The Weight of Blood: A Novel

About this book

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 BY BOOKPAGE 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. Praise for The Weight of Blood 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.BookPage