The Bulgarian Bartender by Daryl Kulak
A page-turner that will make you laugh out loud one moment and pump your fist in triumph the next.
In Daryl Kulak’s debut novel, The Bulgarian Bartender, this unlikely rescue adventure blends high-stakes thriller tension with laugh-out-loud comedy and heartfelt friendship.
Kaylee McDouglas, Angie Hunter and Tiffany “Tiff” Knight have been inseparable since their girlhood in rural Mount Miffsberg, Ohio. Now in their twenties, each of them is stuck in a less-than-glamorous job and hungering for something more. So when Kaylee’s new boyfriend — a charming Bulgarian businessman named Stan — surprises her with a massive diamond ring, she leaps at the chance for a fairy-tale escape.
Kaylee flies off to Bulgaria to meet Stan’s family, over her friends’ misgivings. It doesn’t take long for things to go alarmingly wrong. Shortly after arriving overseas, the normally text-happy Kaylee goes dark, sending only one frantic message: “ANG, HELP ME!!”
Suddenly, two small-town girls realize their best friend might be in very real danger. With few clues and no time to waste, Tiff and Angie hop on a plane to Bulgaria to save Kaylee themselves.
Dynamic Characters and Deep Friendships
At the core of the novel are its three spirited heroines — a diverse trio whose personalities balance and bolster each other.
Angie, a tough union welder who teaches martial arts on the side, is the fearless muscle of the group, rough around the edges and fiercely protective of her friends. Tiff, by contrast, is a self-deprecating stripper (and occasional karate instructor) who often doubts herself, yet her quick wit and loyal heart prove invaluable when the going gets tough. Kaylee — whose impulsive romance sets the chaos in motion — comes off as the group’s optimist. She’s a dreamer longing for love and escape from small-town life.
The friendship between these women feels authentic and deep. Their chemistry shines in both quiet moments and heated exchanges. As Angie and Tiff race across an unfamiliar country, their banter provides much-needed comic relief — and underscores how well they know and trust each other.
The supporting cast adds extra flavor without stealing the spotlight, helping Tiff and Angie navigate foreign terrain and lending a hand in confrontations with the villains.
An Unexpectedly Adventurous Romp
Despite its serious subject matter, The Bulgarian Bartender establishes an upbeat, adventurous tone from the get-go. Kulak deftly infuses a rescue thriller plot with the spirit of a buddy comedy. One moment, our heroines are grappling with armed thugs and high-stakes situations; the next, they’re trading snappy banter or landing in hilariously awkward predicaments. The result is a novel that can be both suspenseful and lighthearted, often in the same chapter. It’s an unusual mix of darkness and levity that makes this story stand out.
From sleepy Midwestern streets to the shadowy corners of Bulgaria, the novel’s settings amplify its themes of courage and fish-out-of-water adventure. The early chapters sketch Mount Miffsberg as a dead-end hometown, which fuels Kaylee’s eagerness to leap into the unknown. Once the action shifts abroad, the story truly hits its stride.
Kulak vividly depicts an array of Bulgarian locales — from the bustling capital of Sofia with its mix of ancient history and modern nightlife, to a sun-soaked Black Sea resort that hides unexpected danger, to even a remote fortress where past and present collide. The cultural contrast sparks plenty of humorous moments and comic miscommunications.
The Story’s Dark Undercurrents
Despite the often light tone, The Bulgarian Bartender doesn’t shy away from the dark reality underpinning its plot: human trafficking. The Thracian Brotherhood — the Bulgarian mafia syndicate at the heart of the conflict — is depicted as brutal and ruthless. Their chilling motto reduces women to commodities, underlining the story’s stakes.
Thankfully, Kulak handles this subject matter with care. The violence and captivity are conveyed effectively without delving into gratuitous detail, allowing the gravity of the situation to come through without overwhelming the reader. The theme of female empowerment is front and center as Angie and Tiff turn the tables on predators who underestimated them. It’s immensely satisfying to watch two ordinary women from Ohio upend a criminal enterprise through sheer determination, smarts and loyalty.
A Humorous Thriller with Heart
In The Bulgarian Bartender, Daryl Kulak pours an intoxicating mix of action, humor and heart. This first entry in the Country Girl Courage series is at once a thriller about confronting real-world evils and a celebration of friendship’s power to conquer the odds.
With its well-drawn heroines, breakneck pacing and deft tonal juggling, the novel delivers pure entertainment from beginning to end. It’s a page-turner that will make you laugh out loud one moment and pump your fist in triumph the next.
Fans of stories like The Spy Who Dumped Me or anyone craving an empowering adventure featuring women who refuse to back down will find The Bulgarian Bartender a welcome escapist delight. Kulak’s debut proves that sometimes the strongest, most memorable heroes come from the most unlikely places — like a couple of scrappy country girls who refuse to let anything, not even the Bulgarian mafia, stand in their way.
Daryl Kulak lives in Ohio with his wife and cat. He was raised six miles outside a small town in Western Canada. In his childhood, he spent most of his time either picking weeds on his family’s acreage or walking around the prairie with a pellet gun.
After graduating from the Northern Alberta Institute of Technology (NAIT), he worked and travelled around the country and the world before settling in Ohio in the early 1990s. His profession was software development for 40 years until he retired in 2023. Since then, he has dedicated himself to being a good husband, writing fiction and playing music.
Some of Daryl’s favorite authors are Elizabeth Gilbert (City of Girls), Iain Banks (The Wasp Factory), Heather Fawcett (Encylopedia of Faeries), Kristen Lepionka [she writes about Ohio!] (The Last Place You Look) and Elizabeth Kostova [she writes about Bulgaria!] (The Historian).
Daryl’s other interests are travel, gourmet & everyday cooking, holistic healthcare, renewable energy and biomimicry.
Daryl is available for interviews and speaking engagements, especially book clubs and libraries. For booking, look up Water Logic Press and go to the Contact Us section.
Publish Date: 8/23/2024
Genre: Fiction, Thrillers
Author: Daryl Kulak
Page Count: 251 pages
Publisher: Lulu.com
ISBN: 9781304213860