Book description
A short story from the world of Department 19.
In 1891, Abraham Van Helsing and a group of friends faced Dracula, the
world's first vampire - and won. The survivors of that battle founded
Department 19, and have been secretly saving the world ever since. A
highly classified archive exists recording every act of bravery in that time.
That archive is now open. These are the Department 19 files.
Rome, 1918.
The Great War is over, but the world is in the grip of a Spanish
Influenza pandemic, and people are dying in their millions. Quincey
Harker and his Special Reconnaissance Squad recuperating in Rome, trying
their hardest to drink away their memories. But they are not the only
visitors to the Eternal City: Valeri Rusmanov, the oldest and most
powerful vampire on earth, and his wife are roaming the dark streets on
a ghastly holiday, delighting in the death that surrounds them, soaking
in the sounds of the sick, feasting on innocent blood… and about to
cross paths with Quincey and his men. Before quitting his job in
publishing to write Department 19, Will Hill worked as a bartender, a
bookseller and a door-to-door charity worker. He grew up in the
north-east of England, is scared of spiders, and is a big fan of cats.
He lives in east London with his girlfriend, where he splits his time
between staring out of the window and staring at a computer screen. The
latter tends to be more productive.
