Genre: Historical Fiction | Literary Fiction
Release Date: Expected 15th September 2022
Publisher: Orenda Books
"There are two sides to every realm, Lucienne. It all depends on the position from which you choose to view the world."
1899 - France. Lucienne's Parisian home has burned to the ground, taking her daughters and her hope with it. But instead of giving up, she looks to the world of spirits and magic to find her children again.
1949 - Québec. The war is done, and Lina should be at peace but instead is hanging in suspense, unable to find her place in this world. Until she meets a woman, locked behind a door at an asylum, who shows her a side of the world she never imagined.
2022 - Québec. Maxine, a newly single mother and Detective, takes on a murder investigation - not realising that this the story she is about to uncover isn't just one of a woman standing accused of brutal murder, but of the darkest magic, of persecution, of webs of lies and secrets that span continents and centuries - and she might be the only one who can finally untangle it.
"I think about that young woman who wanted to drive a rival out of her life. And who summoned the devil to do so."
This spell-binding tale follows three women in different times, different places, but the story is one much larger than any person. It's a tale of women throughout time that have been persecuted, accused, imprisoned not just by the law of the land but by the outdated thoughts and expectations of a patriarchal society.
We start with three strands of a story - following Lucienne, Lina and Maxine as they live out their own story and are instantly entranced by them, each being so carefully carved out and soon becoming familiar and recognisable. The characters are unique, distinct, following their own paths - but united regardless. And somehow, Gustawsson manages to take these three very different strands and slowly weave them together - creating a magical pattern that slowly comes to life in front of our eyes and leaves us wondering how we'd never seen it before.
The Bleeding moves slowly, but remains perfectly paced throughout with short chapters and evolving settings, shining a light on the truth only when the characters decide to let us see it. A sense of suspense hangs throughout - the intensity never wavers, never fails, with a darkly ethereal aura surrounding every word and bewitching us to keep reading, desperately compelled to find the missing pieces and discover the truth.
A dark tale of magic and murder, of witches and women - and an otherworldly tale you will not forget.
"We are not nothing; we are everything. We are the Goddesses of this world down here ... and some continue to wonder, if we, we women, are human, if we possess a soul."
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Born in Marseille, France, and with a degree in Political Science, Johana Gustawsson has worked as a journalist for the French and Spanish press and television. Her critically acclaimed Roy & Castells series, including Block 46, Keeper and Blood Song, has won the Plume d’Argent, Balai de la découverte, Balai d’Or and Prix Marseillais du Polar awards, and is now published in 28 countries. A TV adaptation is currently underway in a French, Swedish and UK co-production. The Bleeding – number one bestseller in France and the first in a new series – will be published in 2022. Johana lives on the west coast of Sweden with her Swedish husband and their three sons.
Thank you to Anne at Random Things Tours and Karen at Orenda Books for inviting me take part in this tour. I was gifted an advanced reviewers copy of this title in return for an honest review.
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