THE WEIGHT OF BLOOD concerns what happens when family
loyalty blinds one member to the oddities, questions and inconsistencies of
another member; when love for a brother leads one to cover up misdeeds in the
name of family and to continue for years never admitting the half truths that
abound.
This thriller by Laura McHugh starts out mildly unsettling
and ratchets up as the pages turn. Carl
and Clete are brothers who both fall for the same girl, Lila, an orphan who
comes to the Ozarks for work and finds love. After marrying Carl, Lila has a
daughter Lucy, who is loved by both her father and her uncle. In short order a town girl disappears and her
body is found dismembered and stuffed in a tree. Lila, considered an outsider and perhaps a witch,
disappears soon after. The story continues 16 years later with Lila’s daughter
and increasing tension between the brothers and in the town.
McHugh does a good job with tension and atmosphere,
characterization and ordinariness as the story deepens into horror. Some
readers may be disturbed by the subtext of white slavery. Book groups will discuss family secrets,
loyalty, the pull of neighborliness, mental handicaps, privacy and small town
morals topics for discussion.
4 of 5 stars
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