Living Dead in Dallas by Charlaine Harris

This is the second installment in the South Vampire Series and I liked it much, much better than the first.
The last thing Sookie wanted was to find Lafayette Reynold's body in the back Andy Bellefleur's car. Lafayette was the cook at Merlotte's Bar, where Sookie waited on tables. Andy was a police detective who left his car at the bar because he was too drunk to drive it home. Now Bon Temps, Louisiana is a small rural town, where murders are mercifully rare. However, anything like this is bound to be a major headache for Sookie, who is telepathic, and whose boyfriend is Vampire Bill, the town's major predator. Make that ex-predator; Bill is one of the good people, getting his nourishment from artificial blood these days. As does any vampire who wants to fit into the mainstream world.
But a simple murder case is not enough. Before Sookie and Bill can look into Lafayette's death, Eric, the local vampire leader, summons them to Shreveport. Eric has agreed to send them to Dallas, where Sookie's telepathic talents are needed to solve a disappearing vampire problem. Even before they get to Shreveport, stuff happens. Sookie has a run in with a maenad, who wants tribute from Eric, and decides to write him a note about it on Sookie's back. Bill barely gets Sookie to Eric's lair, where she can be healed. Don't expect Dallas to be any better. There, Sookie finds herself in conflict the local anti-vampire club, 'The Fellowship of the Sun,' and scheduled for sacrifice.
This book introduces more characters and more settings and just keeps getting better with each paragraph. The book is easy to read and the characters are simple yet likeable.
~~~~Where ever you go, There you are!