Blood on Her Tongue by Johanna van Veen

A Novel

Good, 4 stars

In the Netherlands in 1887, Lucy tries to protect her twin sister, Sarah, who has stopped eating, speaks nonsense and has become fixated on a centuries-old corpse found preserved on her husband's estate. A doctor diagnoses temporary insanity, and Lucy fears Sarah will be committed to an asylum. As Sarah grows angry and ravenous, Lucy begins to wonder whether something has possessed her sister or whether she is simply mad. Described by reviewers as sapphic gothic horror.

Details

ISBN9781464244926
Copyright Date2025
Publication DateMarch 25, 2025
PublisherPoisoned Pen Press
FormatTrade Paperback
No. of Pages368
LanguageEnglish
NotesFinalist, 2026 Lambda Literary Award for LGBTQ+ Speculative Fiction. Reviewers call it sapphic gothic horror; specific relationship not confirmed in the reviews found. Other paperback ISBNs: 9781464245084, 9781728281575.
RatingGood
GenreHistorical Fiction; Horror
SubjectDemoniac possession -- Fiction; Gothic fiction; Mental illness -- Fiction; Netherlands -- History -- 19th century -- Fiction; Sapphic fiction; Secrecy -- Fiction; Twin sisters -- Fiction