Černá rusalka – Müller Martin (2022)

The gloomy winter landscape of the Novohradské Mountains in the early 90s. The barbed wires have disappeared, and the units of the Red Army are preparing for withdrawal. Two men with dark pasts, border guard lieutenant Šturc and Soviet garrison major Treťjak, see their lifelong careers come to an end and a tough fight for survival begin. In contrast, young librarian Tomáš finds the opportunity to change his life for the better. Their fates are intertwined by the Black Rusalka, a mysterious figurine made in a local glassworks, where once a splendid collection of hyalite glass by Count Buquoy was created, which all three men are searching for. Gradually, a story unfolds that reaches back to the 19th century, involving other residents of the village of Černé Domky, and above all, the fateful Rút and the enigmatic Petra. The collapse of the old world and the legacy of a violently marked region weigh heavily on everyone here, which has become desolate and a no man's land. Madness easily tempts a person here, or they may even lose their life. This evocatively written debut offers a historical thriller from a time that radically changed people's fates.