Blood Wedding by Pierre LeMaitre / Reviewed by Laura Hartman
Blood Wedding
By Pierre LeMaitre
MacLehose Press
$26.99
ISBN 978-0997211702
Published September 6, 2016
Book of the Day Review
Blood Wedding, by Pierre LeMairtre, is the story of Sophie Duguet, a woman in conflict. At the very least she is mentally unstable, but she is quite possibly a murderer. Somehow, she goes from being a happily married career woman to a fugitive in the blink of an eye, and she cannot understand how the whole thing happened to her.
It starts with little things: missing items, forgetting to do small errands, lost birthday gifts that turn up months later. These blips in memory lead up to horrible mistakes at work. Soon, Sophie begins to lose more than everyday items; she is missing parts of her day. She finds herself in places and situations, but she does not have a clue as to how or why she is there. Her husband is losing his patience, and she is sure that she has lost her mind.
Each slip of memory chips a sliver of Sophie’s psyche away until she does not know who she is anymore. It is not hard for her to disappear and reinvent herself when it becomes necessary; she does what she has to do. What is hard is finding a new husband whose name she can take to solidify her new persona. She has always known that somewhere, inside of her there is a strong, smart, woman. But, is there enough of that woman left to save her?
Enter Frantz, the shy, military man Sophie meets through a dating service. Frantz wants to help Sophie and she is relieved to find someone she can trust to take care of her. Even though she does not really love him—she needs him. He just might be her ticket out of the craziness her life has become—or is she jumping from the frying pan into the fire and making a pact with the Devil himself?
Unbeknownst to Sophie, a seemingly remote catalyst sets off a series of life changing events. Sophie pulls the reader along her descent into madness all the while hoping she will be able to claw her way back from to become the person she once was. All of this could happen to anyone if they are in the wrong place at the right time. It is terrifying to realize how easily Sophie’s life turned upside down and out of control.
If you look up a list of suspenseful thrillers—Blood Wedding should be at the top of the list. I could not turn the pages fast enough to see what would happen next. The plot is so solid that I could not find an unanswered question. The supporting characters are relevant and memorable without overshadowing the story line. Their interactions with the main characters enhance and help to advance the plot. The main characters are fully developed, multi-dimensional, and demand the reader’s attention.
Nothing and no one is what or who they seem to be as the plot swirls around Sophie and Frantz. LeMaitre expertly grabs the reader and drags them into the depths of Sophie’s despair and the plotting mind of Frantz. He then takes the reader on a roller coaster ride through a house of mirrors at breakneck speed. The reader will question the ideas they had when they first met Sophie and Frantz. This adventure is one that readers live for. No one will be disappointed.
From the first page to the last, the suspense never stops. I love this book. The lightning fast pace, perfect plot, and characters that are unerringly realistic are reminiscent of a Hitchcock movie. Each page helps to build the tension until the story explodes in the final chapters. The ending is satisfying—leaving no loose ends begging for explanation—which is perfection.
Pierre LeMaitre is an acclaimed, award winning author and screenwriter. His books are originally written in French, but many have been translated to English. Blood Wedding is the first novel I have read by LeMaitre, but it will not be the last.
DISCLOSURE OF MATERIAL CONNECTION: I have a material connection because I received a review copy for free from the publisher/author in connection with Killer Nashville in return for my review. Copyright © 2017 Laura Hartman
Laura Hartman is a short story author and book reviewer. She has work appearing in A Woman’s Touch: 11 Stories of Murder & Misdemeanors and The Killer Wore Cranberry, A Second Helping. She began reviewing books for GenReviews in 2011 and currently reviews for publicist Maryglenn McCombs, Penguin First to Read and NetGalley. She is a writer by day and a reader by night.
DISCLOSURE OF MATERIAL CONNECTION: I have a material connection because I received a review copy for free from the publisher/author in connection with Killer Nashville in return for my review. Copyright © 2017 Laura Hartman