[Announcement/Schedule] Bonus Book: Merrick by Anne Rice

Hi everyone!

We're continuing Anne Rice's vampire saga with Merrick, the 7th book in the Vampire Chronicles series. Get ready for a touch of witchcraft in the world of vampires!

Blurb

!Vampires, witchcraft and voodoo come together in this vivid, exotic and terrifying new novel from Anne Rice, merging the worlds of the Vampire Chronicles and the Mayfair Witches.!<

!When last the vampire Lestat was seen, he was rising from the dead in present-day New Orleans to walk again among Anne Rice's unforgettable undead. Now Lestat lives again, but in a twilight world of music and memory.!<

!His charismatic friend Louis de Pointe du Lac is tortured by the memory of the child vampire, Claudia, whom he loved and lost. He calls on Merrick, young and gorgeous mixed-race by-blow of the rich New Orleans Mayfair clan. To save Louis' sanity, Merrick must use her black witchcraft to call up the ghost of Claudia - however dangerous this may be. There are other Mayfair spirits who will not lie still, and her search takes her close to the edge, through blood and terror, ritual and violence.!<

!Sweeping from New Orleans to the Brazilian jungle and the island of Haiti, this is vampire literature at its most tantalising, sexy and irresistible.!<

Bingo

If you are planning out your r/bookclub 2025 Bingo card, Merrick fits the following squares (and perhaps more):

• Fantasy
• Bonus Book
• Female Author
• Horror

Trigger Warnings

Storygraph users have marked the book with the following content warnings:

!Suicide attempt, Death, Self harm**,** Pedophilia, Racism, Alcoholism**,** Incest, Racial slurs, Murder!<

Discussion schedule (Sundays)

• March 2nd: Beginning - Chapter 4
• March 9th: Chapter 5 - Chapter 8
• March 16th: Chapter 9 - Chapter 14
• March 23rd: Chapter 15 - Chapter 22
• March 30th: Chapter 23 - End

Useful Links

• Anne Rice books previously read with r/bookclub:
  • Interview with the Vampire (#1)
  • The Vampire Lestat (#2)
  • The Queen of the Damned (#3)
  • The Tale of the Body Thief (#4)
  • Memnoch the Devil (#5)
  • The Vampire Armand (#6)
  • Pandora (New Tales of the Vampires #1)
• Merrick on Storygraph
• Marginalia (to follow)

Will you sink your teeth into this fang-tastic adventure? Let me know in the comments if you're planning to read along and whether you are a first time reader.

See you all in March! 🧛📚