There are certain things that you can expect when you read Anne Rice. Lush, Gothic descriptions; beautiful settings; conflicted characters; internal struggle. The Wolf Gift delivers all that and more.

When I picked up this one, I was anticipating another supernatural werewolf tale; but it had clearly been too long since I’ve read Ann Rice, and I forgot the skill that she has in creating characters and worlds that defy the reader to question their legitimacy. She writes of a strange otherworld that lingers just above our own; a shadowy place where her stories play out.

I read most of this book with a smile on my face, because I felt as though Rice was telling the other writers of the genre, “back off kids–mama’s home,” as Rice has been writing amazingly lush supernatural tales for nearly 30 years. Here, Rice recreates the werewolf as the “Man Wolf,” a creature that takes the legend of the werewolf and turns it on its ear, ignoring what we’ve come to expect (“turning” at the full moon, for example) and providing a new history (and future) for these furry supernatural beings.

In the story, fictional journalist Reuben Golding is introduced to this shadowy world of the wolf through an interview with Marchant Nideck about the sale of her beautiful family manse in the redwoods of Northern California. As Ruben recuperates from the tragic end of their encounter, his life changes in unfathomable ways when he becomes privy to a world that lay just beyond the realm of logical thinking.

Rice continues in her tradition of modern Gothic supernatural tales in this unforgettable tale. Find it where your favorite books are sold. Keep up with Anne Rice at her website.