Click on a thumbnail to go to Google Books.
Loading... Blood Songby Johana Gustawsson
None Loading...
Sign up for LibraryThing to find out whether you'll like this book. No current Talk conversations about this book. no reviews | add a review
Belongs to SeriesRoy and Castells (3)
The action swings from London to Sweden, and then back into the past, to Franco''s Spain, as Roy & Castells hunt a monstrous killer ... in the latest instalment of Johana Gustawsson''s award-winning series ''Historical sections highlight, in distressing detail, the atrocious treatment of mothers-to-be in Franco''s Spain ... A satisfying, full-fat mystery'' The Times ''Assured telling of a complex story'' Sunday Times Crime Club ''Gustawsson''s writing is so vivid, it''s electrifying. Utterly compelling'' Peter James _________________ 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. Terrifying, vivid and recounted at breakneck speed, Blood Song is not only a riveting thriller and an examination of corruption in the fertility industry, but a shocking reminder of the atrocities of Spain''s dictatorship, in the latest, stunning instalment in the award-winning Roy & Castells series. _________________ ''French novelist Johana Gustawsson writes novels of startling originality. Blood Song [is] truly horrifying'' Sunday Times ''Her sleuths tracking a monstrous killer, transporting us from modern-day fertility clinics in Sweden to the abuses of Spanish orphanages under the brutal rule of General Franco ... a truly European thriller'' Financial Times ''Emotional and atmospheric'' New Books Magazine ''''Intricately plotted, visceral and emotional the author ramps up the tension and the unfolding keeps the reader guessing to the very end. Scenes are raw, vivid and gripping and the intertwining shifts between Spain and Sweden are skilfully realised'' Promoting Crime ''I don''t think there''s a crime writer who writes with such intelligence, darkness and deep sadness as Johana Gustawsson. This was extraordinary'' Louise Beech ''Blood Song caught and has held onto my thoughts, it is clever, provocative, and a seriously good read'' LoveReading ''A fascinating and engrossing read, but also one that I found intensely harrowing, deeply intimate and which made me cry'' Live & Deadly ''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'' Off-the-Shelf Books ''Blood Song was a gorgeous if traumatic read and Johana Gustawsson knows how to weave a web of emotion around the reader whilst also producing a proper page turner that is utterly gripping from first page to last'' Liz Loves Books No library descriptions found. |
Current DiscussionsNonePopular covers
Google Books — Loading... GenresMelvil Decimal System (DDC)843.92Literature French and related languages French fiction Modern Period 21st CenturyRatingAverage:
Is this you?Become a LibraryThing Author. |
Blood Song is the third outing in the Roy and Castells series from French writer Johana Gutawsson. This series keeps getting better with every new story, showing why it was critically acclaimed and why a TV adaptation is on its way. This really is a complex thriller that crosses the boundaries of Europe.
When the murder of a family in Falkenberg takes place, they realise that this one is rather too close to home. The family of Emily Roy’s assistant, Alienor have all been murdered in the family home, they know that they will have to work quickly. Even acknowledging that Alienor should not be involved she will make sure she is involved in some of the investigative work.
There is a second strand to the story that goes back to Franco’s fascist Spain, and the abuse and the orphanages that abounded the country. How two sisters were united in survival in the orphanage, while sustaining both physical and sexual abuse from the priest and the nuns. How one sister saw the other murdered by a nun and had to live with that fact for the rest of her life.
It will take a trip to Madrid that will open up the case, because in Sweden there is absolutely no evidence as to why the murders happened. While the murders where frenzied it was Alienor’s mother was the one whom seemed to have borne the brunt of the violence. It is only by stepping back in time will the truth ever reveal itself.
Another excellent thriller from Johana Gutawsson who brings a refreshing breath of fresh air to the thriller genre. Once again her sharp writing is excellently translated by David Warriner. ( )