Mezhivets - The Drowned Maiden's Week
This is first book of Mezhivets series.
Some debts are paid in blood. Some in drowning.Fedir Kovalenko has been dead for seven years.
He still walks the village crossroads at midnight. Still sees both the living world and the realm of spirits. Still protects Mezhivets from the things that hunger in the dark-even though the village fears him, even though his wife has remarried, even though his daughter doesn't remember his warmth.
Death made him the chosen one. Now he stands the boundary between worlds, cold and alone.
Then the children start drowning.
During Rusalka Week-when drowned maidens rise from the rivers seeking revenge-three girls vanish. Each found in the shallows days later. Peaceful. Unmarked. The village whispers about tragic accidents.
But Fedir's double vision sees what others cannot: wet footprints leading from the river toward sleeping homes. A vengeful spirit with copper bells tangled in her floating hair. A pattern of murder seven years in the making.
Worse-his eight-year-old daughter has awakened to the Sight.
Ulyana can see the dead now. She draws their faces. She walks between worlds. And the rusalka knows it.
To save his daughter, Fedir must dive into the underwater realm of Nav, confront a murdered girl's rage, and uncover the terrible secret three mothers have kept hidden. But every crossing costs him. Every use of power drains the warmth, the humanity, the life he has left.
The boundary is breaking. His daughter is marked. And some truths are more dangerous than lies.
For readers who loved the atmospheric folklore of Naomi Novik's UPROOTED, the dark family dynamics of Silvia Moreno-Garcia's MEXICAN GOTHIC, and the morally complex horror of Paul Tremblay-THE DROWNED MAIDEN'S WEEK is a haunting dive into Slavic mythology where the price of protection is everything, and the line between justice and vengeance is as thin as the veil between worlds.
"A chilling, beautifully crafted folk horror that honors authentic Ukrainian folklore while delivering genuine scares and emotional depth."
What readers are saying:
★★★★★ "Atmospheric and heartbreaking"
★★★★★ "Folk horror done right-respectful, terrifying, and deeply human"
★★★★★ "The father-daughter relationship absolutely destroyed me"
Perfect for fans of: Ukrainian folklore - Dark fairy tales - Folk horror - Supernatural mystery - Morally complex protagonists - Gothic atmosphere - Slavic mythology - Parent-child relationships - The cost of magic
Content notes: Dark themes, child endangerment, grief, supernatural horror. Written for adult readers who appreciate character-driven dark fantasy.
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