Book Review: Blood Wedding by Pierre Lamaitre

Thursday, September 15, 2016
I haven't read anything by this author before but when an opportunity arose via Twitter to review a signed copy of *Blood Wedding by Pierre Lamaitre (£7.99, paperback is available next year but the hardback is available now) I couldn't say no; it;s published by the lovely people at Quercus Books! I don't have many signed books in my collection, I only started getting into reading again this year, but it's nice to have signed copies on my shelves. Thrillers as well as mystery novels are some of my favourite types of books to read so this ticks a lot of boxes for me. I think if you're a fan of thrillers, mysteries or crime novels then you will love this book!

The book follows Sophie, as well as her husband, a unusual stranger and to an extent her friends and father through a series of unexplainable, gruesome and tragic events. Sophie keeps forgetting things she's done, misplacing items and it's starting to worry her and her husband. The book jumps between the past and the present, describing events Sophie has gone through and what she is currently going through. Things are not as they appear, she has done things that are unexplainable and horrific, or that may not be the case...

There are lots of events in this book that are initially unexplainable and unusual as well as gruesome however as events start to unfold and you learn more about Sophie's past, her mother and about the events that she can't explain as well as the disturbed individual stalking her. It's split into three main parts and as the book progressed it did become more interesting and mysterious however I did guess the main twist in the book, it was a little predictable. I like the mystery surrounding the crimes and the past of both the main characters, although it was quite disturbing at times. iThe book overall has such an eerie feel which make it perfect for this time of year as Halloween is almost here (well, in my mind it is!). It's quite a fast paced, action and suspense filled read that left me wanting to know how the novel ends but I did have some problems with it as a whole. I love the writing style, it's very easy to read and I managed to get through the book which is 312 pages long in a couple of days. The book in some places reads like a diary but there are also newspaper articles within the book to as well as psychological/clinical assessments.

Overall I liked the book, I can't say nearly as much as I want to because I will give quite a lot of the plot away but I did find that the ending was unusual and out of character for Sophie, she seems to have changed so much from the beginning of the book and the explanations for what happened with the main characters seemed a bit bleh, if that's makes sense. There are some psychological reasons given for what happened but as someone with a first class BSc psychology degree, I found them to be a little imaginative and nonsensical. I was left with quite a few questions when I finished as some things about the main characters actions didn't make sense and I feel as though it could possibly have been explained better, if that makes sense. The book does contain a lot of crime and murder as well as some psychological aspects, suicide, stalking and depression so if those are triggering topics for you then maybe this isn't the best book for you. However, I think if you like crime, mystery and thriller novels then this will be a great autumn or halloween read! Oh and I have to add that I love the cover, I only realised towards the end that some of the rose petal edges are screaming faces...that kind of sets the tone for the book! Overall rating: ★★★☆☆, 3/5. 

Have you read this book? Have you read anything by Pierre Lamaitre? What are you currently reading - any autumn/halloween recommendations? 

2 comments

  1. Ooh this sounds like such a complex book, I love sitting down on a lazy sunday and devouring those. Need to pick this up!

    Elle
    www.theellenextdoor.com
    xx

    ReplyDelete
  2. sounds indeed like a good book to enjoy during Halloween!
    Pam xo/ Pam Scalfi♥

    ReplyDelete

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