My Starry Rating: 4/5 Stars
Reason for Rating: Creepy, atmospheric, and a darker new take on the witchy genre
What I Learned: Books can actually be translated really well and the greatest power is self-acceptance
Publication Date: September 15, 2022 by Orenda Books
Genres: Historical Fantasy, Fiction, Horror, Mystery Thriller
https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/60306625-the-bleeding
Synopsis
Queen of French Noir, Johana Gustawsson returns with the first in a startling new series – a dark, horrifying, powerful historical thriller with an extraordinary mystery at its heart and three women pushed so far beyond breaking point, they have only one way out…
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…
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Review
The Bleeding is a dark macabre tale about women, power, and desire. The story is set in three different time periods, late 19th century Paris, 1940s Quebec, and early 2000s Quebec. Evil magic connects generations of women whose lives intersect in spine tingling ways. The story was creepy with its supernatural elements that wormed their way into so many different characters lives. It was a different take on the witchy genre that explored themes of motherhood and the feminine through a dark lens. It was especially unnerving to follow the evil through the decades in this story and how it seduced and tricked some of the female characters, playing on their weaknesses, insecurities, and deepest darkest desires. The characters were interesting and well developed and the writing and translation was suspenseful. There were plenty of shocking moments and surprises until the very end.
If you like mystery thrillers that are bewitching and creepy, give this book a chance.
Thank you to the publisher for providing me with a free arc via Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review.
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About the Author
Born in 1978 in Marseille, France, and a graduate of Political Sciences, Johana Gustawsson was a journalist for television and French press. She now lives in London, England.
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