Early Review – Blood on Her Tongue by Johanna van Veen (4/5 stars)

Reading Level: Adult
Genre: Horror/Dark Fantasy
Length: 361 pages
Publisher:‎ Poisoned Pen Press
Release Date: March 25, 2025
ASIN: B0D5LB3P39
Stand Alone or Series: Stand Alone
Source: eGalley from NetGalley for Review
Rating: 4/5 stars

“The Netherlands, 1887. Lucy’s twin sister Sarah is unwell. She refuses to eat, mumbles nonsensically, and is increasingly obsessed with a centuries-old corpse recently discovered on her husband’s grand estate. The doctor has diagnosed her with temporary insanity caused by a fever of the brain. To protect her twin from a terrible fate in a lunatic asylum, Lucy must unravel the mystery surrounding her sister’s condition, but it’s clear her twin is hiding something. Then again, Lucy is harboring secrets of her own, too.

Then, the worst happens. Sarah’s behavior takes a turn for the strange. She becomes angry… and hungry.

Lucy soon comes to suspect that something is trying to possess her beloved sister. Or is it madness? As Sarah changes before her very eyes, Lucy must reckon with the dark, monstrous truth, or risk losing her forever.”

Series Info/Source: This is a stand alone book. I got a copy of this on ebook from NetGalley for review.

Thoughts: This was a well done gothic horror novel. It is kind of a vampire novel but a bit weirder than that. I enjoyed the uniqueness of it and how oddly vicious it was.

Lucy goes to stay with her sister, Sarah, when she learns that Sarah is sick. Sarah has been diagnosed with temporary insanity, something she suffered from after a miscarriage as well. However, this time the sickness seems different. Sarah found a body in the bog before her sickness, and some of the writings that Lucy finds around Sarah’s study make her think this sickness might be related to something from the bog. Lucy has her own secrets and she must deal with those as she tries to figure out what is happening to Sarah.

This is very much a gory, horror story. There is some body horror in here, as well as flat out just yuck parts. There is also sexual abuse (kind of), violence, and a lot of people being generally not nice to each other. You have been warned.

This is an odd story, and it doesn’t end up being what you think it’s going to be when you start it. At first I thought it was going to be some sort of vampire horror story but it is much stranger than that.

I loved the strange setting in the bogs of the Netherlands in the late 1880’s. This is a mysterious and eerie setting that fit the book perfectly. I also loved how complex most of the characters were. None of these characters are nice people; they are all selfish and messed up in their own special ways. Still, I couldn’t help but be strangely sympathetic to them. Lucy with her loneliness and her life living in Sarah’s shadow, Sarah with her sadness and her broken marriage that she hides from the world, and even the old woman that Lucy has been a hired companion to.

This book doesn’t pull any punches when it comes to gory descriptions or vicious scenes; it is all described in great (sometimes nauseating) detail. I am not a huge fan of super descriptive body horror and gore, but it worked well for this book. I ended up liking this book just because it did what it was trying to do so well. It is a beautifully vicious gothic horror story. It doesn’t shy away from women’s issues and doesn’t apologize for the selfishness of the characters or their moral grayness.

The descriptive writing is what really makes the dank, dark setting and characters come alive. This book has a strange sort of calm to it as well. In between the horrific scenes, these characters are just going about their day to day lives.

My Summary (4/5): Overall I liked this, it was different and unapologetic in its viciousness. It is a gothic horror that doesn’t shy away from the horror or the details. The characters are all questionable in their morals and actions, but somehow it works. Is this the type of story I want to read every day? Nope, it was a bit too gross and graphic for me at times. However, if you are into detailed gory body horror with some unique gothic twists, I would definitely recommend. This type of book is definitely not going to be for everyone, but what it does, it does well.