Nymph by Stephanie La Cava is a sharp, provocative literary novel that blends thriller, love story and cultural critique into something darkly alluring. Following Bathory — known as Bat — a model, sex worker and scholar with a strange inheritance, this novel explores what it means to survive, desire and disappear in a world obsessed with image and power.
Bat comes from a long lineage of assassins and spies, a background that has gifted her with an uncanny instinct for avoiding death. Determined to live fast, love briefly and die young, she resists lasting attachment — until a figure from her father’s past threatens to unravel everything. As Bat navigates violence, intimacy and self-invention, the novel interrogates class, connection and the stories we tell to survive.
Perfect for readers of contemporary literary fiction, psychological thrillers and boundary-pushing novels, Nymph will appeal to those drawn to stylish prose, morally complex characters and bold explorations of identity.
A daring and magnetic novel that lingers long after the final page.
