The Lust Crusade

Written by Jo Segura

Narrated by Kyla Garcia

A plucky librarian and an archaeologist on the run fake an engagement to save their lives, leading them into the labyrinth of their own desires.

Daniela Guiterrez has been in love with her brother’s best friend for as long as she can remember—until he went missing a year ago during an archaeological expedition. But on a solo trip to Greece, the intrepid librarian discovers that Theo is very much alive, although judging by the criminals holding him hostage, he is not doing well.

An expert in Ancient Greek archaeology, Dr. Theo Galanis has been abducted by artifact smugglers in search of a priceless gemstone—the Eye of the Minotaur. This ridiculous assignment was supposed to get Dani out of his system, not keep her tied up next to him. But when a little white lie spirals into his captors believing Theo and Dani are engaged, they must utilize her research skills and his expertise to solve the centuries’ old Minoan mystery, all while feigning a romance to keep each other alive.

Now with less than six days to find the jewel, underground societies, mythological beings, and pesky abductors are only half the battle. Because among the ancient ruins and temples they explore is an even bigger danger: falling in love for real.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Penguin Audio
• Release date: Jan 13, 2026
• ISBN: 9798217163359

Reviews for The Lust Crusade

[eyejaybee · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

A wholly enthralling love story, set in Washington DC in 1959-1960, against the backdrop of the Kennedy-Nixon election contest.
Charlie van der Linden is a British diplomat based at the embassy in Washington where he is viewed as a high flier because of the depth of his analysis of the prevailing political scene in America. he lives with his wife Mary and their two young children, though the children are about to depart for boarding school back home. As the novel opens they are holding a party to celebrate their wedding anniversary. One of the guests is a political journalist, Frank Renzo, whom Charlie had encountered fleetingly years before in Dien Bien Phu, in Vietnam,during the ill-fated siege of the town that led to the French withdrawal from Indochina. On the basis of this very slight acquaintance (that in fact the sozzled Charlie can scarcely recall) Frank is invited to come along to the party. There he immediately (and utterly irretrievably) falls in love with Mary, and it gradually becomes evident that she returns his passion.
The novel then details the progress of their affection for each other, while also chronicling the presidential election campaign. Charlie does not realise what is happening as he is becoming increasingly dependent upon the vast amounts of alcohol that he consumes, to such an extent that his career is threatened.
Faulks captures the depth of the respective characters' emotions faultlessly - this an yet another tour de force from him. He has a fantastic knack of pitching the emotional intensity just right.

[outside5jane · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

A wonderfully visual and evocative tale set during the Nixon-Kennedy election campaign. It reminded me of Mad Men: there's a simplicity and stillness in the telling. As always Faulks gives us well written and sympathetic characters, who I grew to care for. I am still musing on the ending... it was tough! But maybe right. Great book, from a fast becoming favourite author. Definitely recommend.

[jedijane_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I love this book - its my favourite Faulks book, because I can still feel all of the passion and guilt and excitement of the love affair that grips the novel, even though its over 5 years since I've read it.

I also liked the way that On Green Dolphin Street focuses on the earlier aspects of the Indo-Chinese War - something about this reminds me of Graham Greene's The Quiet American.

I love the way that Faulks writes his characters and am always in awe of the vivacity of his women.

This is certainly the book I always refer to, along with Cloud Atlas, when people ask me what my favourite books are.

[lizchris_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This is a story of early 1960s life in American diplomatic and journalist circles. The book evokes a great sense of place and time, the excitement of the Kennedy election, life on the streets of New York, the real fear of Russia.
The novel revolves around a diplomat's wife called Mary. Her love for her children is beautifully written but the author can't seem to find the words to describe intense love between adults and so some of the dialogue feels a little hackneyed.

[meditationesmartini · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This is kind of a troublesome book to review. It is full of awkwardnesses and infelicities, some of them laughable, including that horrible trash-novel American thing where it's like "Jim O'Doul leaned back on his stool at O'Doul's, the eponymously named bar that had been in his family since temperamental Paddy O'Doul had come over from County Clare with his flame-haired bride, Catherine, pinched the bridge of his freckled nose with his strong working man's hands, and sighed as he looked down at the newspaper before him, which proclaimed that Vice-President Nixon would be stopping in Riverbend, their Ohio town of 1500, before the primary on Thursday, a triumph for Jım's gormless yet inexplicably successful elder som, Willie, who had embarrassed the family by becoming a Republican and held ambitions for state offıce."

Okay, it's not that bad (although that was fun). But that thing where you introduce everyone awkwardly because you want to show how true to life everything is and claim some kind of pseudo-reporter status as if that's an honour - that's here. And in general this is not a well-written book - it's workmanlike with the occasional dip into unfortunate, and in all fairness the occasional bounce into efficiently heartwrenching.

And yet, and yet . . . it s compelling. Forget Jim O'Doul - the central love triangle, Mary and Charlie and Frank, really does grab you, and you really do feel it. And the period details are all quite periody and good. Maybe it's just that I've reached, prematurely, the middle-agey point in life where you identify hard with these poor dudes, with their fear and bewilderment about how it all went wrong and determination to set ıt right and oh, the way it feels to love someone who's not yours and still yet someone who is, and to be pulled between, when you're old enough to understand a bit what love really means and what you owe them both . . . .

Faulks seems to me to be a person of great, photographic yet impressionistic insight into the human emotional makeup that is simply not matched by his powers of evocation, and with a comprehensive feel for the era, from h-bomb jitters to Formica tabletops and humble material culture, that is imperfectly displayed by his efforts at description. A very smart and observant sort, all of which is to say, but not a great writer. Which isn't a bad place to be in life, all things considered, especially if you still manage to get yourself paid for writing books.

[mashley_3 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Like this author. Not my favorite of his.