The Mayfair family is among the most powerful and wealthy in the world, but they have a dark secret. Whilst most families have skeletons in the closet, and some even have a friendly ghost or two, the Mayfairs have gone one step further - Lasher is their pet demon! Indeed, the Mayfair empire only exists because of the power of the spirit.

This series of books takes us through the dark history of the Mayfair family, from the wooded glens of the Scottish Highlands, via a colourful web of intrigue and plotting, to present-day New Orleans, where Rowan, the latest descendant of the Mayfair clan, must make some tough decisions.

My Thoughts

Anne Rice, as ever, weaves an exotic and appealing spell, much as she did with the fabulous Vampire Chronicles. We feel for all the characters, including the various villains of the tale, and the whole story is told with such an air of credibility that it becomes difficult to believe that the places, people and events in the book are purely fictional!

In the third book, Taltos, Anne uses an approach that worked extremely successfully in the third book of The Vampire Chronicles, Queen of the Damned - she takes ancient histories and myths from various cultures, and makes them her own. Ever wonder who the Picts really were? Read these books and find out!!

It is sometimes difficult to get started with an Anne Rice book - a lot of the plot background is frequently laid out in the first few chapters, but once past this initial barrier, the story really flows, and it's difficult to put the books down.

I would recommend the entire Mayfair Trilogy, as well as the Vampire Chronicles, to everybody. Unlike so many other writers, the plot always takes first place in Anne's books, so you don't feel disappointed after wading through 1,000-odd pages! There are, however, Anne Rice books to avoid, but that's another story...