Bishop / Special Crimes Unit
paranormal mystery
Series · paranormal mystery
Sookie Stackhouse
The Sookie Stackhouse series by Charlaine Harris has 16 known books (16 published) and is best read in publication order, starting with Dead Until Dark (2001). The latest book with a fully recorded publication date is After Dead: What Came Next in the World of Sookie Stackhouse.
- Books
- 16 known books (13 novels + 1 companion + 2 collections)
- Published
- 16
- First published
- 2001
- Status
- completed
- Shelved under
- Mystery & Crime, Fantasy
- Last checked
Start here: Dead Until Dark (2001) — then read straight through in publication order.
Reading order
The date order of published books and any announced future entries — the default way to read the series.
- Book 1:
Dead Until Dark
Dead Until Dark (2001) opens the Sookie Stackhouse series in Bon Temps, Louisiana, introducing the telepathic cocktail waitress and her vampire boyfriend Bill Compton in a world where vampires have recently "come out of the coffin" after inventing synthetic blood. It runs 326 pages and became the basis for HBO's True Blood.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Dead Until Dark - Book 2:
Living Dead in Dallas
Living Dead in Dallas (2002) is the second Sookie Stackhouse novel, continuing Charlaine Harris's wry, first-person Southern voice as Sookie's mind-reading curse keeps drawing her into vampire politics. It runs 291 pages.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Living Dead in Dallas - Book 3:
Club Dead
Club Dead (2003) is the third Sookie Stackhouse novel, deepening the widening cast of vampires, werewolves and shifters that escalates across the series. It runs 295 pages, following Living Dead in Dallas.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Club Dead - Book 4:
Dead to the World
Dead to the World (2004) is the fourth Sookie Stackhouse novel, arriving as Charlaine Harris settled into an annual May release pattern that would continue for most of the series. It runs 320 pages.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Dead to the World - Book 5:
Dead as a Doornail
Dead as a Doornail (2005) is the fifth Sookie Stackhouse novel, continuing the self-contained mystery-per-book structure layered under the series' ongoing love triangle. It runs 307 pages.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Dead as a Doornail - Book 6:
Definitely Dead
Definitely Dead (2006) is the sixth Sookie Stackhouse novel, published on the series' now-established annual May schedule. It runs 346 pages, following Dead as a Doornail.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Definitely Dead - Book 7:
All Together Dead
All Together Dead (2007) is the seventh Sookie Stackhouse novel, continuing the vampire politics and small-town gossip that Charlaine Harris blends into cozy-mystery-structured supernatural noir. It runs 337 pages.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of All Together Dead - Book 8:
A Touch of Dead
A Touch of Dead (2009) collects Sookie short stories originally published across various multi-author anthologies between 2003 and 2009, an optional extra for completists rather than required reading. It runs 200 pages, slotted between the seventh and eighth novels.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of A Touch of Dead - Book 9:
From Dead to Worse
From Dead to Worse (2008) is the eighth main-sequence novel, continuing the widening supernatural cast -- werewolves, shifters, fairies -- alongside the ongoing love triangle between Sookie, Bill and Eric. It runs 348 pages.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of From Dead to Worse - Book 10:
Dead and Gone
Dead and Gone (2009) is the ninth Sookie Stackhouse novel, published the same year as the short-story collection A Touch of Dead. It runs 320 pages, continuing the series' escalating vampire politics.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Dead and Gone - Book 11:
Dead in the Family
Dead in the Family (2010) is the tenth Sookie Stackhouse novel, matching the previous book's 320-page length as the series moved toward its final stretch. It follows Dead and Gone.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Dead in the Family - Book 12:
The Sookie Stackhouse Companion
The Sookie Stackhouse Companion (2011) is a reference guide to Bon Temps and its characters, including one bonus novella, Small-Town Wedding -- series trivia for fans rather than required reading. At 471 pages, it's the longest entry in the whole series.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of The Sookie Stackhouse Companion - Book 13:
Dead Reckoning
Dead Reckoning (2011) is the eleventh main-sequence novel, actually published several months before The Sookie Stackhouse Companion despite that book's lower position number. It runs 352 pages.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Dead Reckoning - Book 14:
Deadlocked
Deadlocked (2012) is the twelfth Sookie Stackhouse novel, arriving as the series' love triangle and vampire politics headed toward their conclusion the following year. It runs 368 pages, following Dead Reckoning.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Deadlocked - Book 15:
Dead Ever After
Dead Ever After (2013) closes the main thirteen-book Sookie Stackhouse series, resolving the love triangle and vampire politics that had built since Dead Until Dark. It runs 354 pages.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of Dead Ever After - Book 16:
After Dead: What Came Next in the World of Sookie Stackhouse
After Dead: What Came Next in the World of Sookie Stackhouse (2013) is a short, controversial coda published months after the finale, sketching out what happens to every character -- fans remain sharply split on it. It runs 195 pages.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of After Dead: What Came Next in the World of Sookie Stackhouse
About the Sookie Stackhouse series
Sookie Stackhouse is a telepathic cocktail waitress in the small fictional town of Bon Temps, Louisiana, living in a world where vampires have recently "come out of the coffin" and gone public after inventing synthetic blood. Sookie's mind-reading is more curse than gift -- she can't turn it off, which is exactly why she's drawn to vampire boyfriend Bill Compton and, later, ancient Viking vampire sheriff Eric Northman: around vampires, her head finally goes quiet. Each novel is a self-contained mystery -- a murder, a disappearance, a supernatural turf war -- layered under an ongoing love triangle and a widening cast of werewolves, shifters, fairies, and vampire politics that escalate across the thirteen-book run.
Charlaine Harris writes in a wry, first-person Southern voice that keeps even the darkest plot developments grounded and funny, and the series is best known as the basis for HBO's True Blood, though the books diverge from the show substantially after the first couple of seasons. The appeal is cozy-mystery structure wrapped around supernatural noir: small-town gossip, genuine murder investigations, and a heroine who solves problems with common sense as often as magic. Readers who want vampire romance with real plot stakes, a strong sense of place, and a heroine who stays fundamentally herself through thirteen books are the audience.
Frequently asked questions
How many books are in the Sookie Stackhouse series?
There are 13 main novels, from Dead Until Dark (2001) to Dead Ever After (2013), plus the short-story collection A Touch of Dead, the reference volume The Sookie Stackhouse Companion, and the post-finale coda After Dead.
What order should I read the Sookie Stackhouse books in?
Publication order, starting with Dead Until Dark. It's one continuous story that concludes at book 13, so read the numbered novels straight through.
Is the Sookie Stackhouse series finished?
Yes. It concluded with Dead Ever After in 2013, and Charlaine Harris has not continued the main series since.
Is Sookie Stackhouse the same as True Blood?
True Blood is HBO's TV adaptation of these books. It follows the novels fairly closely in its early seasons but diverges significantly from the source material as it goes on.
Do I need to read A Touch of Dead or After Dead?
No. A Touch of Dead collects minor short stories and After Dead is a post-finale epilogue collection -- both are optional extras, not required to follow the main 13-book plot.
If you like the Sookie Stackhouse series
Reading order last verified .