My Guilty Pleasures (binge read style): Charlaine Harris' Sookie Stackhouse series!

This is the first in a new series on The Crime Warp. Let me introduce you to  ....

'My Guilty Pleasures Binge read style'. 

I love a good series - I love the way the characters develop and change as the plot lines affect them. I love cuddling up with familiar characters and becoming fully invested in them. For the first in this series I have chosen Charlaine Harris's Sookie Stackhouse books ... and it is with great pleasure that i explain why. 

I don't know if it's the drawling deep south of Louisiana or the cohort of charismatic (and sexy vampires) or the freshness of a cross- genre series that has community at its heart, murder at the core and a range of brilliantly drawn characters that had me hooked .... but hooked I most certainly was.  

I loved the sheer brilliance of setting murder mysteries that bring the supernatural and 
human together in a very natural way. I loved the way that Harris reflects the stupid prejudices of society in her writing by juxtaposing real life with the small town Bon Temps attitude to supernatural beings - genius! - from racial prejudice to terrorist fundamentalist organisations to mafia shenanigans and more, these books resonated with me. 

As a character Sookie Stackhouse, the telepath, who spends her time trying to block out others' thoughts whilst working in Merlotte's bar, is a fascinating mix of contradictions. She is  simple in her outlook, but don't be deceived into thinking her simplicity makes her unintelligent - Sookie possesses a degree of emotional intelligence and human empathy that I wish more of us had. 

She is brave, shrewd, direct and extremely brave .... she's a heroine who maintains her femininity, whilst displaying an understated kick ass determination. 

I reintroduced myself to Sookie Stackhouse and the Bon Temps residents after  teaching a myths module at University encouraged me to watch first Lucifer (another brilliant series) and then True Blood (again I binge watched all seven series) . However, at the back of my mind, I was conscious that they'd changed  some of the storylines, so I whipped out my Kindle, delved into its recesses and found the entire series again.

This was the series I decided to indulge in during my tour of Morocco ... and I'm so glad I did. The dramatic worlds of Werewolf packs, Vampire covens, shapeshifters, telepaths, witches, fairies and more ... all with an underlying criminal element .... were fascinating. I was truly transported to a different world where anything was possible, but I was also safe in the knowledge that the crime would be solved. 
 At one point , Sookie is staying in a hotel in Dallas. her room number was 504 .... guess what my hotel room number was at the exact time I read that? - That's right 504 - so maybe this supernatural stuff isn't so far fetched after all. I must admit, I half expected to see Vampire Eric Northman hovering outside my bedroom window that night ... alas I was disappointed. 

The worlds Harris creates are detailed and believable (in a fictional sort of way) and I drew real parallels from those worlds with life today. 
They were addictive, sexy and relatable .... what more could you want from a vampire series set in the deep South? 
By the way, the True Blood series has the most amazing (spine tingling and very ... very apt) theme tune.