The past, both recent and distant, comes back to haunt telepathic waitress Sookie Stackhouse in Harris's solid 12th installment (after Dead in the Family). When a firebomb hits Merlotte's bar in Bon Temps, Louisiana, Sookie wonders if the attack was directed at her shapeshifter boss, Sam. She has her hands full elsewhere, though, trying to keep the peace with her fairy kin, Claude and Dermot–who are still living at her house–and with her vampire lover, Eric Northman, who has issues of his own. Eric and his second-in-command, Pam, are chafing under the rule of Louisiana's new regent, Victor, who recently opened a vamp bar in Shreveport. As always, Sookie's blood bond with Eric connects her to the slowly brewing feud whether she likes it or not. And just when she thought the attack on Merlotte's was an isolated incident, it's revealed as the work of Sandra Pelt, the vengeful sister of Debbie Pelt, whom Sookie killed in Dead to the World. Sookie also discovers a long-lost letter from her grandmother detailing her fairy lineage along with a strange token from the fae world. Harris throws in the usual vampire fight-to-the-death, introduces a new supernatural creature and, most importantly, lays the groundwork for potential future plot twists. (May)