The Weight of Blood

Three narrators alternate as the author paints the isolated Ozark Mountains and the small-town setting of McHugh's crime novel. With gentle Southern accents and relaxed tempos, they portray the youthfulness and na•veté of Lila and Lucy, the mother and daughter whose parallel narratives dominate the story. However, what works to illustrate character also decreases the gravity of the novel's dark crimes: kidnapping, forced prostitution, and gruesome murders. Each of the narrators delivers a strong performance, but their voices sound similar enough to confuse a listener who is not paying strict attention. While this is an audiobook well worth a listen, a more varied sound in the narration team, possibly by including a male, would have taken the production to a higher level. J.F. © AudioFile 2014, Portland, Maine

November 11, 2013
In this clever, multilayered debut, McHugh deftly explores the past of an Ozark Mountain family (think doublewides, pickups, and possum stew) with plenty to hide and the ruthlessness to keep their secrets hidden. Seventeen-year-old Lucy Dane, from Henbane, Mo., is grieving for her murdered friend, Cheri, and her mother, Lila, who vanished soon after Lucy was born. Determined to solve both mysteries, Lucy never realizes just how close the answers might lie. Her father, Carl, and her uncle, Crete, are not forthcoming about what they know, which only makes her more curious. McHugh alternates narrators, presenting each chapter from one character’s perspective, but the most compelling is Lila’s (given in flashbacks to her arrival in the area 18 years earlier, as a contract farm employee of Uncle Crete). Young Lila’s hopes for a fresh start after a childhood spent bouncing from one foster home to another are dashed when she painfully learns that Crete plans to put her to work as a prostitute. In the present, Lucy uncovers evidence that puts her in jeopardy, leading to sudden, surprising violence, followed by a tornado that helps wipe the slate clean. This is an outstanding first novel, replete with suspense, crisp dialogue, and vivid Ozarks color and atmosphere. Agent: Sally Wofford-Girand, Union Literary.