A heady mix of dark magic, espionage and occasional free verse, Babayaga, the sophomore novel from Toby Barlow (Sharp Teeth), mixes a traditional take on Eastern European witchcraft tales with the author's skewed sense of humor and a wistful brand of romance.
In postwar Paris, the beautiful Zoya drifts from one relationship to the next. Unlike most other down-on-their-luck expatriates, though, Zoya is a centuries-old witch who kills her lovers once they realize she isn't aging. Although Zoya's coven believes in using and destroying men, her fellow witch Elga prefers to keep a low profile; the absence of war means Zoya's gruesome murders attract attention. When Zoya impales her latest lover's head on a spike, the trail leads Inspector Vidot of the Parisian police to Elga's door. Angered, Elga swears a bloody vow of vengeance against Zoya and transforms Vidot into a flea.
Will is an American ad man in Paris whose agency is a CIA front. He falls in love with the stunning and mysterious Zoya, who sees a bravery and tenderness in Will that stays her usually bloodthirsty hand. While Will tries to regain a file stolen by rival spies and keep Zoya out of Elga's way, Inspector Vidot makes his six-legged way across Paris. He sees much he needs to make right--if he can break the spell before he lives out the short lifespan of a flea.
And there's more! Inebriated secret agents, a chorus of witches from Zoya's coven and weaponized mind-expanding drugs round out Barlow's ambitious plot, making for a nonstop adventure in the City of Lights that's sometimes morbid, often hilarious and always deftly thought-provoking. --Jaclyn Fulwood, youth services manager at Latah County Library District and blogger at Infinite Reads