Well, shut me in a dark and dreary house and call me mad because I finally found a gothic story that I love. Johanna van Veen’s latest novel, Blood on Her Tongue, proved to me that a story can honor all the typical gothic tale dressings while finding new, complicated ways to shock and disturb its readers. I was bought in from the first page, and it all started when the bog body was discovered.
Miss Lucy Goedhart always looks forward to letters from her twin sister, Mrs. Sarah Schatteleyn, and the letters have been quite interesting of late. Sarah provides all the grotesque details, and even a haunting drawing of the bog body recently found on her estate. While certainly out of the ordinary, the bog body is not what concerns Lucy enough to travel to her sister’s side. As Sarah’s letters become increasingly unintelligible and worrisome, Lucy travels to her sister’s lovely but damp home, fearful of what she may find. Is her sister ill and slowly dying? Has she suffered from another mad episode? When Lucy arrives, she will uncover the bloody secret of what truly ails her twin.
Johanna van Veen gives a fair warning at the beginning of Blood on Her Tongue, and I’ll reiterate here, too, that this story is bloody descriptive. There are horror and gore moments that may be difficult for anyone squeamish, including a lot of blood and some unfortunate situations with eyes. However, don’t let that dissuade you from reading this story. I consider myself pretty squeamish, and I could handle all of the content while only skimming some of the more graphic parts. Overall I don’t consider Blood on Her Tongue too gory as it doesn’t overindulge in these moments, but they are there to heighten the drama in this gothic tale.
There’s something so enticing about a bog body. Johanna van Veen calls out to us to trek through the muck and gaze upon the horror pulled from the earth. She grabs you by the collar and forces you to look upon it while you battle the disgust, pity, and fear that emanate from such a find. The events surrounding the bog body are a great precursor for the horror elements to come. Johanna van Veen relies on her descriptive prose to complicate the unfolding events for the reader, making us feel a multitude of emotions as the blood spills. You will juggle the aversion and sadness the bog body creates and then, much later, the alarm and love that surround Sarah’s ordeal.
Blood on Her Tongue is a story about codependency. This theme is most noticeable between the protagonist and her twin as the reader quickly learns that Lucy is a more compliant, subdued woman compared to her brash and demanding sister. However, their sisterly relationship is but the first stone thrown into the water, and the codependency ripples throughout many other relationship iterations in the story. What I found to be the most interesting is how Lucy and Sarah’s codependency gets more complicated as the mystery unfolds because it changes the rules of their relationship and the world that they know. Where does a person begin and where do they end? What are the things that make up a person, and if these things still exist but are warped, are they still the people you know and love? van Veen asks us these questions and more as we juggle the blurry lines between sisters, lovers, and friends.
Uncover the secrets between sisters in Johanna van Veen’s Blood on Her Tongue. The bog body will haunt you, the men will infuriate you, and the women will find their strength in a bloody, cruel world.
Rating: Blood on Her Tongue – 8.0/10
-Brandee
I received an ARC of this book in exchange for an unbiased review. The thoughts on this story are my own.
