The action swings from London to Sweden, and then back into the past, to Francos Spain, as Roy & Castells hunt a monstrous killer in the latest instalment of Johana Gustawssons 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 Francos Spain A satisfying, full-fat mystery The Times
Assured telling of a complex story Sunday Times
Gustawssons writing is so vivid, its electrifying. Utterly compelling Peter James
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Spain, 1938: The country is wracked by civil war, and as Valencia falls to Francos brutal dictatorship, Republican Therese witnesses the murders of her family. Captured and sent to the notorious Las Ventas womens 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 UKs 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 Francos 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 Spains dictatorship, in the latest, stunning instalment in the award-winning Roy & Castells series.
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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 its 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 dont think theres 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 Jónasson
A must-read Daily Express
Bold and audacious R. J. Ellory
