Blood on Her Tongue

A Novel

De: Johanna Van Veen

Narrado por: Emily Tucker

"I'm in your blood, and you are in mine . . ."

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.

©2025 Johanna Van Veen (P)2025 Tantor Media

Loved It!

Loved the story and the Narrator. I listened to the audio as I read along with my physical book.Listened to the preview of it and liked the way Emily Tucker was narrating and had to purchase it. So glad I did, she was great. I started this book and could not stop. Read it to mid Chapter 24 in one setting before I was forced to stop only because it was way past bedtime.

Very visceral

I disagree with other reviews that say the book dropped the ball at the third act, the story simply transformed with more bloodshed, love, and terror. Loved the writing, the graphic body horror descriptions caused me to gag. The actor was also superb.

Gothic Horror at Its Best

This is the second book I’ve read by Ms Van Veen, and I was blown away, again. She can describe things that should be hideous in a way that makes them beautiful. Also, the dog doesn’t die. That’s a plus.

Such a good read

I loved everything about this book I can honestly say it would make a great movie or show . And I loved the narrator

A truly unfortunate third act

The first two thirds of this book are solid. The atmosphere is rich and vivid, the descriptions of the world and characters is rich and enjoyable. The creepy scenes are effective. The last third abandons the interesting premise in favor of explaining what has been going on and proceeding to rush through the last third at a breakneck pace, to the point when the story does get interesting again, the book is already over. I wanted to love this one so bad, and the characters are stuck in my mind, no doubt thanks to the stellar performance from the narrator, but I can't in good faith recommend it if you're looking for a satisfying ending.

Dark, Lush, and utterly unforgettable

Wow. Just wow. Blood on Her Tongue is one of those rare audiobooks that completely consumes you. From the first chapter, I was pulled into this eerie, gothic world set in 19th-century Netherlands—a world dripping with dread, grief, and something dark just beneath the surface.

Johanna van Veen’s writing is exquisite, poetic, haunting, and deeply emotional. The sisterly bond between Lucy and Sarah is the heart of this story, and it’s both beautiful and devastating. Add in some seriously chilling body horror and a slow-burning descent into madness, and you've got a gothic horror masterpiece that stays with you.

Be warned: it's intense. There's gore, grief, obsession, and some dark themes—but it's handled with care and literary grace.

I finished this audiobook in one day and immediately wanted to listen again just to soak in all the language and detail I might’ve missed the first time. It’s that good

An unusual gothic horror story!

I REALLY liked this book. It was a very different sort of gothic horror story and I don’t want to spoil it for anybody, but I ended up cheering for the “monster” and her sister. It seemed there are worse things than having a “monster” for a sister. It is also a change from novels written during that time period. It seems perhaps more truthful as to what women went through in Victorian times.

Gothic!

Loved this book! Chilling story of love and lust! Gory as well. I highly recommend it.

Funny gore!

At first I did not think I was going to like this book. As I read on I fell in love. It was a wild ride, so much better tha Nestling's when it comes to vampire re.Imagine.

UGH THE MEN (and Madja)

What a fantastic book. It’s not something overly outstanding, but it’s definitely not something that’s bad. It will definitely evoke emotion and you will be yelling at the pages or your device. You have a woman who absolutely loves her sister and you have a husband who also loves this person who is his wife, but in his own strange way up until he doesn’t need to anymore, then he just becomes a man.

How far would you go for someone that means the world to you? Even if they died and found a way to come back to you, would you do the unspeakable?

I recommended it has a very nice setting. It does feel like a more Gothic read, which is what I was looking for although there are reads that hit that spot even more but this is definitely in the category and oh I love it when things work out how I want them to.