Dead to the World

The blonde vampire on the cover (rather than our usual tall, dark and pale one) is a big clue before opening this book that things are changing in Sookie's romantic life. This, the fourth book, opens on New Year's with the fact that she and Bill are no longer together, and since his work is taking him to Peru, that leaves Sookie single... which is when she comes upon Eric on a dark night, apparently with no memory of who he is. His mind has been wiped by a strong coven of witches that have moved into the area, demanding a piece of the vampire's businesses, and as if that wasn't enough, Sookie's brother Jason has gone missing. Her worry, however, is not so overwhelming that she can't appreciate the kinder, gentler (but not too gentle, lest we forget one of the steamier scenes in this series that occurs in this book) Eric that's staying hidden in her house while the witches look for him everywhere.
In addition to witches, we get more shifters in this book, and a few that we already knew about are back on the scene. (Unsurprisingly, Sookie acquires YET ANOTHER supernatural admirer.) There's almost too many supernaturals around for my taste -- I kind of like watching the uncomfortable reactions of the normal townfolk to the other beings in their midst. So it's not even that important to note that we're staying put in Bon Temps, rather than run around other southern states, because we get so few interactions with the locals.
And yes, this would make four books in four days. But here begins my self-imposed breather from the Sookie Stackhouse novels. Let's see how well I keep to that.