Damsels of June
By Kira Vorobiyova

$13.95 USD

Dessa Faustova is a gifted Ukrainian ballerina on the cusp of preadolescence. With fellow dancers Klara and Inna, she comes into possession of a mysteriously coded address book, but their journey to decrypt its meaning stalls abruptly when Dessa is implicated in a gruesome murder of a local predator. Desperate for answers, she enlists the help of her enigmatic Uncle Leo, a glamorous con artist with a penchant for gambling and theft, who may or may not have deadly ties to Kiev’s burgeoning underworld of the early 1990s. Dessa’s dangerous foray into darkness parallels an insidious mania sweeping a nation still reeling from decades of oppression.

Publisher: Cactus Rain Publishing
ISBN-13: 978-098291814-2
Genre: Action/Adventure
Format: Print, Kindle
Pages: 210

About the Author

Kira Vorobiyova was born in Kiev, Ukraine. She moved to the United States at the age of 11. Isolated and wistful, she found solace in the shadows of movie theatres and the familiar feel of books within her hands. Kira later studied film in Eastern Canada and hopes to pursue the craft of storytelling across multiple mediums. Damsels of June, her debut novel, draws on memories of childhood mischief in her beloved city during the pivotal years of post-Soviet turbulence.

Praise for Damsels of June

This is a mischievous story about a young girl in Kiev, Ukraine. She and two friends from dancing class run about the city chasing a mystery, only to be surrounded by colorful underworld characters. There is adult content, but if you’re expecting 50 Shades of Grey, you’ll discover that there are only hints at what the spinster piano teacher does in her free time. But the ending reminds me of Alfred Hitchcock’s style. Fade black. Drop the curtain. Then sit back and wonder what just happened. It’s all there, read it again.

Nadine Laman