catiebug
Written on Jul 30, 2017
In this gripping, atmospheric family drama, a young woman investigates the forty-year-old murder that inspired her mother’s bestselling novel, and uncovers devastating truths—and dangerous lies.
Reformed party girl Meg Ashley leads a life of privilege, thanks to a bestselling horror novel her mother wrote decades ago. But Meg knows that the glow of their very public life hides a darker reality of lies, manipulation, and the heartbreak of her own solitary childhood. Desperate to break free of her mother, Meg accepts a proposal to write a scandalous, tell-all memoir.
Digging into the past—and her mother’s cult classic—draws Meg to Bonny Island, Georgia, and an unusual woman said to be the inspiration for the book. At first island life seems idyllic, but as Meg starts to ask tough questions, disturbing revelations come to light…including some about her mother.
Soon Meg’s search leads her to question the facts of a decades-old murder. She’s warned to leave it alone, but as the lies pile up, Meg knows she’s getting close to finding a murderer. When her own life is threatened, Meg realizes the darkness found in her mother’s book is nothing compared to the chilling truth that lurks off the page.
- ISBN10 147781843X
- ISBN13 9781477818435
- Publish Date 6 June 2017
- Publish Status Active
- Publish Country US
- Publisher Amazon Publishing
- Imprint Lake Union Publishing
- Format Paperback (US Trade)
- Pages 380
- Language English
Reviews
Quirky Cat
Written on Jun 19, 2017
The Weight of Lies is a complex story, including multiple versions of a set of events as well as including chapters from a book written by one of the characters. It’s full of web upon web of lies, resulting in so many theories about who’s telling the truth or half-truth and who’s flat out lying.
Warnings first: There’s mention of horses being shot, but this never actually happens on scene. One foal does get bit by a snake, but she’ll be ok, just remember that as you read (I got really scared for her a few different times, so I wish I had had somebody that could’ve told me that!).
Meg Ashley doesn’t have the best relationship with her mother. And by that I mean she basically doesn’t have one. Her mother, Frances Ashley is an incredibly famous author, whom even when Meg was a child never really seemed to have time for her. At best she’d drag Meg out for appearances sake, but that was really all the depth their relationship had. It takes a little bit of convincing but Meg finally agrees to write a tell-all book about how her horrible childhood. She decides to also include the story of Doro, a woman whose life has been ruined courtesy of Frances and her books.
How can a book ruin somebody’s life? It turns out it’s pretty easy to do, all you have to do is write a murder mystery based on real events and people, and have one of them be the killer in the book. So that’s exactly what Frances did, only she claimed it wasn’t based on anything in real life and that she never intended for people to go after Doro. For sake of not ruining the ending, I’m not going to say whether or not Frances was lying.
There were a lot of really interesting elements going on with this novel; most of them focusing on lies and deception. We have Meg, who has been lied to for all of her life. She is also lying and keeping things from Doro and Frances about her research into the murder that caused all of this mess. Then there’s Frances, who is lying about many things. Doro is also lying, sometimes through omission and sometimes outright. And that’s just the main cast; many side characters also have their own hidden motives and agendas. It becomes this spiraling mass of lies and confusion. As odd as it may sound, it was actually really fun trying to see through it all and try to figure out the truth alongside Meg.
Another debate Carpenter brings to the table is the discussion of racism. Is Kitten, the book written by Frances, racist, or is it calling out racism? Are Frances and Doro a representation of white savior complex? Some of these answers are made clear at the end, but not all of them.
I’ve spent most of the time talking about lies and deceit, when there’s actually a thriller element to this book. Don’t worry, you will feel concerned for many of the characters at different points. The lack of clarify about the truth just makes it that much more suspenseful. It also adds an element of confusion (who is doing what and why) during pivotal moments – but in a good way.
All in all Weight of Lies was an interesting and thought provoking read. It felt cohesive and wasn’t rushed at all, and gave a satisfactory ending (which is a relief, considering all the mystification throughout).
Note: I won a kindle copy of this through the Goodreads Giveaways. Reviews are not required, however I have chosen to give one.
For more reviews, check out Quirky Cat's Fat Stacks
pagesbycyndy
Written on Jun 6, 2017
I seem to be picking up a lot of books about complicated Mothers lately and this book is no exception. Meg Ashley and her mother Frances seem to have quite a complicated relationship, one that in the first chapter I found a bit difficult to grasp. I will admit that this was a tough book for me to get into, it actually took me about three chapters before it became a very difficult book to put down. As soon as Meg went to Bonny Island, Georgia to research her Mothers cult classic Kitten , a horror novel and to write a tell all book about her mother, I was all in. Threaded into this story are snippets of the book Kitten which I though clever of the author, this way I got a taste of Frances's book. There is a touch of romance that was good, not too much to take over the feel of the story. There is an odd cast of characters in this book actually most of them with the exception of Meg seemed dark to me with an agenda of their own. There is a real life murder mystery that is decades old, that was the basis for Kitten, I had no idea who would turn out to be the killer. Along with the revelation of the real life killer ( or who Meg thinks is the killer) a family secret came out about Meg that was extremely disturbing. When all was finally revealed in this tense, action packed book it was both touching and equal parts disturbing. The disturbing part for me was the scene in the end of the book. Sorry id I am being too vague but I do not want to give anything away.
Final Thoughts:
Even though I found this book, for me, a bit difficult to get into at first, I though that it was a first rate suspense that I could not put down.This review was originally posted on Cindy's Book Binge