Merrick by Anne Rice (2001, Paperback)

Anne Rice breathed new life into her Vampire Chronicles with her novel "Merrick," featuring three of her most popular characters--the vampires Lestat, Louis and the dead child vampire Claudia--and introduced them to the world of her Mayfair Witches series. Merrick Mayfair is a sultry, hard-drinking beauty whose witchcraft plays a prominent role throughout the story arc.

Louis, who made Claudia a vampire in Rice's classic "Interview with the Vampire," brings about the collision of the two universes. He is obsessed with raising Claudia's ghost to make amends and seek guidance from the great beyond. Vampire David Talbot asks Merrick to call Claudia's spirit in order to assuage Louis's guilt, but Talbot winds up in the grip of an obsession with the witch. After she reads his palm, he muses, "I wanted to take her in my arms, not to feed from her, no, not harm her, only kiss her, only sink my fangs a very little, only taste her blood and her secrets, but this was dreadful and I wouldn't let it go on."

The secrets of "Merrick" are dark and sensuous. The narrative flashes back to scenes from many of Rice's other novels. After so many installments, Rice's Vampire Chronicles were in danger of becoming too formulaic. Merrick Mayfair's magical character put a new spin on an old top.