Urban Fantasy has been serious business for the past few years. Laurell K. Hamilton's Anita Blake series was one of my favorite until I just stopped reading due to lack of character development. I also enjoyed MaryJanice Davidson's Queen Betsy series until i just stopped reading. Maybe I'm fickle, but I think some series just run out of steam.

Of course, there are some that just are coming to a head. I highly recommend Patricia Brigg's Mercy Thompson books as well as her Alpha and Omega series that is set in the same world.

And I recommend the Southern Vampire Mystery books, AKA Sookie Stackhouse novels. Told from Sookie Stackhouse's point of view (first person), the novels are funny, scary, and full of life.

And yes, these are the novels that the HBO series, TrueBlood, is based on.

Previous to these books, the only time I've heard the name "Sookie" was from Witches of Eastwick. Apparently, it's a form of Susanna. This Sookie has telepathic powers. She has spent her life bombarded with other people's (sometimes inappropriate) thoughts. But when she meets a vampire called Bill Compton, she realizes that there is a blessed silence with him. Sookie can't read vampire thoughts.