The Scorpion’s Head

“No life without pain.”



Waking up in a psychiatric with no memory of how she got there, Gaelle is shocked to find out she’s suspected of trying to murder her seven year old son Lukas. While he lies in a coma in another hospital, she slowly starts to put the pieces of her memory back together as she desperately tries to get to the bottom of the truth. She finds an unlikely ally in Michael, a contract killer who works for Scorpio. Scorpio is a ruthless group of killers-for-hire run by a mysterious figure, and while Michael was one of their best agents, he soon finds out there is no loyalty amongst thieves (or contract killers). After rejecting an assignment for the first time in his time with Scorpio, he finds himself on the run trying to stay alive. The mother and the hitman soon find their paths crossing and there’s only one question left: what are they willing to do to survive?

This book felt like I was watching an action packed movie. I don’t read a lot of books that have a spy/hitman element but I really enjoyed this one. I was on the edge of my seat almost right from the start. Sometimes books start a little slow as they ease you into the plot, but I found that wasn’t the case here. The story starts off painting a picture of domestic un-bliss, but instead of dragging it out the ball gets rolling on the plot pretty quickly. We quickly go from Gaelle to Michael’s point of view, and we watch along their separate stories until their paths cross and their stories unite. I really liked being able to see the lead up to this, I found it helped me understand each character and their motivations a little more.

There are two main POV’s, with more minor character’s POV’s showing up at necessary points. Sometimes this makes plot points and characters hard to follow along with or remember, but I thought this book was easy to follow and the change in pov’s flowed well and didn’t feel sudden. It was so interesting to read point’s of view from characters who were objectively bad people (re: contract killers) because it’s so different from the normal every day person. Things that most people would never be able to do they do without any thought of it other than it’s a job they need to get done. They can disguise themselves so well that no one ever knows what they actually look like, have connections to all the underground people who can do things like get them a van that won’t be traced, and seem to have no moral code except loyalty to themselves. Michael proves to be a bit of an exception, and you’ll just have to read the book to find out why!

Overall, this was a 4 star read for me. I loved the book, there were just a couple of things I wished for like explaining Michael’s background just a little deeper (it’s definitely talked about in the book, I just wanted just a little more) that maybe would have tipped it over the edge to 5 stars, but I highly recommend this to people who like thrillers with lots of action. This book was originally published a few years ago but the English translation will be out on March 8, 2022. Thanks to NetGalley for this ARC of The Scorpion’s Head in exchange for an honest review.

This is a fast-paced cinematic thriller focused on a serial killer and a woman and her son who may be part of his equation. Michael is the serial killer who is proficient and ruthless, but past memories may make his latest job more challenging and conflicting than others. Gaelle is the mother who wakes up in a psychiatric hospital to learn that she has been accused of attempted murder of Lukas, her son, now in a coma in another hospital. Gaelle cannot remember the details of how she arrived there, but knows she would never harm her son. Who can she trust? How can she escape? How to find her son? Meanwhile Michael has his own demons to pursue and some are pursuing him. Can he survive and redeem himself? This is a fast read so you won’t be up all night….just long enough to finish! Recommended. Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for providing this title.

A fast-paced and captivating thriller that will keep you invested until the very last page. I enjoyed the different POV and the flashbacks of Michael's childhood.

I absolutely inhaled this book over the course of a few days. The writing is perfectly pitched between suspenseful and truthful and the characters feel both suited to a high paced thriller and yet also well drawn and realistic in their motivations. It's particularly gratifying to have such complex and involved female characters as well as a darker underworld that feels refreshingly modern. It's a great thriller for huge readers of the genre who want a bit of a palate cleanser from the more workaday options out there. You can also definitely understand the writer's background as a screenwriting as the location choice always feels appropriately cinematic.

First of all I absolutely flew through this book. The writing is very easy and quick to read, the sentences are short, the pace is high and there’s lots of fun action and chase scenes. It’s also very cinematic. I could definitely see this becoming a movie, and some of the scenes gave me Bourne Identity vibes.

I liked our two main characters, but liked Gaelle’s parts a bit more than Michael’s, because I sympathized a lot more with her than with him and could understand her motivations better. Of the different side characters Michael’s boss Dolores intrigued me the most and I wish we would have had a lot more of her. Please, give me a whole prequel on Dolores and how she became the person she is in this book!

The resolutions of the different parts of the plot were a bit too quick in my opinion. I think especially the final confrontation could have been longer and more interesting. It felt like a bit of a missed opportunity because the setting and situation at that point had a lot of potential, but it was over before I knew it.

All in all I give this book 4 stars. Although I would have liked some longer plot resolutions and confrontations, I had a blast while reading, and am glad I happened to come across this book. Being Dutch it would have made more sense for me to read this in the original Dutch, but now that I’ve discovered Vandermeeren I will for sure check out some of her other books in Dutch.

A well constructed crime novel with a beautiful international dimension. The premise of this book sounded interesting from the very beginning. It was a quick, easy read.

I have to say I was drawn to this book after reading an excellent review in the Times Review section a little while ago. I'm so glad I did because honestly this novel has not got the recognition it deserves.
It is a real crime thriller that kept me hooked and I can absolutely see how it fits into the Walter presents series. It's dark and thrilling and I loved the focus on the female side of the criminal underworld, something that is too often ignored. I really enjoyed it to be honest.

A proper rip-roaring thriller that grips the reader’s attention from the outset and doesn’t let up until the very end, The Scorpion’s Head is the tense and action-packed story of Gaelle, who is trying to prove her innocence regarding the accusation that she has attempted to murder her young son, and Michael, a hitman working for the mysterious Scorpio organization who is trying to survive after declining to perform a hit he was hired for. Hilde Vandermeeren is a true talent when it comes to plotting a taut thriller that is packed with excitement and intrigue. The Scorpion’s Head is the kind of gripping book that you want to read in a single sitting.

“The Scorpion’s Head” by Hilde Vandermeeren is the third novel (out of four) that I have read in the “Walter Presents” series of mysteries/thrillers, all of which have been quite good and provide an interesting glimpse at international fiction that we don’t always get in the USA.

We have two main characters here. First is Gaelle, loving mother of seven-year-old Lukas. When we meet her she is waking up in a hospital, with no memory of how she got there. It turns out that she is suspected of trying to kill Lukas, who lies in a coma in a different hospital. She escapes and tries to figure out what happened, convinced of her innocence but thrust in a world she knows nothing about.

Our second character is Michael, a hitman who works for an organization named Scorpio, dealing in murder-for-hire. As is typical in these types of stories, Michael is growing tired of his life, and the assignment of killing a seven-year-old boy is the one that pushes him over the edge, the mission that brings back painful memories of his childhood in communist Poland, and the regret that helped shape his life.

But as we all know, shadowy illegal hitman organizations don’t just let their assets pick and choose their assignments and leave whenever they want to. Enter Michael’s boss Dolores, who now must not only fulfill the contract on Gaelle and Lukas, but also take care of loose cannon Michael. So now Michael has to keep Gaelle and Lukas alive while avoiding the contract on his life and trying to figure out the identity of the client who wants them dead. As they join forces, will they be able to solve the mystery and save Lukas before they’re caught?

A great rollercoaster, great characters and fast-moving plot. Michael is a three-dimensional hero, a master of disguise which adds some fun to the noir feel of the novel. There are some great set pieces, especially a chase through the catacombs of Paris, which add to the heightened level of excitement. Gaelle is a typical fish out of water, who of course does some stupid moves instead of listening to Michael, but what can one expect? The end piece is kind of rushed, but still delivers the satisfactory conclusion. Enjoyable Dutch noir.

I requested and received a free advanced electronic copy from Pushkin Press via NetGalley. Thank you!