By Johana Gustawsson
Translated by David Warriner
Published by Orenda Books (E-book - out now; Paperback - 19 September 2019)
I received an Advance Reader Copy from the publisher
Publisher's description
Spain, 1938: The country is wracked by civil war, and as Valencia falls to Franco’s brutal dictatorship, Republican Therese witnesses the murders of her family. Captured and sent to the notorious Las Ventas women’s prison, Therese gives birth to a daughter who is forcibly taken from her.
Falkenberg, Sweden, 2016: A wealthy family is found savagely murdered in their luxurious home. Discovering that her parents have been slaughtered, Aliénor Lindbergh, a new recruit to the UK’s Scotland Yard, rushes back to Sweden and finds her hometown rocked by the massacre.
Profiler Emily Roy joins forces with Aliénor and soon finds herself on the trail of a monstrous and prolific killer. Little does she realise that this killer is about to change the life of her colleague, true-crime writer Alexis Castells. Joining forces once again, Roy and Castells’ investigation takes them from the Swedish fertility clinics of the present day back to the terror of Franco’s rule, and the horrifying events that took place in Spanish orphanages under its rule.
My verdict
Yet again, Johana Gustawsson has astounded me with her fabulous ability to intertwine crimes of the past with crimes of the present, seamlessly weaving multiple threads together to create a well-plotted, intelligent thriller.
Blood Song has been translated from French to English extremely well by David Warriner, not just showcasing the author's vivid prose but also her visceral writing. It focuses on a period of history I know little about - Franco's brutal dictatorship - and led me to Google to learn more. I love the use of multiple locations - London, Sweden and Spain - to enrich the story with culture and history.
Johana Gustawson's books are more than just crime thrillers. Each one has been written from the heart. Blood Song, in particular, is filled with emotion - from the brutality of Franco's dictatorship and shocking conditions in 1930s Spanish prisons & orphanages to the heartache of families attending modern-day fertility clinics, alongside the savage murder of a wealthy family in Sweden. It's based on the author's own experiences and her family history, and this shines through in her writing - it's personal and raw.
Blood Song is tragic and heartbreaking - a book of love, loss and hope and a book to make you cry and make you think. Yes, the crimes are dark, but the author manages to cover them with sensitivity and delve deeper into the 'why?' as well as the 'what?', 'how?' and 'who?'. Plus the crime element is fascinating and intriguing, right up to the big reveal - how are all of the threads linked together and why is it such a personal one for the team of investigators?
Bring on the next Roy & Castells book!
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