Anne Rices best selling Blackwood Farm and the recent film of Queen of the Damned have resulted in a resurgence of interest in Lestat, her all-powerful vampire creation. Rice has populated this latest instalment with a rich mix of well-conceived characters including Rowan Mayfair, brilliant neurosurgeon and true witch who finds herself dangerously drawn to Lestat, and Patsy Mayfair, a murdered country and western singer returning from the afterlife to avenge her own murder. At the heart of the novel is the enigmatic vampire himself, no longer the epitome of evil, but continuing the transformation begun in Memnoch the Devil from evil to goodness, battling between his own desires for gratification and his emerging desire for redemption. Assured and plot driven, this is bound to please Rices readers and perform as well as previous Lestat adventures.