catherine stumbles across the corpse of a brutally beaten woman hidden away in an old shack. The victim, it turns out, was a decidedly unlikable nurse who worked with Catherine's physician father. Catherine investigates further and soon uncovers the scandalous truth: The nurse was blackmailing someone in the town -- someone prominent and someone desperate enough to kill in order to keep a secret…
Longtime Harris fans will be more than pleasantly surprised by this dark and disturbing murder mystery set in a small town on the Mississippi Delta. Vividly re-creating the unique and sometimes negative aspects of southern culture (replete with underpinnings of racism, sexism, self-righteousness, etc.), Sweet and Deadly is archetypical southern gothic -- especially the novel's shocking conclusion. Highly recommended. Paul Goat Allen
I gave Sweet and Deadly a try. I do like a good mystery book. I really enjoyed the book. I have read Harris's Harper Connelly and Sookie Stackhouse series and this was a fun departure from them. It was fun to see how her books have changed.
