Charlaine Harris books in order

Charlaine Harris (born 1951) is an American mystery and fantasy writer, best known for the Southern Vampire Mysteries featuring Sookie Stackhouse, the basis of HBO's True Blood. She was born in Tunica, Mississippi, on 25 November 1951 and studied at Rhodes College.

Her first books were standalone mysteries, beginning with Sweet and Deadly (1981). She then built a run of series: the Aurora Teagarden mysteries, starting with Real Murders (1990), which was nominated for an Agatha Award; the Lily Bard or Shakespeare books (1996 to 2001); and the Harper Connelly novels (2005 to 2009). The Southern Vampire Mysteries began with Dead Until Dark, published by Ace Books on 1 May 2001, which won the Anthony Award for Best Paperback Original. The series ran to 13 novels, ending with Dead Ever After in May 2013, and was adapted by HBO as True Blood (2008 to 2014). Her Midnight, Texas books became an NBC series in 2017. She received the Mystery Writers of America's Grand Master award in 2021.

For collectors, Dead Until Dark (Ace, 2001) is the key book: an award-winning first volume that became the basis of HBO's True Blood. The first edition was published in the United States by Ace, and the later Sookie novels are collected as a 13-book run ending with Dead Ever After (2013).