Item: The Weight of Lies
Rating: 4.00
Author: pagesbycyndy

by Emily Carpenter

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.

Review:

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

The Weight of Lies

by Emily Carpenter

Reviewed by pagesbycyndy on Jun 6, 2017

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