Arlene has a few scenes, but she's a complete bigot, and actually participated in a plot to kill Sookie in Dead and Gone, which is the 9th book. I just finished reading it this morning, and it was just OK. Like I said, the books are a bit too formulaic, and the fact that everything is told from Sookie's POV can get boring. Still, I'll check out Dead in the Family as soon as it gets to the library.