“Everyone knows about vampires,” says Robin. “They live forever, they feed on human blood. They cannot stand the sun, or the smell of garlic, or the sight of a crucifix. They are the stuff of fairy-stories to frighten children.” Castelain is nodding slowly. “Yes, yes, and yes,” he replies. “And no, no and… no.”
Vampires walk in the mysterious early winter fog of Victorian London, and struggling stage actor Robin Wilder has fallen in love with one. It's mad, but undeniable: Robin is in love with a vampire. And Castelain is equally dismayed to find himself in love with a mortal.
There’s only one thing to be done.
Robin is enchanted with all he has to learn of vampire lore and the carnality of blood, and Castelain finds that he has much to learn as well, of human love and passion. Wrapped in their private world of mutual discovery, the two vampires are unaware of the perils gathering around them:
Niccolaio, the vampire who made Castelain, has been searching ever since Castelain fled from him.
Raine Wolffe, a dangerous and driven vampire hunter, has just been summoned to London by Scotland Yard.
And Detective-Inspector John Philip George Davies (named for three kings but descended from none) has his own plans to raid Castelain's sumptuous Brompton mansion.
When all the traps are sprung, Castelain has been stolen and Robin is alone: a vampire fledgling, dangerously unschooled in vampire lore. But Robin's inexperience is no match for his determination, and he enlists extraordinary assistants as he follows Castelain's trail across the Continent. And when he finds his Castelain, Robin knows he will have to fight for him ... against a rival with centuries of deadly experience and cunning; an adversary whom Robin is forbidden to kill.
In Crimson, Leigh Carroll creates vivid characters, living and undead, who convince us that vampires can be as charming and tender as they are terrifying. The undead come alive for the reader as the passionate and ingenuous Robin transforms Castelain anew: from the urbane and self-reliant vampire who sets out to seduce this irresistible mortal; to an ardent, laughing, loving vampire who is himself seduced by Robin’s devotion … and his touch.
