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The Weight of Blood
The Weight of Blood: A Novel | Laura McHugh
9 posts | 31 read | 30 to read
For fans of Gillian Flynn, Scott Smith, and Daniel Woodrell comes a gripping, suspenseful novel about two mysterious disappearances a generation apart.INTERNATIONAL THRILLER WRITERS AWARD WINNER AND BARRY AWARD NOMINEE FOR BEST FIRST NOVEL NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BYBOOKPAGE The town of Henbane sits deep in the Ozark Mountains. Folks there still whisper about Lucy Danes mother, a bewitching stranger who appeared long enough to marry Carl Dane and then vanished when Lucy was just a child. Now on the brink of adulthood, Lucy experiences another loss when her friend Cheri disappears and is then found murdered, her body placed on display for all to see. Lucys family has deep roots in the Ozarks, part of a community that is fiercely protective of its own. Yet despite her close ties to the land, and despite her familys influence, Lucydarkly beautiful as her mother wasis always thought of by those around her as her mothers daughter. When Cheri disappears, Lucy is haunted by the two lost girlsthe mother she never knew and the friend she couldnt saveand sets out with the help of a local boy, Daniel, to uncover the mystery behind Cheris death. What Lucy discovers is a secret that pervades the secluded Missouri hills, and beyond that horrific revelation is a more personal one concerning what happened to her mother more than a decade earlier. The Weight of Blood is an urgent look at the dark side of a bucolic landscape beyond the arm of the law, where a person can easily disappear without a trace. Laura McHugh proves herself a masterly storyteller who has created a harsh and tangled terrain as alive and unforgettable as the characters who inhabit it. Her mesmerizing debut is a compelling exploration of the meaning of family: the sacrifices we make, the secrets we keep, and the lengths to which we will go to protect the ones we love. Look for special features inside. Join the Random House Readers Circle for author chats and more. [An] expertly crafted thriller.Entertainment Weekly, The Must List Haunting . . . [a] riveting debut.Los Angeles Times Laura McHughs atmospheric debut . . . conjures a menacingly beautiful Ozark setting and a nest of poisonous family secrets reminiscent of Daniel Woodrells Winters Bone.Vogue Fantastic . . . a mile-a-minute thriller.The Dallas Morning News Gripping . . . Her prose will not only keep readers turning the pages but also paints a real and believable portrait of the connections, alliances, and sacrifices that underpin rural, small-town life. . . . Strongly recommended for readers who enjoy thrillers by authors such as Laura Lippman and Tana French.Library Journal (starred review) The sinister tone builds relentlessly.The Plain Dealer Rich in character and atmosphere . . . This is one you wont want to miss.Karin Slaughter Daniel Woodrell better watch his back. . . . Weight of Blood is a tense, taut novel and a truly remarkable debut. . . . A suspenseful thrill ride that satisfies in all the right ways.BookPageFrom the Trade Paperback edition.
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mrp27
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October #bookspin is filled with skeletons, vampires, ghosts and the dead. 🎃☠️👻🧛🏻‍♂️

TheAromaofBooks Woohoo!!! 13mo
18 likes1 comment
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Hooked_on_books
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Pickpick

Lila moves to a small Ozarks town for a job, which turns dark quickly. In a separate timeline, her daughter Lucy is trying to learn what happened to a friend who was recently found dead and whether there‘s a connection to her own mother‘s disappearance. This is a quick read and I was enthralled by it, but it is truly dark (reason under spoiler tag below).

#ReadingUSA2019 #Missouri

Hooked_on_books Rape, sex trafficking 6y
Librarybelle Stacking! 6y
NatalieR I enjoyed this one too! 👍 6y
64 likes5 stack adds3 comments
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mrp27
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#octoberputaspellonyou
#31bookpics

I went with some spooky #spinepoetry to go with my #witchshat

The weight of blood
Speaking from among the bones
Roses and rot
The dead in their vaulted arches

Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks Love it!!! 🙌🏻🙌🏻🖤🖤 6y
Wife 🖤 6y
erzascarletbookgasm 👍 love both! 6y
readordierachel 👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽 6y
41 likes5 comments
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Britjanes
Pickpick

I found this book mysterious. It kept me on the edge of my seat and I couldn‘t put it down! I recommended it to my mom, but she didn‘t finish it because it was apparently too dark for her.

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NatalieR
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Pickpick

This has been on my shelf so long I wasn‘t sure what to expect. It‘s a good mystery involving the disappearance of the MC‘s friend in the present day. The MC‘s mother also went missing when she was just a baby. Not everything was tied up perfectly in the end, but enough that the author lets you fill in the fine details. 3.5/4 ⭐️

eeclayton Lovely picture :) 6y
NatalieR @eeclayton Thanks! 😊 6y
95 likes1 stack add2 comments
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JoeStalksBeck
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Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks Pretty!!! 😘😘 7y
JoeStalksBeck @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks thank you!❤️❤️❤️ 7y
127 likes2 comments
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Shel1
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Panpan

I have never read such unlikeable characters. Every family in this book seems to be awful and wrapped up in at least one form of child abuse. Trigger warnings for child abuse, child exploitation, as well as human trafficking. I really had high hopes for this book, the story line was so promising. An overall heavy and gritty read. #letdown

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AshleyS
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Pickpick

I listened to this one and enjoyed all the narrators. I liked how the chapters switched between characters and the present and past. I thoroughly disliked the antagonists in this book. It deals with difficult subject matter, but all around I really liked this one.