The Weight of Blood

A gripping debut psychological crime novel about family lies and dark secrets in an isolated community as a series of women go missing. Perfect for fans of Gillian Flynn's novels, as well as fans of the TV film series Top of the Lake and the film Winter's Bone.

It is a long time since I have read a debut as impressive as Laura McHugh's The Weight of Blood. It is a chilling portrait of a small town in the Ozarks where violent men are protected and young women vanish.

One of the best thrillers of the summer and one of the best books of the year… Beautifully written and cleverly plotted with memorable, deftly drawn character, The Weight of Blood is an unmissable debut.

The Weight of Blood is an outstanding debut

Very accomplished technically, and a scary psychological study of an introverted rural community

There's a haunting, hypnotic, quality to this book that gives a splendid tautness as the secrets of a suspicious and inward-looking community isolated in a magnificent but dangerous – even deadly – landscape are uncovered. An accomplished debut.

an excellent story, told with well-fleshed, warmblooded characters that give colour and authenticity to the Ozark backdrop. It was a compelling read ... Marvellous. There is lip-licking anticipation for more from this first time author.

The Weight of Blood is a tense, taut novel and a truly remarkable debut ... The Weight of Blood rewards its readers with a suspenseful thrill ride that satisfies in all the right ways.

This is an outstanding first novel, replete with suspense, crisp dialogue, and vivid Ozarks color and atmosphere.

The prose is strong, with evocative paint strokes in all the right places. McHugh is an artful, efficient writer who tells her story in vicious blows ... McHugh has crafted a sharp, haunting tale of blood in the Ozarks, as substantial as it is pleasurable to read.

...it’s superb. Sentence after sentence reads like a gem. The dialogue is masterful. The characters are believable. The plotting is gripping ... The Weight of Blood constitutes first-rate literature

an incredible and multi-layered story woven to perfection by the author. Overall the book feels very authentic… The writing here is superb, very descriptive and of a very high quality I'd say it's one of the best written books that I've read so far this year. I will definitely be keeping an eye out for more from this author in the future… told in an intelligent and gripping way. Not a book to miss this one and very highly recommended

It may be McHugh’s debut psychological crime novel, but in my book, The Weight of Blood, puts this talented writer up there with the best of them. Inspired by a true story that took place in the town in the Ozark Mountains where McHugh spent part of her childhood, this gripping thriller bravely confronts the scandalous treatment of young women in modern-day America… A compulsive debut filled with suspense, this book leaves me wanting more from McHugh

A chilling psychological thriller with two distinct strands... This is tense, atmospheric stuff well told, an impressive debut

One of my favourite reads of last year, this is a well-written cleverly plotted and chilling story

Laura McHugh is the author of The Weight of Blood, winner of an International Thriller Writers Award for Best First Novel and a Silver Falchion Award for Best First Novel: Literary Suspense. The Weight of Blood was named a Best Book of the Year by BookPage, the Kansas City Star, and the Sunday Times, and was also nominated for an Alex Award, Barry Award, and GoodReads Choice Award (Best Mystery and Best Debut). 
 
She lives in Missouri with her husband and children.

'It is a long time since I have read a debut as impressive as Laura McHugh's The Weight of Blood. It is a chilling portrait of a small town in the Ozarks where violent men are protected and young women vanish.' Joan Smith, The Sunday Times 
 
People still whisper about Lucy Dane’s mother who vanished years ago from the town of Henbane, deep in the Ozark mountains. 
 
When one of Lucy’s friends is found murdered, Lucy feels haunted by the two lost women: by the mother she never knew, and the friend she couldn’t protect. 
 
But her search for answers, in a place where secrets are easily concealed, leads her to a chilling discovery. 
 
And with this revelation, she must grapple with the meaning of family, the secrets we keep, and the lengths we will go to protect the ones we love.

Laura McHugh

Superb and subtle psychological suspense, and a compelling mystery, too . . . I thought I knew who did it, but I was wrong—four times.

Cool, clever and infused with a compellingly chilly melancholy, Arrowood kept me guessing and re-guessing all the way to its inexorable conclusion.

A failed graduate student's return to the family mansion she inherited from her grandfather touches off a maelstrom of emotion, regret and memories in McHugh's poignant second novel . . . Lyrical prose and in-depth character studies examine the reliability of memory, punctuated by believable suspense and aided by a careful look at a small town.

McHugh’s slow exposure of an old crime is a pitch-perfect example of a Southern gothic.

This robust, old-fashioned gothic mystery has everything you’re looking for: a creepy old house, a tenant with a secret history, and even a few ghosts. Laura McHugh’s novel sits at the intersection of memory and history, astutely asking whether we carry the past or it carries us.

A pitch-perfect example of Southern Gothic.

A rare talent. Tight, beautifully dark prose, peppered with scintillating moments of light…A wonderfully crafted tale that will satisfy readers in ways they never thought possible. Brilliant stuff, indeed.

A chilling, twisting tale of family, memory, and home . . . This engaging and thrilling tale about a young woman’s homecoming, the vagaries of memory, and the impact of tragedy on both a town and a family is a terrific choice for Laura Lippman and Sue Grafton readers.

Arrowood is a haunting and heart-breaking novel that puts Laura McHugh on the literary map.

A lyrically haunting story…It’s so atmospheric you can practically hear the floorboard creek.

An absorbing, spine-tingling novel brimming with atmosphere.

'Kept me guessing and re-guessing all the way to its inexorable conclusion' Ruth Ware, Sunday Times bestselling author of The Woman in Cabin 10. 
 
‘Superb and subtle psychological suspense, and a compelling mystery, too . . . I thought I knew who did it, but I was wrong—four times’ Lee Child 
 
‘This robust, old-fashioned gothic mystery has everything you’re looking for: a creepy old house, a tenant with a secret history, and even a few ghosts. Laura McHugh’s novel sits at the intersection of memory and history, astutely asking whether we carry the past or it carries us’Jodi Picoult 
 
Arrowood is the grandest of historical houses lining the Mississippi. It has its own stories and ghostly presence: it’s where two small twin girls were abducted ten years ago… 
 
Now, Arden has returned to her childhood home determined to establish what really happened to her sisters that traumatic summer. 
But the house and the surrounding town hold their secrets close - and the truth, when Arden finds it, is more devastating than she ever could have imagined. 
 
Family lies, buried secrets and a terrifying truth lie at the heart of this brilliant and haunting crime novel.

Laura McHugh

Praise for Arrowood

Superb and subtle psychological suspense, and a compelling mystery, too . . . I thought I knew who did it, but I was wrong—four times.

Cool, clever and infused with a compellingly chilly melancholy, Arrowood kept me guessing and re-guessing all the way to its inexorable conclusion.

A failed graduate student's return to the family mansion she inherited from her grandfather touches off a maelstrom of emotion, regret and memories in McHugh's poignant second novel . . . Lyrical prose and in-depth ...

Superb and subtle psychological suspense, and a compelling mystery, too . . . I thought I knew who did it, but I was wrong—four times.

Cool, clever and infused with a compellingly chilly melancholy, Arrowood kept me guessing and re-guessing all the way to its inexorable conclusion.

A failed graduate student's return to the family mansion she inherited from her grandfather touches off a maelstrom of emotion, regret and memories in McHugh's poignant second novel . . . Lyrical prose and in-depth ...

Superb and subtle psychological suspense, and a compelling mystery, too . . . I thought I knew who did it, but I was wrong—four times.

Cool, clever and infused with a compellingly chilly melancholy, Arrowood kept me guessing and re-guessing all the way to its inexorable conclusion.

A failed graduate student's return to the family mansion she inherited from her grandfather touches off a maelstrom of emotion, regret and memories in McHugh's poignant second novel . . . Lyrical prose and in-depth ...

Books by Laura McHugh

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