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    The Weight of Blood: A Novel
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    The Weight of Blood: A Novel
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    The Weight of Blood: A Novel
    Audiobook9 hours

    The Weight of Blood: A Novel

    Written by Laura McHugh

    Narrated by Dorothy Dillingham Blue, Shannon McManus and Sofia Willingham

    4/5

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    Currently unavailable

    Currently unavailable

    About this audiobook

    For fans of Gillian Flynn, Scott Smith, and Daniel Woodrell comes a gripping, suspenseful novel about two mysterious disappearances a generation apart.

    NOMINATED FOR A BARRY AWARD AND AN INTERNATIONAL THRILLER WRITERS AWARD FOR BEST FIRST NOVEL • NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY BOOKPAGE

    The town of Henbane sits deep in the Ozark Mountains. Folks there still whisper about Lucy Dane's 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. Lucy's 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 family's influence, Lucy—darkly beautiful as her mother was—is always thought of by those around her as her mother's daughter. When Cheri disappears, Lucy is haunted by the two lost girls—the mother she never knew and the friend she couldn't save—and sets out with the help of a local boy, Daniel, to uncover the mystery behind Cheri's 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.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherPenguin Random House Audio
    Release dateMar 11, 2014
    ISBN9780804191517
    Unavailable
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    Reviews for The Weight of Blood

    4/5

    326 ratings80 reviews

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    • 4/5
      Received an ARC copy of this book through BookBrowse (many thanks!!) and was supposed to wait to read it as the group discussion doesn't start until March 1. Couldn't wait, it just looked so enticing! Once I started I could not put it down! Literally - 1 day read.

      The book has a wonderful Southern Gothic vibe, the author really made me feel the heat and humidity of summer, the oppression of a small isolated town, the fear of a young girl trying to figure out who she can trust....I don't do recaps or summaries, but this book has mystery, menace, a little mysticism, some strong female characters and some nasty bad guys! It is told in alternating chapters - a young girl trying to solve 2 mysteries and her mother, who represents one of the mysteries

      I had a few issues with this first novel, it was a little predictable at times, but overall I would recommend this book and look forward to McHugh's next novel!
    • 3/5
      A disturbing and sad book about family and secrets. Lucy's mother disappeared when Lucy was young, and now, as a teenager, she's touched by this sort of mystery again when her friend disappears. While trying to find out what happened to her friend, Lucy discovers a terrible secret about her mother, her friends, and her family.

      When I say disturbing, I mean it. Lucy finds out some terrible things, the kinds of things that can cause you to question who you are and why you're here. The book was fascinating, well-written, and hard to put down, but very, very sad.

      (Provided by publisher)
    • 5/5
      Recommended to me by my mom, because she liked it but also because the author was pregnant when she wrote it, and has a Masters in Library Science - parallels to my own life right now! But I digress. Lucy is seventeen when her developmentally disabled friend Cheri is found cut into pieces and stuffed in a tree. Cheri had been missing for a year, but was written off as a runaway. Lucy never bought that explanation, especially once she finds some evidence that Cheri had been staying near their small, rural town. As Lucy learns more about Cheri's disappearance, she notices a lot of parallels between her own mother's disappearance, which happened when Lucy was a baby. This book isn't a major "whodunit" mystery, but the way it unfolds, and especially the ending, are very satisfying, and the whole thing is well-written. I look forward to reading a lot more from Laura McHugh.
    • 4/5
      I liked the way this story unfolded. The ending was okay but there were a few unanswered questions for me which always bothers me. I almost gave this 4 stars but didn't because I don't feel like I cared for the characters as much as I should have either. Still a good mystery.
    • 4/5
      The Weight of Blood by Laura McHugh is a dark mystery involving the disappearance of at least two women from a small area in rural Missouri in the Ozark Mountains. The book follows two parallel story lines as Lucy, a teenager investigates the gruesome murder of a friend and hunts for clues into the disappearance of her mother some fifteen years ago. She is aided in her inquiries by a young man, Daniel, but she soon realizes that their investigation is leading into the heart of her own family. The past story line, is her mother’s Lila’s story, of how she came to the small town of Henbane and how she ran afoul of an evil man but made the mistake of falling in love with a member of his family.The author evokes the rugged setting of this rural community and slowly reveals that there is something very dark lurking in this small town. I had a slight problem believing Lila would stay in this place after she escapes captivity and learns what her future was meant to be. But overall this was a very good debut novel and I would certainly read more from this author.
    • 4/5
      I could not have thought up a plot like this if I tried! This book was cleverly crafted, with each character developed to make you love them, regardless of their flaws, some of which were very controversial. I was kept in suspense as the answers to two mysteries unfolded and the protagonist, Lucy, learned all there is to learn about love, friendship, blood bonds, and moral grounding. Wonderful story!
    • 4/5
      I could not have thought up a plot like this if I tried! This book was cleverly crafted, with each character developed to make you love them, regardless of their flaws, some of which were very controversial. I was kept in suspense as the answers to two mysteries unfolded and the protagonist, Lucy, learned all there is to learn about love, friendship, blood bonds, and moral grounding. Wonderful story!
    • 3/5
      This type of book makes me squeamish, it's only the initial quality of the writing that kept me reading when I figured out the dark turn this tale was taking. Told in alternating chapters in the voices of a daughter and the mother she never knew, the disturbing and sad secrets of one small town in the Ozarks are slowly revealed as the daughter tries to learn more about her mother's mysterious disappearance right after she was born.
      What keeps this from being a great book, in my opinion, is the trivialization of certain events towards the end of the book. It's almost like the author ran out of steam and just wanted to hurry up and finish the book and didn't want to take the time to really write about what these young characters must have felt when they were realizing what was going on in their own town. The writing really fell off which was disappointing.
    • 4/5
      Laura McHugh has crafted a fine novel of murder, entrapment and generational dependency. Using perspective from several characters and some chronological backtracking, the story is unraveled. There are some "adult" moments but overall, this is an all too realistic account of what occasionally happens in sheltered rural environments. I found it an excellent first novel and expect to hear more from her.This was an e-book advanced reader copy obtained from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
    • 4/5
      Here we have a story of two disappearances that happen a generation apart. Lucy Dane is a high school student in the Ozarks whose friend has gone missing. Coincidentally, Lucy's mother disappeared when Lucy was a baby. When Lucy decides to try to find out what happened to her friend, she stumbles on something much darker and more disturbing than just the one disappearance.

      Interspersed with Lucy's search is the story of her mother, how she came to be in the Ozarks and what happened to her there. This is a dark, gritty, disturbing rea that I really enjoyed. It has a wonderful sense of place, both the setting and the characters are wonderfully drawn. It isn't much of a whodunnit - it's more of a how-and-why-dunnit. I look forward to reading Laura McHugh's next book soon.

      Thanks to Netgalley and Random House for providing a copy for an unbiased review.
    • 4/5
      Slow start. Had to go back to reread once I figured out the characters. Didn’t LOVE the narrator but by the end, it worked!
    • 4/5
      I'm going to start a list called 'Books to read if you really want to know the South.' This book would be on that list. Granted, it's set in Missouri, so maybe not technically the South, but we make exceptions for the Southern part.

      The prose is wonderful. A good combination of sparsity and weight. There are so-called "third act" problems. It got a little cinematic there for a while, and some of the plot lines were left in a state of semi-unresolvedness. But that really doesn't take away from the truths of the rest of the novel. The importance of blood ties, the insular nature of small, isolated communities, the call of one's home soil. Of course, it helps that I grew up near some of the areas mentioned in the book. Even if the town is fictional, the landscape is not.

      So, want to know the South? To really know it? To feel the humidity build until you feel the storm breaking in you bones? Read this book.
    • 4/5
      I enjoyed this book. It is a double mystery told from the point of view of multiple characters. McHugh did a good job of creating intrigue. With each chapter I wondered, is he or she the killer, not knowing for sure until near the end. The ending was a little anti-climactic for me, but in real life everything isn't so dramatic either, so it was realistic.
    • 5/5
      This book is immediately intriguing and disturbing.

      There are two stories being told from first person perspectives: that of Lucy Dane in the present as she tries to figure out what happened to her brutally murdered friend Cheri, and the other set in the past that follows Lucy's long-missing mother Lila. There are also other characters that occasionally have chapters to themselves which are told from 3rd person perspectives.

      I enjoyed the approach used with the multiple story lines; they effectively give the reader a broader view of what's going on in a little town with an abundance of secrets. The author also did a great job with the characterizations of the main characters, their distinct personalities complementary to the complex nature of the town's workings. "The Weight of Blood" is gripping and well written, 4.5 star
    • 3/5
      In Henbane, Missouri, lives Lucy Dane, a seventeen-year-old who still has questions about the disappearance of her mother sixteen years earlier. In the present, the mutilated body of Cheri, Lucy’s developmentally challenged friend, is discovered a year after she went missing. During a cleaning job for her Uncle Crete, Lucy makes a discovery which suggests that her uncle may know something about Cheri’s fate. She soon finds herself investigating both disappearances.For much of the book, there are alternating points of view and time periods; in the present we are given Lucy’s point of view as she takes on the role of Nancy Drew and in the past we are given that of Lila, Lucy’s mother, as she arrives in Henbane. There is no difficulty differentiating between narrators because each chapter gives the name of the narrator. What can cause some confusion is the number of parallels: Lila has Carl and Lucy has Daniel; Lila’s best friend is Gabby and Lucy’s best friend is Gabby’s daughter; Lila worked for Crete as does Lucy. There is also repeated reference to the uncanny resemblance between mother and daughter. Some of the connections seem very contrived: Lila visited a woman who Lucy knows as Daniel’s mother, and Lila bought a chocolate bar for a young boy who becomes a source of information for Lucy. Of course, the population of Henbane is only 707, and two or three degrees of separation is probably normal for such small towns.Considering the nature of Lucy’s hometown, Henbane, a plant possessing narcotic and poisonous properties, is an appropriate name. For women in particular, danger lurks there. Young women are subject to unwanted sexual advances, disappear mysteriously, and are forced into prostitution, while elderly women are blackmailed into being criminal accessories and keeping men’s secrets. Negligent mothers abound, as do teenage pregnancies. Women who come from outside the insular community are labelled as witches. At one point, Lucy describes Henbane as “a dark spot on the globe seen from space,” but it is not credible that the outrageous events described could have been going on for so many years with no one breaking the code of silence.The ending is weak. Mother Nature provides a deus ex machina which is just too convenient. Such contrivance does not ring true.Of the two stories, Lila’s is much more interesting because it contains real tension and suspense. Lucy’s story lacks danger; the major villain is identified early on and Lucy admits that “he had never hurt me” so there is little reason to expect him to do so. Lucy is not really a likeable character either. Her father is described as being “good at blinding himself to what he didn’t want to see” and it seems that Lucy has inherited this trait. She becomes aware of what has been happening in her own back yard, but she does nothing to stop it. She has little sympathy for the victims and so it is difficult to find her sympathetic. As the title clearly suggests, the theme is “the weight of blood, of family.” For Lucy, this means keeping family secrets: “we all had secrets, secrets that would hurt other people or expose us in ways we didn’t want to be exposed.” Throughout, I kept hoping that Lucy would discard this weight since she has been taught that “I needn’t be bound by the unspoken laws of kin; that I could have a family based not on bloodline but on love.”The author must be given credit for attempting to portray even the most evil of characters as having redeeming qualities. Unfortunately, the degree of vileness makes it difficult to see some of the characters as more than stereotypical villains.This is a debut novel so it is not surprising that it is uneven in quality. Though flawed, there is sufficient in it that I will read the writer’s next book in the expectation that it will be better.Note: I received an ARC of this book from the publisher via NetGalley.
    • 4/5
      The Weight of Blood by Laura McHugh is a 2014 by Spiegel & Grau publication. Sixteen- year -old, Lucy Dane, has lived in the shadow of Lila, her beautiful mother, who disappeared when she was a child. Many folks in Henbane, believed Lila was a witch, and those rumors are still whispered about behind Lucy’s back. If her mother’s disappearance wasn’t enough to cope with, years later, her friend Cheri also disappeared. When Cheri’s body was found, Lucy stumbles across a startling discovery that could be a clue to Cheri’s murder. This prompts Lucy to start asking questions, and do a little investigating on her own. Her unwanted snooping uncovers disturbing information about her mother, leading Lucy to believe the two cases could be connected… This, believe it or not, is McHugh’s debut novel!! I was impressed by her other books, and knew I needed to circle back and read this one too. McHugh has an amazing gift of creating a taut atmosphere. This story grabbed me right from the start and I had a really hard time putting it down. The story develops across two timelines and dual first-person narratives, gradually piecing together the events of the past and connecting them to the present. The suspense is gripping, the story is both riveting and heart wrenching. Overall, McHugh’s debut is every bit as riveting as her follow up novels. If you like dark, compelling thrillers written with a literary tone, this is a book, and an author, you’ll want to try. 4+ stars
    • 3/5
      A decent thriller with plenty of atmosphere, but I felt the ending pulled its punch and the villain (who is obvious and there is no twist; he is who he is) gets no real punishment. As a matter of fact, the slavery of young women appears to just go on. And not just the girls who are sold for sex, many of the women in town are equally in bonds and cannot stop what's happening. One thing that bugged me was that the two narrators who take the alternate perspectives of Lucy and Lila sounded too much alike. If I let my attention wander I sometimes couldn't tell which was which. Really, would it be so hard to find another woman who doesn't sound like a little girl?
    • 5/5
      Set in the Ozarks, two mysteries, a generation apart are related simultaneously in alternating chapters with each chapter headed by the character involved in that part of the story. The smalltown rural setting with its interesting characters and dark secrets make for a compelling, page turner! It's hard to believe this is a debut novel.
    • 4/5
      I read this book based on a first chapter teaser. While not every moment was as engaging as that opening chapter (Lucy's story did become a little "Nancy Drew" in spots), _The Weight of Blood_ is a great example of Southern/Rural Noir, with all of the creepy superstitions and rough characters that blend so beautifully into the geography. Recommended for readers who enjoyed _Winter's Bone_ (D. Woodrell) or _A Man Came Out Of A Door In The Mountain_ (A. Harun).
    • 3/5
      The Dane family's roots tangle deep in the Ozark Mountain town of Henbane, but that doesn't keep sixteen-year-old Lucy Dane from being treated like an outsider. Folks still whisper about her mother, a bewitching young stranger who inspired local myths when she vanished years ago. When one of Lucy's few friends, slow-minded Cheri, is found murdered, Lucy feels haunted by the two lost girls--the mother she never knew and the friend she couldn't protect. Everything changes when Lucy stumbles across Cheri's necklace in an abandoned trailer and finds herself drawn into a search for answers. What Lucy discovers makes it impossible to ignore the suspicion cast on her own kin. More alarming, she suspects Cheri's death could be linked to her mother's disappearance, and the connection between the two puts Lucy at risk of losing everything. Publisher's summaryThe audiobook version of THE WEIGHT OF BLOOD was suspenseful--no skipping ahead pages--and the narrator, while maintaining a limited range (no one spoke quickly or in a high or low voice, managed the characters with subtle vocal differences; the slow drawl was almost mesmerizing.Having said that, I feel that THE WEIGHT OF BLOOD is less mystery and more coming of age novel. Lucy is at a point in her life when she would naturally question authority, family rules and the status quo. That her mother disappeared when Lucy was a child raises the stakes in this character driven debut novel.Will be looking for the next one from Laura McHugh.7 out of 10 Recommended to readers of mystery and family saga tales.
    • 4/5
      The Weight of Blood is an impressive debut novel by Laura Mc Hugh. The story is stitched together through multiple points of view. Lucy Dane was an infant when her mother disappeared without warning, Longing to know what happened to her mother and who killed her childhood best friend, Cheri ,Lucy begins to ask questions that may have disturbing answers. This book had a right plot, good pacing and plenty of suspense. The ending felt hurried but I am still rating four stars because of how well written the book was.
    • 5/5
      With a potent combination of compelling characters, an intriguing mystery and a vivid setting, Laura McHugh's The Weight of Blood springs vibrantly to life. Set in Henbane, a fictitious town in the Ozarks, seventeen year old Lucy Bane unwittingly unearths an appalling family secret after discovering a valuable clue that could possibly lead to the identity of her friend's killer.

      The small town of Henbane is rocked by the discovery of Cheri Stoddard's dismembered body, but the police investigation does not yield any clues as to where she was for the year prior to her death or who killed the young woman. Lucy, Cheri's only friend, feels guilty over not doing more for her lost friend and after she finds evidence in a very unexpected place, she keeps digging for answers and her investigation leads to disquieting information about her mother Lila who vanished without a trace fifteen years earlier.

      Lucy is, in many ways, a typical teenager. She has a summer job working for her Uncle Crete and she, along with her friend Bess, get up to the usual teenage shenanigans (breaking curfew, going to parties, etc). Her dad, Carl, is gone for long stretches of time working out of town, and their neighbor Birdie keeps a close eye on her. Lucy knows bits and pieces about her mom so when her search for information about Cheri's death leads to information that links Cheri and Lila to Crete, Lucy tenaciously continues her search for the truth about what happened to both women.

      The Weight of Blood unfolds from multiple points of view, but Lucy and Lila are the predominate storytellers. Lila's chapters fill in vital background information about the events leading up to her disappearance and Lucy's of course detail the ongoing discoveries in the present. While the majority of the chapters alternate between Lila and Lucy, later in the story, chapters from supporting characters provide information that is crucial to the storyline.

      Although it is a little predictable at times, the plot is nicely executed. The characters are quite engaging, richly developed and sympathetic. Henbane is an insular community and as often happens with small towns, outsiders are viewed with suspicion by the townspeople whose families have often lived there for numerous generations. Families stand together, and their tight bonds sometimes blind them to one another's faults.

      A gritty coming of age story, The Weight of Blood is an exceptionally well-written and riveting inaugural novel by Laura McHugh. The cast of characters is colorful, the plot is realistic and although the ending is a little too neat, it is quite satisfying. An absolutely outstanding read that I highly recommend.
    • 4/5
      The Weight of Blood is an interesting novel told through multiple voices, which enhanced the deep storytelling. This novel was one I got on a whim from Netgalley and wound up loving. The characters were easy to listen to and the plot was quickly engaging. The mysterious disappearance of two women from the same town, but years apart, drew me in as something I needed to solve. As family ties became evident, the story grew even more page turning. It was interesting and sickening at the same time. While reading I felt twinges of hate, disgust, fear, and guilt. The fact that this book was able to pull those emotions to the surface but not be repulsive is commendable. This book is well written and well worth reading!
    • 5/5
      Excellent! Part mystery part thriller this story set in the part of the world I grew up in, really captured my attention.Great characters and descriptions.
    • 5/5
      I am absolutely and positively in love with this book....with its story, its setting, its characters...and despite the fact that the "I'm so high on this book let me rave about it right away" version of my review got carried into oblivion by the magical forces of my Firefox, my initial literary infatuation has not diminished one bit in the meantime...I find it a bit amusing that most debut books in this genre get compared to Gillian Flynn - I am assuming in the attempt to stir the readers of Gone Girl in the direction of this book but I find that this comparison is a bit unfair towards the talent that Laura McHugh brings to the table all on her own. I am not expert on small town America but Henbane of McHugh's literary world is going to stay with me for quite a while. I am drawn to writers who know how to create the worlds I end up inhibiting with (reading) ease. And though Henbane of this story is murky and ominous, filled with darkness and secrets, I've enjoyed every second of "visiting" it.Lucy Dane is sixteen, and though she was born and raised in Henbane, she is constantly dancing on the outer edges of actual acceptance by the other locals. Probably because her mother was an exotic and alluring outsider whose sudden departure soon after Lucy's birth still haunts the little town and especially Lucy herself. Lucy's friends are few and far between and when one of them (Cheri) is found dead, Lucy's need for answers ends up leading her down the path of (self)discovery that will change her world in more ways than she expected.The story moves seamlessly between the past and the present, switching narration between various characters, allowing the reader greater insight into numerous points of view and I loved that shifting point of view. Getting to know Lucy, her mom Lila, brothers Crete and Carl, Lucy's neighbor Birdie - their stories and journeys end up being just as seductive as the main story itself. I wouldn't be surprised to see this book turned into a movie, it seems to have all the elements Hollywood is drawn to these days.I know I'll be grabbing a copy of whatever books comes out of Laura McHugh's keyboard next. In the meantime I just wanted to share a few of the beautiful quotes that simply "forced" their way into my collection:"She'd make a game of it where she'd relax all the little bits of her body, starting with her fingers and toes and working in toward the center. She had to make herself limp and draw the hurt and want into a tight core inside, each time adding another layer to that core, so that if somebody came along and cut her open, they'd find inside a shining, perfect pearl, hard as any Willy Wonka jawbreaker.""I took in the thick night air, the sweet smell of honeysuckle, the chirping of frogs, to impress the moment in the folds of my memory, preserve it like a flower between pages of a book. To remember: This is how it feels to be happy.""It occurred to her then that there was a reason age drained the pleasure out of life, slowly stripping away all the things you enjoyed or took for granted. It was so you wouldn't need convincing when the time came. You'd be ready, because everything good in life was gone."
    • 5/5
      This book was riveting and kept my attention to the very last word! Excellent! I highly recommend it!
    • 4/5
      In her debut novel The Weight of the Blood, Laura McHugh has proven herself a rising literary star in a field already crowded with noteworthy talent. The book is a tremendously compelling read and what's more, a memorable exemplar of this genre of fiction (i.e. literary suspense/thriller), IMHO.McHugh ably frames this exciting tale, and nowhere does the text suggest amateur authorship in the slightest. After one page of reading the story, which is at first is told in the first-person by protagonist Lucy Dane, it managed to capture my imagination. The finely rendered setting and Dane's sympathetic personality and insightful perspective were two of the strengths that kept me hooked until the finish.This critically acclaimed work has not been at all over-rated in my view, and I would highly recommend it to fellow readers. Thank you for taking the time to review and consider my ideas here. I hope they are somehow helpful. Please be advised I received my copy of this novel for no cost through the Goodreads First Reads program based on the understanding that an honest review would be provided upon my completion of the book.
    • 4/5
      The depressing story of girl abduction and trafficking among the trailer trash of America.It is certainly well written,but the question is,does one really want to read about such a totally unpleasant subject ?
    • 4/5
      This is a compelling novel that takes place in the seedier side of Missouri (kind of like Daniel Woodrell, but a completely different style). Lucy lives with her father and works for her adored uncle, but is always questioning what happened to her mother, who disappeared when she was a baby. Each chapter is told from the standpoint of a different character, some in first person, some in third, but it works. Even though I had my suspicions from the very start about who the bad guys were, it didn't lessen the story for me.
    • 4/5
      The Weight of Blood is a tight thriller with vivid imagery. Blood relationships turn bloody. Secrets are revealed. I couldn't put this book down.