Review of THE BLEEDING by Johana Gustawsson

 4 Stars

This is the first book I’ve read by this author; I will certainly be checking out her other offerings.

The novel opens in 2002 with Lieutenant Maxine Grant being sent to investigate a murder in her hometown of Lac-Clarence, Quebec.  Her elementary school teacher, Pauline Caron, has stabbed her husband Philippe thirty-one times.  Except for a motive, it seems like a simple case, but a series of macabre discoveries turn it into a very complex one.

Interspersed with this police procedural are the stories of two other women.  Lucienne, living in Paris in 1899, loses two daughters in a fire but is adamant they are alive and turns to the spiritualist community to find them.  Lina, a teenager in 1949, is struggling with how to cope with being bullied at school when an elderly woman befriends her and changes her life.

From the beginning, it is clear that these three narratives, though separated by time, are connected.  The crime investigation centres on Lac-Clarence; Lucienne refers to her hometown in Lac-Clarence; and Lina also lives in the small community.  Part of the enjoyment of reading the book is trying to see how the lives of these three women are interconnected. 

I was hesitant to read this book because of its elements of spiritualism and occultism.  Neither of these interests me, and I dislike supernatural forces being made responsible for crimes.  My fears were for naught.  Though various forms of occult practices do appear, humans bear responsibility for what happens.  What I did come to appreciate is how the women are drawn, however mistakenly, to a belief system which claims not to dismiss or diminish females but is based on “’acknowledging one’s desires and recognizing that they are legitimate and natural.’”  However one may feel about Pauline Caron’s diatribe as justification for her actions, there is truth in her comment that sexual pleasures are condemned by priests who themselves are “’frustrated and tormented by what the Church [denies them].  I shall refrain from commenting on the paedophilic horrors of the Catholic Church.’”

My favourite character is Gina, the psychologist, who assists Maxine.  I enjoyed trying to guess what she was thinking while studying the crime scene or interviewing Pauline.  Her astute observations certainly help move the investigation.  And the scene where she shows Maxine that she shouldn’t be ashamed of a less-than-perfect body had me in stitches!

I guessed many of the connections among the three plots, but I was blown away by the revelations at the end.  I found myself re-reading portions to make certain I had not read incorrectly.  What is wonderful is that this is a fair-play mystery.  The clues are there, but I missed them.  There were times I suspected that something was wrong, but I didn’t stop to analyze what was bothering me.  Like Lina, I didn’t think carefully enough and made assumptions.  (Only one element bothered me:  the use of a shoulder strap from a handbag didn’t seem credible.)

And there may be another connection that is not clarified.  Lina says she is not interested in who got a classmate pregnant.  I have my suspicions as to the identity of the man, but I don’t know if I’m correct, and that’s driving me crazy!

This is a page-turner.  Suspense is maintained throughout.  Point of view is used effectively; since each woman narrates in the first person, she reveals only as much as she wishes.  Sometimes narrators are unreliable, but sometimes they reveal more about themselves than they intend, so astute readers will be rewarded.  The short chapters certainly add to the fast pace.   

I recommend this book to anyone who enjoys dark, twisty tales.