Fairest Flesh

Kulski debuts with a grim and alluring, if at times off-puttin, Snow White twist on the historical horrors of the Hungarian Countess Erszébet of Bathory (1560–1614), a prolific murderer who is said to have bathed in virgin’s blood to retain her youth and beauty. After young teen Erszébet murders a playmate, she and her nurse, Susanna, are sent away to live in her betrothed’s household. On the way, they pick up Dorottya, a hideously ugly woman raised by her abusive mother to be an herbalist and witch, who gains Erszébet’s trust by treating her epilepsy. Swatting away Susanna’s maternal affection, Erszébet allies herself with Dorottya to murder her mother-in-law-to-be, consolidate power, and embark on a decades-long torture spree, while Dorottya, who’s deliriously obsessed with her own ugliness, begins to kill and mutilate pretty servants from the castle. Kulski shows a sensitive touch when dealing with rape and incest, and the torture and murder scenes themselves are well executed, but the heavy-handed themes of beauty and ugliness quickly become tedious, especially when Dorottya’s monstrous actions are linked to her physical ugliness. A poorly handled climactic twist will especially alienate trans and intersex readers. This dreamlike horror novel will appeal to fans of dark fairy tales, but for many readers the one-note plot will fall flat. (Dec.)