I recently posted about my addiction to the Sookie Stackhouse series. However, Charlaine Harries writes beyond the Sookie Stackhouse books. While the Sookie Stackhouse may be the most widely known because of the HBO series, the other series are just as well written.

After devouring the Sookie Stackhouse books, I decided to move on to the Harper Connelly series. After being hit by Lightning, Harper Connelly develops a special “gift” of being able to find dead bodies. She can also tell the exact method they died. With her “brother” Tolliver Lang, they travel the country using her gift to earn their income.

This gift of course, gets Harper into all sorts of pickles. Mysteries are solved by her gift as well as using good detective methods. The characters and stories are well woven together and if you are mystery fan, you will enjoy this series. Currently, there are three books out: Grave Site, Grave Surprise, and An Ice Cold Grave. The next book, Grave Secret, will be released in October and I’ve already purchased the pre-release Kindle edition for my iPhone.

I just recently finished the first book of the Lily Bard Shakespeare series and have been enjoying this series as well. These books are also mysteries. However, Lily Bard has no special supernatural gift. She is a survivor who does have fighting skills! She is unusual and you will enjoy her character as the cleaning lady who knows everyone’s secrets yet keeps a zipped lip.

Personally, I would be thrilled if either one of these book series became a television series. I see great potential for a fun, mysterious series with the right cast of characters.

Have you read any of these books? What did you think?

If you are an adult and liked the Twlight series, you will LOVE the Sookie Stackhouse series. Stookie is a human with a special gift – she can read minds. So when Bill Compton, vampire, walked in it was a breath of fresh air to hear complete silence as she can’t hear vampire’s thoughts.This beings her love affair with supernaturals or “supes” as they are called in the Sookie Stackhouse series. Vampires have come out of the closet so to speak in this book series and are not trying to hide their identity like in other series.

The series is part comedy, part mystery, and lots of fantasy. It is an addicting book series, which I read all the books which have been released in about a 10 day period. Yeah, 9 books in 10 days. Once I got started I could.not.stop. There wasn’t much blogging going on during that period and MANY late nights. The books are not as long as the Twlight books but they are packed full of many interesting characters, which Charlaine Harris develops to their fullest extend.

The newest book doesn’t come out until 2010 and I’m already on pins and needles waiting for its release. If you do start this series, make sure you have plenty of spare time during that period or take a leave from work. I’m warning you, these books are addicting as vampires need blood!

If you love the books, you may also be interested in the True Blood series, an HBO original series based on these novels. True Blood Season one stayed pretty true to the book series, have excellent acting, and great effects. You won’t be disappointed in this series like I was with the Twlight movie. Do note, that the series is not appropriate for children and probably not appropriate for many adults as it is very naughty.

True Blood Season Two is a little strange and doesn’t follow the book series as much as the first season. I was also a little disappointed when they introduced the Queen and she was nothing like I pictured her to be. Personally, I usually prefer the books over the movie/television show if I have a chance. True Blood is a good series but it doesn’t follow the book exactly. Which is good and bad. Good if you’ve read the books, you can still be surprised in the series. Bad if you really prefer the scenarios in the book over the show.