It's here! Browse the 2024 Penguin Christmas gift guide
The Tale Of The Body Thief

The Tale Of The Body Thief

The Vampire Chronicles 4

Summary

SOON TO BE A MAJOR TV SHOW, FROM THE NETWORK BEHIND THE WALKING DEAD

'[W]hen I found Rice's work I absolutely loved how she took that genre and (...) made [it] feel so contemporary and relevant' Sarah Pinborough, bestselling author of Behind Her Eyes

'[Rice wrote] in the great tradition of the gothic' Ramsey Campbell, bestselling author of The Hungry Moon

Electrifying, erotic, terrifying - the fourth book in the Vampire Chronicles is as rich, as violent, as sensual as the runaway bestsellers that precede it

The burden of immortality is weighing upon the vampire Lestat. In a desperate bid to end his everlasting life he attempts suicide by flying into the sunrise above the Gobi desert. The attempt fails but it intensifies his desire to be human again.

Just as Lestat resigns himself to the body of a killer he is approached by the body thief, a creature who covets Lestat's monstrous power and can give him what he wants: a mortal body.

Lestat, ignoring the warnings of those he trusts, agrees to surrender his vampire body for a week. But the body thief vanishes. Chaos ensues and the newly mortal Lestat is left to discover what he had forgotten: the suffering, the weakness and the fragility of a living life.

Reviews

  • Supernatural horror that seems to have everything - passions, originality, imagination, narrative power, kinky sexuality and a superbly drawn otherworldly protagonist
    The Washington Post

About the author

Anne Rice

Anne Rice was born and raised in New Orleans, Louisiana, which provided the backdrop for many of her famous novels. She was the author of more than 30 books, including her first novel, Interview with the Vampire, which was published in 1976. It has since gone on to become one of the best-selling novels of all time, and was adapted into a major motion picture starring Brad Pitt, Tom Cruise, Kirsten Dunst, and Antonio Banderas. In addition to The Vampire Chronicles, Anne was the author of several other best-selling supernatural series including Mayfair Witches, Queen of the Damned, the Wolf Gift, and Ramses the Damned. She passed away in 2021.
Learn More

Sign up to the Penguin Newsletter

For the latest books, recommendations, author interviews and more