Dead as a Doornail
core novel 2005 The Southern Vampire Mysteries
Record
| First published | 2005 |
|---|---|
| Original language |  EN |
| Work type | novel |
| Canon status | core |
| Reader rating | 4.01 (226,538 ratings, collected 2026-08-26) |
| First-edition ISBN | 9780441013333 |
| Internal chronology | 5 |
Synopsis
The fifth book in the Southern Vampire Mysteries opens as Sookie's brother Jason undergoes his first transformation into a werepanther during his first full moon, even as a mysterious shooter begins targeting shifters and were-animals across Louisiana in a string of attacks. Sookie, aided by figures including bar owner and shifter Sam Merlotte, werepanther Calvin Norris, werewolf Alcide, vampire Eric Northman, and a newly introduced bartender named Charles Twining, works to identify the culprit as suspicion initially falls unfairly on Jason himself. The threats multiply from there: a hired killer appears to be stalking people close to Eric, Sookie's friend Tara becomes trapped in a predatory financial arrangement with a vampire creditor, and a leadership contest within the local werewolf pack grows increasingly manipulative and political.
Where it sits
- Universe: The Southern Vampire Mysteries
- Series: The Southern Vampire Mysteries core; position 5 of 13 in the series' recorded order
- Author: Charlaine Harris
Notes
- From the series record (The Southern Vampire Mysteries): Also known as the Sookie Stackhouse novels; the basis for the television series True Blood.
Neighbouring works
Publication order and internal chronology are tracked as two separate orderings, but they resolve to the exact same sequence for this book, so one combined line is shown instead of two identical ones.
- Reading order, within the series The Southern Vampire Mysteries: position 5 of 13: previous Dead to the World (2004) · next Definitely Dead (2006)
Sources
← The Southern Vampire Mysteries dossier · All universes
Part of the Library. Fields without an identified source are omitted, never guessed.