Kristien Hemmerechts
World Editions
6 October 2026
216
eBook - EPUB
Literary Fiction
ARC via NetGalley
Odette sits in her prison cell preparing for imminent release. Between brief interludes of counsel from Sister Virginie and Anouk, the prison psychiatrist, she is left alone to labor through the memories of her former life. Obsessive and reflective, yet crucially lacking in remorse, Odette's testimony is a tricky script to untangle. Based on the real-life events of Michelle Martin, ex-wife of the notorious child abductor, murderer, and serial rapist, Marc Dutroux, this is a fictionalized account of the inner workings of Martin's mind before, during, and after the crimes that shook a nation in the 1990s. The excuses and abuses of this killer's accomplice make for a brave exploration of psychological trauma, and the slide towards its most extreme of consequences. In The Woman Who Fed the Dogs, Hemmerechts has produced a daring novel that positions the reader uncomfortably close to the human behind these unforgivable acts.
The Woman Who Fed the Dogs was an intense psychological work that takes the reader inside the mind of someone who at times we feel compassion for and at times we are repulsed by. I thought it was a brave piece, and I can understand why it divides readers so much, especially given that it is based on a real story. I found it a compelling work that really made me question as a reader how I or someone else might act in the same circumstances, with the same background. Of course, many would say they would never do the things Odette does, but that is easy to say when you are not the one in that moment and with those experiences. The book kept me gripped from start to finish as it meandered back and forth between the past and the present, as one's thoughts would be likely to do in such circumstances, making it feel rare and real. Given the subject matter, this is not going to be a story for everyone, so readers should exercise some caution in picking it up, but I am giving it 4.5 stars as I found it a riveting piece of writing.
I received this book as a free eBook ARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
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