Blood on Her Tongue by Johanna van Veen
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 harbouring secrets of her own, too.
Then, the worst happens. Sarah’s behaviour takes a turn for the strange. She becomes angry… and hungry.
by Molly
Johanna van Veen’s gothic horror Blood on Her Tongue offers up a classic vampire tale with some modern contemplations.
The book follows Lucy Goedhart as she is called to the ominously named Zwartwater (black water) estate, where her sister has taken ill. In 1887, there isn’t much in the way of medical treatment, but Lucy’s sister Sarah isn’t fighting off a regular illness.
Sarah has become obsessed with a body found in the bog of the vast estate and since interacting with the 300-year-old corpse she has become increasingly incoherent, struggles with taking care of herself and has developed an insatiable hunger.
As Lucy tries desperately to save her sister, she finds that her sister’s husband, her sister’s doctor and childhood friend, and several other characters who are present at the remote manor house all have their own interests and motivations – some as dangerous as whatever condition is plaguing Sarah.
The book is not for those easily bothered by gore. The title – Blood on Her Tongue – is a pretty good indication of what is to come. Van Veen does not shy away from the horror elements, including two separate scenes of eyeball gouging.
Like any good horror novel, the macabre monster is not the scariest part. The threats Lucy faces are from the men surrounding her sister. Her brother-in-law attempts to seduce Lucy while badgering her to send Sarah away to an asylum.
Sarah’s doctor expresses his own interest in Lucy, pushing his vision of the future while supposedly devoting himself to his patient. The mores of 19th-century upper-class society may be the biggest piece of villainy of all.
In the tradition of Dracula, Blood on Her Tongue tells its story through letters, journal entries and newspaper clippings. The personal correspondence adds to the claustrophobia of the work, with everyone limited to an isolated house, but the media reports remind the reader that the world outside does exist.
The work is the second book from Dutch author Johanna van Veen. It was published in 2025 in English and became a USA Today bestseller. Her first book, My Darling Dreadful Thing, was nominated for the Bram Stoker Award for best horror novel. Van Veen grew up in the Netherlands as a triplet, something that influenced her writing about the sisters Lucy and Sarah.
If horror is your thing, Blood on Her Tongue will creep you out and keep you turning the pages.
This book review was first published 24 July 2026 on DutchNews.
