I suspect that many readers who choose Death’s Excellent Holiday, a collection of paranormal stories with a holiday theme, will do so for Charlaine Harris’s new Sookie Stackhouse story. “Two Blondes” sends telepathic waitress Sookie and vampire Pam out of town to visit a casino and run an errand for vampire sheriff Eric Northman. In the course of their mission, they encounter an elf, Pam is drugged, and the two blondes are forced to skimp on clothes and pole dance. It’s a good story and a welcome addition to Sookie’s catalogue.

There are many other valuable stories in this collection. The second short story, “The Boys Go Fishing” by Sarah Smith, features a Superman-like character on an expedition to catch the Loch Ness Monster. It’s a strange concept, but it works wonderfully. Jeaniene Frost’s “One For the Money” features attractive vampire characters. Daniel Stashower’s “Far Across the Caspian Sea” is in the vein of Kurt Vonnegut’s immortal Slaughterhouse Five. If he does, he’ll enjoy “The Innsmouth Nook” by A. Lee Martinez. Jeff Abbott’s “Safe and Well” is a twist on true events and a searing indictment of a well-known cable television personality.

One of the most enjoyable tales here is “Seeing is Believing” by LA Banks. Fans of Sookie Stackhouse will find this Louisiana werewolf tale familiar, but different enough from the True Blood universe to be unique.

Surprisingly, I found myself flipping through “The Perils of Effrijim” by Katie MacAlister. I usually love Katie MacAlister’s brand of comedic romance novels, but this short story was too steeped in dark fantasy language to hold my interest. I had a different problem with Christopher Golden’s “Thin Walls”: the setup was good, but it seemed to drag in the middle.

The stories get better after that, so be patient with this book. “The Heart is Always Right,” a gargoyle tale by Lilith Saintcrow, is wonderful. Chris Grabenstein’s “The Demon in the Dunes” features a realistic young narrator and a surprising twist. In Sharan Newman’s “Home From America,” Pat O’Reilly discovers that he’s not really an O’Reilly, but that he has a completely different Irish heritage. The finale of this anthology, “Pirate Dave’s Haunted Amusement Park,” is a werewolf mystery with pirates. Who wouldn’t love that? All in all, there is much more to admire here than skim through.