Unholy Crusade (novel)

""I don’t want to see the fucking daylight." "Then you shouldn’t have killed my family.""

The first in a series of novels focussing on the unlife of Dutch vampire Gretl Lune. Unholy Crusade is a departure from the comedic style common to author Zoe Kirk-Robinson's other works, such as All Over the House.

Gretl Lune is murdered in 1963, after being forced to watch the massacre of her family by a German vampire called Hans Allemand. Left for dead, she rises as a vampire herself and swears vengeance on her killer.

Jumping forward fifty years, we meet Seth Baron, a gun-toting civil servant from a shadow branch of the government identified only as "The Ministry". Seth's only son has been killed by drug dealers and he has become a bitter shell of a man as a result. He is tracking a major drug deal that will lead him to capturing his son's killer, when the meeting is interrupted by Gretl Lune. She kills the killer of Seth's son, and thereby ends up on Seth's radar.

Seth and his colleagues quickly track down Gretl's hideout and they confront her. After a short chase in which Gretl becomes trapped on a rooftop while the sun comes up, she explains her reason for being at the drug meet. Forced to choose between rotting away in the sunlight or assisting the government, Gretl chooses to join forces with Seth and the two of them track down Allemand in time for a final confrontation.


 * Badass Longcoat: Gretl Lune
 * Badass Normal: Seth Baron is just a normal man doing his job, yet he manages to run down and face off against a vampire.
 * Big Bad: Hans Allemand
 * Broken Bird: Gretl Lune is struggling with the murder of herself and her family.
 * But for Me It Was Tuesday: Although he's the reason for her fifty-year-long revenge spree, Allemand doesn't even remember Gretl.
 * I Hate You, Vampire Dad: Gretl despises Allemand, for good reason.
 * Our Vampires Are Different: Both Gretl and Allemand rot in sunlight, and Gretl stinks of dead flesh. Blood heals her wounds and reduces the scent of death, however.
 * Suicide by Sunlight: How Gretl intends to defeat Allemand.