The Tale of the Body Thief, the fourth book of the Vampire Chronicles, takes place in the 1990’s while Lestat is staying in Miami. After defeating Akasha in The Queen of the Damned, a group of vampires, with Lestat, form a covent in Miami.

In the beginning of The Tale of the Body Thief, Lestat notices that a man has been following him and sees him again in Miami. The man gives him an envelope containing a short story and disappears into the night. Meanwhile, Lestat decides that he doesn’t want to live anymore. He goes to his only mortal friend, David Talbot and tells him that he’s tired of living and that he’s going to the Gobi Desert to die. Even though Talbot begs him to stay, Lestat goes anyway.

Lestat arrives at the Gobi Desert just as the sun is beginning to rise. He lays down in the sand hoping that he can still be killed by the sun. After laying in the sand for two full days, Lestat realizes that since he has Akasha’s blood in him, he can’t be killed by the sun. In unbearable pain, he returns to David Talbot’s house to heal.

After a couple of days, Lestat feels well enough to feed. Again the man finds him and gives him an envelope with a short story inside. Lestat and Talbot realize that the stories center around two people switching bodies. Lestat receives a note from the man asking Lestat to meet him in New Orleans to discuss important matters. This time; however, the note is signed by Raglan James.

Talbot explains to Lestat that Raglan James is a very powerful sorcerer that was part of the Talamasca at one time. He was kicked out of the Talamasca because he was using his psychic abilities to steal from people. Talbot asks Lestat not to meet James because he is a very dangerous man. Lestat asks Louis about the idea and Louis also tells him that thinking of switching bodies with a thief like James is extremely dangerous and that Lestat would be crazy to do it. Inside, Lestat makes up his mind to meet Raglan James.

In New Orleans, Lestat finds James and explains that he can switch bodies with people by forcing a person’s soul from their body using his psychic abilities. James wants to switch bodies with Lestat because he wants to experience life as a vampire for a couple of days. James knew that Lestat wanted to experience life as a mortal man again. James says that he’ll switch bodies with Lestat for ten million dollars. Of course, Lestat agrees to the deal.

Unfortunately for Lestat, James steals Lestat’s body and won’t give it back. Throughout the book, Lestat tries to adjust to being inside a mortal body and his new experiences. Disgusted with this life, Lestat makes a desperate attempt to steal his body back.

Even though The Tale of the Body Thief was loved by critics, it was a very slow book. However, once the book picks up, the plot will race toward the finish. In my opinion, this is the worst book of the Vampire Chronicles. The Tale of the Body Thief is still a good book, but it does not compare to the previous three installments. I’m hoping that the fifth and final book of the Vampire Chronicles, Memnoch the Devil, will be as interesting and as fast-paced as the first three books.