Something anticipated (Week five, assignment 3)

Looking at the list, I came across THIS title, due in August.   Baba Yaga by Toby Barlow


Will is a young American ad executive in Paris. Except his agency is a front for the CIA. It’s 1959 and the cold war is going strong. But Will doesn’t think he’s a warrior—he’s just a good-hearted Detroit ad guy who can’t seem to figure out Parisian girls.
     Zoya is a beautiful young woman wandering les boulevards, sad-eyed, coming off a bad breakup. In fact, she impaled her ex on a spike. Zoya, it turns out, has been a beautiful young woman for hundreds of years; she and her far more traditionally witchy-looking companion, Elga, have been thriving unnoticed in the bloody froth of Europe’s wars.
     Inspector Vidot is a hardworking Paris police detective who cherishes quiet nights at home. But when he follows a lead from a grisly murder to the abode of an ugly old woman, he finds himself turned into a flea.
     Oliver is a patrician, fun-loving American who has come to Paris to start a literary journal with the help of friends in D.C. who ask a few favors in return. He’s in well over his head, but it’s nothing that a cocktail can’t fix. Right?
     Add a few chance encounters, a chorus of some more angry witches, a strung-out jazzman or two, a weaponized LSD program, and a cache of rifles buried in the Bois de Bologne—and that’s a novel! But while Toby Barlow’s Babayaga may start as just a joyful romp though the City of Light, it quickly grows into a daring, moving exploration of love, mortality, and responsibility.

Reading the description, I can't help but think I would like it.    The setting is the first thing that jumps out at me,  Paris in the 1950's is rather an exotic locale and time period, so that is a definite appeal.     The next appeal factor would be the characters,  they seem quirky and a bit humorous and definitely not run of the mill, there is a unique feel to this title that will appeal to readers who like an unusual read.     I get the feeling that there is humor, but also a more thematic literary thread, so it may be a more thoughtful read that spans many levels, so a reader who likes to think about things under the surface would enjoy this one.   I think for the same reason it may be a good title for book groups.   The cover itself gives it that slightly literary look, so I don't imagine that this would be a fast page turner, but have a slower, more leisurely pace.  I imagine that this title might be  a slow burner, and not have as much appeal for the bestseller readers, but more toward the serious fiction fans that want to branch out and try something completely different.   I sure am willing to give it a try.