Maryellen’s Monday Morning Musings

This week’s review: THE WEIGHT OF BLOOD by Laura McHugh

There’s nothing I love more than stumbling across a debut novelist who just blows me away. THE WEIGHT OF BLOOD is Laura McHugh’s debut novel and it is gritty, suspenseful, mesmerizing~~and it blew me away!

Set in Henbane, Missouri in the Ozark Mountains where you’re either a local in town or you’re an outsider, this is a story about the disappearance of two women a generation apart and the one girl that is the link to finding out what happened to both of them, even if it means she could lose everything.

Lucy Dane was just a baby when her mother, Lila, disappeared. Lila wasn’t much older than Lucy is now when she went missing. Lila was an outsider in Henbane and never really accepted by the townsfolk but for Carl Dane—he was immediately bewitched. And that was part of the problem about Lila; she had an exotic beauty and an air of mystery about her that made the people in this backwoods town think that she was a witch. Now that Lucy is older and looks just like her mother, she is a constant reminder to the people of Henbane of that unsolved mystery.

Cheri Stoddard is developmentally challenged. She’s slow. And her only friend is Lucy. When Cheri goes missing no one seems to care, except for Lucy. And a year later when Cheri’s body is found mutilated and on display across from the Dane family business, Lucy is determined to find out who did this to Cheri and if it has anything to do with her Mother’s disappearance. Sometimes the truth is a hard pill to swallow. And sometimes the truth can get you into some trouble. 

“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” 

The WEIGHT OF BLOOD is told in alternating narratives between Lucy and Lila. And then about midway through the book we get narratives from some of the other key characters. Though some might think those narratives would muddy the waters of this sordid story, the fact is, they don’t, they enhance it greatly. Watch out for unlikely heroes. And just like in real life, there are characters in this book who are good people that fall into bad circumstances; and bad people who have moments of good. There’s a definite “ick factor” in this book with regard to some of the characters. You’ll need a long, hot shower after reading this one.

4.5 Stars

An ecopy of this book was granted to me by the publisher via NetGalley. The opinions above are expressly my own.

Maryellen is a 48-year-old avid reader, runner, and reviewer who lives near Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania with her husband Mike and their two rowdy cats. The fact that she has a car named RoxyBlue and has a phone named Janet (Miss Jackson if you’re nasty) are only two of a million reasons why I love her. Couple that with her insight, intelligence, and her always half-full glass of optimism and it makes for an exceptional book reviewer. I am lucky to have the honor of Maryellen allowing me to post her reviews here every Monday.

Maryellen’s Monday Morning Musings

This week’s review: SHOTGUN LOVESONGS by Nickolas Butler

Bravo Mr. Butler, bravo! You wrote a book that is universally appealing to BOTH men and women. With confidence I can recommend this book to anyone who loves to read. Anyone! Brilliant!

Little Wing, Wisconsin wasn’t known for much. They had the mill there but it shut down. Mostly, Little Wing was known for farming. That is, until two of their very own became celebrities. Before his accident, Ronny Taylor got his share of TV time being a champion on the rodeo circuit. And then there’s Leland “Lee” Sutton, he became a rock star. A really big rock star.

Even though Lee traveled the world playing his music, he always kept Little Wing as his home base. His friends were there. There’s Ronny, who after his accident is maybe a little slower than before, but he’s still the same Ronny. Henry “Hank” Brown is married to Beth and they own and operate the family farm. Kip Cunningham spread his wings and did the big city thing as a financier, but he’s back in Little Wing now with dreams of reopening the mill. The friends, now in their late twenties/early thirties, are all back together and sometimes coming home is the hardest thing to do.

SHOTGUN LOVESONGS, also the title of character Lee Sutton’s first album, is told from the viewpoints of Lee, Ronny, Henry, Kip and Beth with each character telling their version of this story of friendship, growing apart and finally growing up and living life. I love that the author taps into what must be his own experiences with his own set of peers. He nails the many layers of male friendship. He also has a grasp on what happens behind the closed doors of marriages. There is humor and heartache in this story told with equal finesse. These characters are all people that you’d imagine in any small town. I imagine Beth as someone I’d be friends with. Henry is probably someone I’d have had a crush on. Ronny is the class clown. Lee would be that one guy in study hall that would be a little too cool for me to try to talk to. And Kip, well, he was probably Senior Class President.

The New York Times did an article about this book and interviewed the author. As it turns out, sometimes art really does imitate life. Mr. Butler is from Eau Claire, Wisconsin and went to school with Justin Vernon, the lead singer of indie band, Bon Iver. This made me very curious about the music. Not only does debut novelist Nickolas Butler have a new fan, so does Bon Iver.

✰✰✰✰✰

An ecopy of this book was provided to me by the publisher through NetGalley. The opinions above are expressly my own.

Maryellen is a 48-year-old avid reader, runner, and reviewer who lives near Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania with her husband Mike and their two rowdy cats. The fact that she has a car named RoxyBlue and has a phone named Janet (Miss Jackson if you’re nasty) are only two of a million reasons why I love her. Couple that with her insight, intelligence, and her always half-full glass of optimism and it makes for an exceptional book reviewer. I am lucky to have the honor of Maryellen allowing me to post her reviews here every Monday.