Blood Song
Published on 19. September 2019
Book
Paperback/Softback
300 pages
978-1-912374-81-6 (ISBN)
Description
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, international bestselling series.
***Longlisted for the CWA International Dagger***
'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
'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, Alienor 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 Alienor 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
'Gritty, bone-chilling, and harrowing - it's not for the faint of heart, and not to be missed' Crime by the Book
'A relentless heart-stopping masterpiece, filled with nightmarish situations that will keep you awake long into the dark nights of winter' New York Journal of Books
'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' 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
'A real page-turner, I loved it' Martina Cole
'Cleverly plotted, simply excellent' Ragnar Jonasson
'A must-read' Daily Express
'Bold and audacious' R. J. Ellory
***Longlisted for the CWA International Dagger***
'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
'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, Alienor 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 Alienor 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
'Gritty, bone-chilling, and harrowing - it's not for the faint of heart, and not to be missed' Crime by the Book
'A relentless heart-stopping masterpiece, filled with nightmarish situations that will keep you awake long into the dark nights of winter' New York Journal of Books
'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' 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
'A real page-turner, I loved it' Martina Cole
'Cleverly plotted, simply excellent' Ragnar Jonasson
'A must-read' Daily Express
'Bold and audacious' R. J. Ellory
Reviews / Votes
"Gustawsson is back after terrifying us with her internationally acclaimed bestseller, Block 46, this time with an equally terrifying story of past and present. . . . Gustawsson captures Victorian London with all its seediness, stench and crime as graphically as Dickens did its poverty and despair. The juxtaposition of the past and present are seamlessly accomplished, in mesmerising, short, incisive chapters. Roy and Castells are terrific original characters, whose longevity is guaranteed, but watch out for new kid on the block, Swedish Detective Karla Hansen. Keeper is a relentless heart-stopping masterpiece, filled with nightmarish situations that will keep you awake long into the dark nights of winter." --New York Journal of Books on Keeper "A terrifying tale." -- Mystery Scene "This one's bound to keep you glued to the page till the last line!"--CrimeReadsMore details
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Product notice
Paperback (UK-B)
Dimensions
Height: 198 mm
Width: 129 mm
Thickness: 25 mm
Weight
271 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-912374-81-6 (9781912374816)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
Persons
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 decouverte, Balai d'Or and Prix Marseillais du Polar awards, and is now published in nineteen countries. A TV adaptation is currently underway in a French, Swedish and UK co-production. The Bleeding - a number one bestseller in France and the first in a new series - will be published in 2022. Johana lives in London with her Swedish husband and their three sons. Follow Johana on Twitter @JoGustawsson
David Warner translates from French and nurtures a healthy passion for Franco, Nordic and British crime fiction. Growing up in deepest Yorkshire, he developed incurable Francophilia at an early age. Emerging from Oxford with a Modern Languages degree he narrowly escaped the graduate rat race by hopping on a plane to Canada - and never looked back. More than a decade into a high-powered commercial translation career, he listened to his heart and turned his hand to the delicate art of literary translation. David has lived in France and Quebec, and now calls beautiful British Columbia home.
Follow David on Twitter @givemeawave and on his website wtranslation.ca
David Warner translates from French and nurtures a healthy passion for Franco, Nordic and British crime fiction. Growing up in deepest Yorkshire, he developed incurable Francophilia at an early age. Emerging from Oxford with a Modern Languages degree he narrowly escaped the graduate rat race by hopping on a plane to Canada - and never looked back. More than a decade into a high-powered commercial translation career, he listened to his heart and turned his hand to the delicate art of literary translation. David has lived in France and Quebec, and now calls beautiful British Columbia home.
Follow David on Twitter @givemeawave and on his website wtranslation.ca