the weight of blood

the weight of blood
laura mchugh
fiction/mystery
spiegel & grau
published 2014

The town of Henbane sits deep in the Ozark Mountains.  Folks there still whisper about Lucy Dane's mother, a bewitching stranger who appeared long enough to marry Carl Dane and then vanished when Lucy was just a child.  Now on the brink of adulthood, Lucy experiences another loss when her friend Cheri disappears and is then found murdered, her body placed on display for all to see.  Lucy's family has deep roots in the Ozarks, part of a community that is fiercely protective of its own.  Yet despite her close ties to the land, and despite her family's influence, Lucy - darkly beautiful as her mother was - is always thought of by those around her as her mother's daughter.  When Cheri disappears, Lucy is haunted by the two lost girls - the mother she never knew and the friend she couldn't save - and sets out with the help of a local boy, Daniel, to uncover the mystery behind Cheri's death.

I can't put my finger on exactly why I didn't absolutely love this book, but there is something about it that keeps me from giving it more than three stars.  For one, there was no doubt within the first chapter of the book who was responsible for the girls' disappearances (to me).  But the how, why and where took a little longer, though not much.  My heart broke for Lila and I did enjoy the alternating perspectives, but Lucy....well, something about her just kind of kept her at arm's length for me as well.

I think the biggest thing that bothers me is there are times when Lucy gets information that needs to be shared, but she hold everything too close.  For what reason, I really didn't understand, but still felt odd to me.

Nonetheless, the book was a decent read.  I did enjoy Lucy's voice, Lila's as well and the other characters were colorful enough.