Three women
Three eras
One extraordinary mystery…
1899, Belle Époque Paris. Lucienne’s two daughters are believed dead when her mansion burns to the ground, but she is certain that her girls are still alive and embarks on a journey into the depths of the spiritualist community to find them.
1949, Post-War Québec. Teenager Lina’s father has died in the French Resistance, and as she struggles to fit in at school, her mother introduces her to an elderly woman at the asylum where she works, changing Lina’s life in the darkest way imaginable.
2002, Quebec. A former schoolteacher is accused of brutally stabbing her husband – a famous university professor – to death. Detective Maxine Grant, who has recently lost her own husband and is parenting a teenager and a new baby single-handedly, takes on the investigation.
Under enormous personal pressure, Maxine makes a series of macabre discoveries that link directly to historical cases involving black magic and murder, secret societies and spiritism … and women at breaking point, who will stop at nothing to protect the ones they love…
**Shortlisted for the CWA Crime in Translation Dagger**
Many thanks to Orenda Books and Anne Cater for inviting me to take part in this special blog tour for The Bleeding by Johana Gustawsson; having the opportunity to recommend one of my favourite authors is always such a pleasure. I was blown away by this book when I read it last year and treated myself to the beautiful hardback edition. It's now out in paperback and I'm sure just the glorious cover alone will be enough to tempt many people. Of course it's the writing inside that really counts and what a treat readers are in for...
I fell in love with Johana Gustawsson's writing from the moment I read her first book, Block 46 and everything she has written since has confirmed my opinion that she is one of the most exciting, eloquent thriller writers around today. It's been a little while since she's had a novel out but I always knew it would be worth the wait. The Bleeding is a stand-alone novel but as with her superb Roy and Castells series is a compelling fusion of contemporary and historical fiction. It is arguably her best book to date – although when an author sets the bar so consistently high, it's impossible to really choose a favourite!
The narrative switches between the first person perspectives of three women and while their stories initially seem separate, it's always clear that at some point, Johana Gustawsson will brilliantly weave them together. Before then, however, the three sub-plots are utterly fascinating and each would undoubtedly be a compulsive mystery in their own right. The book opens in Quebec in 2002 with Detective Maxine Grant who has been called to a bloody murder scene. It quickly transpires that a renowned university professor has been stabbed to death and with his near-catatonic wife almost certainly the culprit, the main question would appear to be what drove Maxine's former schoolteacher to snap and brutally murder the man she adored. Maxine has recently lost her own husband and throughout the book, her own grief as well as her guilt is painfully evident. As the case becomes progressively more shocking, she is exhausted as she juggles the demands of baby Hugo and her teenage daughter, Charlotte. The relationship between mother and daughter is particularly fraught but given the recent huge upheaval in their lives, is a thoroughly believable portrayal of two women attempting to reframe their connection with one another under the most trying of circumstances.
Meanwhile, in Belle Epoque Paris in 1899, Lucienne Docquer's two daughters are believed to have perished in a terrible fire. Lucienne is convinced they have been kidnapped instead but her entreaties to her husband and the police are dismissed. Lucienne may be rich and privileged but for all the exciting societal changes taking place during this gilded age, she is still a woman and subsequently has very little actual autonomy. It's perhaps not surprising, therefore, that she should seek the truth through other means. Her invitation into the spiritualist community evokes the movement during that era perfectly and I loved the cameo by Sir Arthur Conan-Doyle. What follows would surely tempt the deductive powers of his famed detective; the devastating revelations which come to light stunned me and yet the clues are hidden in plain sight.
In 1949, Quebecois schoolgirl, Lina also has cause to call on the assistance of otherworldly entities as she struggles with the cruel taunts of her bullying peers. Her father died in the French Resistance but even as loss becomes the theme which unites the three women, there are much darker elements at play here too. The sense of foreboding is perhaps most strongly felt during the chapters which follow Lina as she eagerly welcomes the guidance offered by the elderly woman she befriends in the asylum her mother works in.
Maxine, Lucienne and Lina may be divided by time and yet their storylines all convey the expectations and pressures exerted on women. Lucienne and Lina aren't particularly likeable and Maxine has her flaws too but Johana Gustawsson writes with such empathy, it's impossible not to understand why they behave as they do, even as the darkest, most horrifying secrets are exposed. David Warriner's wonderful translation deserves every plaudit too; he seamlessly captures the brooding Gothic atmosphere, the vivid sense of place and the nuanced, provocative characterisation throughout. A word too, for that gorgeous, eye-catching cover design by the supremely talented Mark Swan which so exquisitely complements the richly sinister contents. Complex, harrowing and so very deceptive, The Bleeding is a dramatic, chilling triumph. I cannot recommend it highly enough.
The Bleeding is published by Orenda Books and can be purchased from their website, bookshop.org, Hive, Waterstones and Amazon but please support independent bookshops whenever possible.
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Thanks for the blog tour support x
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