She Made Herself a Monster

Kovatcheva debuts with the sharp tale of a fraudulent vampire slayer who comes to the aid of an oppressed teen girl in 19th-century Bulgaria. Anka is believed to have cursed her village of Koprivci when she was born and her house burst into flames, killing her parents. Since that night, no child of the village has survived infancy. A man known as the Captain, who once loved her mother, saved Anka from the blaze and became her caretaker. As Anka comes of age, she reminds the Captain of her mother, and he awaits her menstruation, planning to marry her against her will. A parallel narrative follows itinerant vampire hunter Yana, who travels to Koprivci and claims the village in fact owes its misfortunes to a vampire, whom she offers to kill. While she goes about her work, Yana stays in the Captain’s garden cottage, where Anka seeks her out. The pair strike a deal that will provide Anka with her freedom and the charlatan Yana with proof of another job well done. Kovatcheva layers the narrative with colorful folklore, grisly details of Yana’s alleged vampire killings, and the characters’ intense desires, including the Captain’s passion for Anka’s mother and Anka’s hope to flee the village. This clever gothic novel offers readers much to savor. Agent: Stephanie Delman, Trellis Literary. (Feb.)