ARC Review The Weight of Blood Laura McHugh

The Weight of Blood by Laura McHugh
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I debated for some time whether this was a a three star book or a four star book, I think I wanted the book to live up to the hype I had created for it.  Ultimately, I liked this book, it is a promising debut by a talented new author, however, she hasn't hit her stride yet and this is a three star book.

Lucy Dane, is coping with the disappearance and eventual murder of her friend Cheri and the disappearance of her mother when she was a baby.  Despite her deep connections to Henbane, Missouri, the small town in the Ozark's, where she has lived all her life, she feels like an outsider with few friends.  People whisper about her mother, an exotic beauty, who many thought to be a witch.  As Lucy investigates Cheri's murder, she learns more about her own mother as well as her family, and just how far people will go to keep Henbane's secrets.

This book lacked the suspense I was expecting, based on its comparisons to Gillian Flynn's Gone Girl.   I had it figured out pretty early on, leaving the book rather un-suspenseful.  The story was interesting enough and the writing masterful enough to keep me reading, despite the lack of suspense.

The best parts of the novel were the chapters from Lila's perspective, that is where author Laura McHugh's talent really shown.  Lila was a very interesting and complex character and I felt like her story ended a little abruptly, even when we finally discovered how she came to be a missing person.  Her disappearance didn't feel very true to character or believable.  I would have liked to had more from Lila.

The town of Henbane was a very interesting place, its secrets, its crime and its prominent citizens.  Having grown up in a tiny town, I can relate to the secrets the deep family ties and the suspicion of outsiders.  Henbane took this all to the extreme, and I found it a bit unrealistic that all the secrets Henbane held were kept so well.  This book touches on some unsavory topics, human trafficking, exploitation of children, extreme poverty, drugs and dismemberment, most of which Lucy's family or friends are involved in.

I found this book to be an enjoyable read, with some good insights, however, it left me a bit unsatisfied.  I look forward to reading more from McHugh is the future, The Weight of Blood is a strong debut and proves the author has great talent waiting to be refined.


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"You grow up feeling the weight of blood, of family. There's no forsaking kin. But you can't help when kin forsakes you or when strangers come to be family."

To Be Read Tuesday Help for the Haunted By John Searles

Today you can get to your local bookseller, library or get on your Kindle or Nook and purchase this to be read feature.  Today is Help for the Haunted's release date and I wish I was running out to buy it but it is going to have to wait.....no sure how long I can hold out though!
Help for the Haunted has been highly recommended by Wally Lamb and Gillian Flynn, two of my favorite authors, so it has to be good, right!  Hailed as a creepy, unique, suspenseful and compelling read, I can't wait to get my hands on it!

It begins with a call in the middle of snowy February evening. Lying in her bed, young Sylvie Mason overhears her parents on the phone across the hall. This is not the first late-night call they have received, since her mother and father have an uncommon occupation, helping "haunted souls" find peace. And yet, something in Sylvie senses that this call is different than the rest, especially when they are lured to the old church on the outskirts of town. Once there, her parents disappear, one after the other, behind the church's red door, leaving Sylvie alone in the car. Not long after, she drifts off to sleep only to wake to the sound of gunfire.

Nearly a year later, we meet Sylvie again struggling with the loss of her parents, and living in the care of her older sister, who may be to blame for what happened the previous winter.

As the story moves back and forth in time, through the years leading up to the crime and the months following, the ever inquisitive and tender-hearted Sylvie pursues the mystery, moving closer to the knowledge of what occurred that night, as she comes to terms with her family's past and uncovers secrets that have haunted them for years. (taken from Goodreads)

Review Sharp Objects Gillian Flynn

Sharp Objects by Gillian Flynn
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I have read Gillian Flynn completely backwards! I started with Gone Girl., which was the first time I had even heard of Flynn. Gone Girl blew my mind, it was probably one of the most exciting books I had read in a long time. It took me nearly year to pick up Dark Places mind blown again, I loved it! Two months after I finished Dark Places I got my hands on Sharp Objects - I was really excited to read another exciting, dark, mind blowing book. Sharp Objects is dark, gritty and disturbing, however, I didn't blow my mind.
Camille Preaker is a mediocre reporter working the police beat for a mediocre newspaper in Chicago when her boss gives her an assignment in her hometown of Wind Gap, Missouri. One young girl has been murdered and another is missing. Camille is forced to reconnect with her estranged mother, step father and her half sister she barely knows as well as confront some nasty family secrets as she works to get a scoop.
Sharp Objects started out slow and I had trouble connecting initially, Camille's reintroduction to Wind Gap was really lack luster despite our introduction to her bizarre family. And they truly are bizarre. Adora is cold, calculating and extremely wealthy. Alan is one strange cat, totally dominated by Adora. Amma, the step-sister, is creepy, manipulative, sick and just plain scary.
About half-way through, it picks up speed and I couldn't put it down - I had to figure out who was the killer. I found this book to be a bit more predictable than Flynn's follow up works - not totally predictable but I had it narrowed down to a couple options, and I was right.
I liked Camille and rooted for her, despite her flaws, and there were many. Scarily, I could see bits of myself in Camille, she was searching for acceptance, love, respect and because she searched desperately for those thing she acted out in some destructive ways.
"Sometimes when you let people do things to you, you're really doing it to them."
Sharp Objects explores some really dark areas Munchausen by Proxy, cutting, murder, sex, abuse and the relationships women have with one another. This is not an outright exploration of bullying but the way the women's relationships and power struggles played out was very insightful and real writing.
"They were women not strong enough or smart enough to leave. Women with out imagination. So they stayed in Wind Gap and played their teenage lives on an endless loop. And now I was stuck with them, unable to pull myself out."
Having grown up in a small town I related to her descriptions and the characters of Wind Gap as well as her insight as to the type of damage living in that environment can do.
"A town so suffocating and small, you tripped over people you hated every day. People who knew things about you. It’s the kind of place that leaves a mark."
Had I read Sharp Objects, Flynn's debut novel first it may have changed my view of it, but having read her subsequent works I have to say this one just isn't as good. It's good, a great first novel but it did not blow my mind like the other two. I recommend it if you are a Flynn fan or enjoy a dark, creepy, twisted read.

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Review Dark Places Gillian Flynn

Dark Places by Gillian Flynn
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I read Gone Girl about a year ago and LOVED it, ever since then I have been wanting tor read more of Gillian Flynn's work and finally this summer I made it happen! I read this book while on vacation in the Smokey Mountains and it was a GREAT vacation read! All I wanted to do was sit on the porch of my cabin and finish this book - forget site seeing and hiking - I had a fantastic novel to read!
Libby is a well fleshed out character, dark, moody, depressed, lazy and nasty. Despite her fowl personality I wanted her to overcome her past and have some resolution and healing.
I really enjoyed reading the three perspectives of Ben, Patty and Libby and how the day of the murders played out for them. Each was so vastly different, yet how they came together was masterful writing. The book is dark and gritty but full of real characters and real emotions and things the reader can connect with. I remember growing up in the 80's and hearing rumors of devil worship and animal sacrifices in vacant lots and tree rows around where I grew up in the mid-west. I also remember the farm crisis of the 80's and many of the radical ideas that came out of it, as well as the fear.
The ending of this book was unexpected and a great who-done-it - even though I was alert through the whole book trying to find the foreshadowing that would tip me off to the real killer. It's there, the book is so well written though that you pass it by and only realize it when you turn the last page.
Must read book!

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