Lucy has always been close to her twin sister, Sarah, so when Sarah's husband informs her that Sarah is unwell, Lucy rushes to her side. Once she arrives, she finds that Sarah's much worse than Lucy thought — she's on the verge of death, starving but refusing to eat, and ranting like a madwoman. However, as she attends to her sister, Lucy learns that this mysterious disease seems to stem from around the same time that a body was found in one of the peat bogs at Sarah's estate, making Lucy curious about the bog body as well as its effects on her sister.
Van Veen is a native of the Netherlands, and she has found a fantastic setting for her gothic historical horror novels in her homeland. Much like her first book, My Darling Dreadful Thing, Van Veen uses the landscape to create an appropriately creepy atmosphere in Blood on Her Tongue. By marrying the supernatural horror associated with the bog body with the true-to-life dangers of being a headstrong woman (or worse, a lesbian) in the 1880s and throwing in some truly gruesome body horror, Van Veen has created an excellently creepy and twisty novel. Recommended for fans of Dracula and Shirley Jackson who don't mind a wee bit of cannibalism.
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