An Easy Death

I almost chose the Sookie Stackhouse series because those are a rollicking treat! C’mon, a vampire detective is pretty fantastic!

But Lizbeth’s story starts with a bang—literally. The novel (and Lizbeth) is grittier than the sweet-as-pie Sookie, which we learn in the first chapter. This dystopian world of the failed United States in the mid to late twentieth century incorporates Russian magicians called grigoris, and a complex gotta-catch-‘em plot with shootouts a la the Old West.

Yup, Charlaine Harris produced another page-turner that’s quite a departure from her Sookie days.

Here’s a really tricky one. If you’ve ever heard of the True Blood series, you know this author. An Easy Death begins an unusual series for her. This is an alternate history western with a fantasy twist. Some people don’t see alternate history as historical fiction, but I do. This novel follows a similar vein to The Man in the High Castle, where one major shift in history changes everything.

After the assassination of FDR in the 1930s, the US collapses and is picked off by the UK, Canada, Mexico, and Russia. We find ourselves in the Southwestern states,… show more.