THE WEIGHT OF BLOOD

Three narrators alternate as the author paints the isolated Ozark Mountains and the small-town setting of McHugh’s crime novel. With gentle Southern accents and relaxed tempos, they portray the youthfulness and naïveté of Lila and Lucy, the mother and daughter whose parallel narratives dominate the story. However, what works to illustrate character also decreases the gravity of the novel’s dark crimes: kidnapping, forced prostitution, and gruesome murders. Each of the narrators delivers a strong performance, but their voices sound similar enough to confuse a listener who is not paying strict attention. While this is an audiobook well worth a listen, a more varied sound in the narration team, possibly by including a male, would have taken the production to a higher level. J.F. © AudioFile 2014, Portland, Maine [Published: APRIL 2014]