Lasher, which was published by Knopf in 1993, is the second novel in acclaimed author Anne Rice's Lives of the Mayfair Witches trilogy. It tells the story of Dr. Rowan Mayfair, who in the previous novel in the trilogy (The Witching Hour) had traveled to New Orleans after the death of her mother. In New Orleans, she married and had a child with Michael and came face-to-face with Lasher, the namesake of the second novel.
In Lasher, Dr. Mayfair is nowhere to be found, which causes Michael to sink into a deep depression. But when Michael comes into contact with Mona Mayfair, who seduces him, Michael comes out of depression and works feverishly to find Dr. Mayfair, who he thinks didn't leave their home willingly.
Michael, to his credit, is right: Dr. Mayfair is Lasher's prisoner and slave. Lasher, in fact, tries (and consistently fails) to get Dr. Mayfair pregnant. Finally, though, Lasher, who Dr. Mayfair determines to be another species with the help of DNA technology, succeeds in getting Dr. Mayfair pregnant. Rowan gives birth to the child and escapes Lasher, reuniting with Michael. Ultimately, Michael and Lasher go head-to-head, ultimately resulting in one of their deaths.
Although not quite as financially successful as its predecessor (it spent 17 weeks on the New York Times bestseller list, whereas its predecessor spent 22 weeks on the same list), Lasher was similarly critically successful. Publisher's Weekly, which enjoyed the novel with some reservations, wrote in their review that: "the novel is compelling through its exhaustive monumentality."
