Laura McHugh

"On a hot, hazy summer day, Sarabeth is forced to work her family's farmstand in Arkansas. It was only recently that Sarabeth had a normal teenage life in town, able to see her friends, starting to date--but that was before her parents found God and moved her and her siblings to a farm in the middle of nowhere. Now she has to wear long dresses even in the blistering heat, can't cut her hair, and can't spend time with anyone her age. Sarabeth has become rebellious and wayward, refusing to adapt--then she is taken. Blindfolded and chained to a basement wall, Sarabeth is held captive for weeks by a person she never sees or speaks to, and just when she thinks her life is about to be over, she wakes up along the side of a highway, where she is discovered by a passing motorist. Now an adult, she goes by Sarah, has cut ties with her family entirely, and has made a contented, if solitary life for herself as an adult in St. Louis. That is, until Detective Nick Farrow with the Missouri Highway Patrol Missing Persons calls her, wanting her help to investigate the recent disappearance of a young girl in a case which bears striking similarities to Sarah's own."--Publisher's description.

A Novel

What's Done in Darkness

'It is a long time since I have read a debut as impressive as Laura McHugh's The Weight of Blood. It is a chilling portrait of a small town in the Ozarks where violent men are protected and young women vanish.' Joan Smith, The Sunday Times People still whisper about Lucy Daneâe(tm)s mother who vanished years ago from the town of Henbane, deep in the Ozark mountains. When one of Lucyâe(tm)s friends is found murdered, Lucy feels haunted by the two lost women: by the mother she never knew, and the friend she couldnâe(tm)t protect. But her search for answers, in a place where secrets are easily concealed, leads her to a chilling discovery. And with this revelation, she must grapple with the meaning of family, the secrets we keep, and the lengths we will go to protect the ones we love.

The Weight of Blood

In a small town ravaged by the opioid crisis, a woman confronts a dark secret about her brother's shocking death in a gripping novel of suspense for fans of Sharp Objects and S-Town.

The Wolf Wants in

'Kept me guessing and re-guessing all the way to its inexorable conclusion' Ruth Ware, Sunday Times bestselling author of The Woman in Cabin 10. ‘Superb and subtle psychological suspense, and a compelling mystery, too . . . I thought I knew who did it, but I was wrong—four times’ Lee Child ‘This robust, old-fashioned gothic mystery has everything you’re looking for: a creepy old house, a tenant with a secret history, and even a few ghosts. Laura McHugh’s novel sits at the intersection of memory and history, astutely asking whether we carry the past or it carries us’Jodi Picoult Arrowood is the grandest of historical houses lining the Mississippi. It has its own stories and ghostly presence: it’s where two small twin girls were abducted ten years ago... Now, Arden has returned to her childhood home determined to establish what really happened to her sisters that traumatic summer. But the house and the surrounding town hold their secrets close - and the truth, when Arden finds it, is more devastating than she ever could have imagined. Family lies, buried secrets and a terrifying truth lie at the heart of this brilliant and haunting crime novel.

Arrowood

Abducted as a teenager, a woman must now confront her past and untangle the truth of what really happened to her in this dark thriller from the author of The Wolf Wants In. ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR: St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Self • “Compulsively, propulsively readable.”—Laura Lippman, bestselling author of Lady in the Lake Seventeen-year-old Sarabeth has become increasingly rebellious since her parents found God and moved their family to a remote Arkansas farmstead where she’s forced to wear long dresses, follow strict rules, and grow her hair down to her waist. She’s all but given up on escaping the farm when a masked man appears one stifling summer morning and snatches her out of the cornfield. A week after her abduction, she’s found alongside a highway in a bloodstained dress—alive—but her family treats her like she’s tainted, and there’s little hope of finding her captor, who kept Sarabeth blindfolded in the dark the entire time, never uttering a word. One good thing arises from the horrific ordeal: a chance to leave the Ozarks and start a new life. Five years later, Sarabeth is struggling to keep her past buried when investigator Nick Farrow calls. Convinced that her case is connected to the strikingly similar disappearance of another young girl, Farrow wants Sarabeth’s help, and he’ll do whatever it takes to get it, even if that means dragging her back to the last place she wants to go—the hills and hollers of home, to face her estranged family and all her deepest fears. In this riveting novel from Laura McHugh, blood ties and buried secrets draw a young woman back into the nightmare of her past to save a missing girl, unaware of what awaits her in the darkness.

Safe and Sound

Wanneer een jonge vrouw op zoek gaat naar haar verdwenen vriendin is dat niet zonder gevaar in de gesloten gemeenschap met haar ruige inwoners die allemaal iets te verbergen lijken te hebben.

Het gewicht van bloed / druk 1

"A gripping debut psychological crime novel about family lies and dark secrets in an isolated community as a series of women go missing. B> eople still whisper about Lucy Dane's mother who vanished years ago from the town of Henbane, deep in the Ozark mountains. hen one of Lucy's friends is found murdered, Lucy feels haunted by the two lost women: by the mother she never knew, and the friend she couldn't protect. ut her search for answers, in a place where secrets are easily concealed, leads her to a chilling discovery. nd with this revelation, she must grapple with the meaning of family, the secrets we keep, and the lengths we will go to protect the ones we love."

Nos vies prennent la forme de nos souvenirs, mais mieux vaut se méfier de leur vérité... le décor : une superbe demeure historique bordant le Mississippi le mystère : des petites jumelles qui disparaissent en plein jour le défi : leur grande soeur partant à leur recherche dix-sept ans plus tard sa conviction : elles sont encore en vie « Poignant et lyrique. » Publishers Weekly « Un conte inquiétant et convaincant. » Booklist « Vieille maison effrayante, locataire au passé trouble : un roman à énigmes palpitant ! » Jodi PICOULT Laura McHugh vit dans le Missouri. Du même sang, son premier roman, a été sésigné comme l’un des meilleurs thrillers psychologiques par Bookpage et sera prochainement adapté en série télévisée avec la comédienne Jennifer Garner.

Les Jumelles d'Arrowood

“Superb and subtle psychological suspense.”—Lee Child A haunting novel from the author of The Weight of Blood about a young woman’s return to her childhood home—and her encounter with the memories and family secrets it holds ITW THRILLER AWARD FINALIST Arrowood is the most ornate and grand of the historical houses that line the Mississippi River in southern Iowa. But the house has a mystery it has never revealed: It’s where Arden Arrowood’s younger twin sisters vanished on her watch twenty years ago—never to be seen again. After the twins’ disappearance, Arden’s parents divorced and the Arrowoods left the big house that had been in their family for generations. And Arden’s own life has fallen apart: She can’t finish her master’s thesis, and a misguided love affair has ended badly. She has held on to the hope that her sisters are still alive, and it seems she can’t move forward until she finds them. When her father dies and she inherits Arrowood, Arden returns to her childhood home determined to discover what really happened to her sisters that traumatic summer. Arden’s return to the town of Keokuk—and the now infamous house that bears her name—is greeted with curiosity. But she is welcomed back by her old neighbor and first love, Ben Ferris, whose family, she slowly learns, knows more about the Arrowoods’ secrets and their small, closed community than she ever realized. With the help of a young amateur investigator, Arden tracks down the man who was the prime suspect in the kidnapping. But the house and the surrounding town hold their secrets close—and the truth, when Arden finds it, is more devastating than she ever could have imagined. Arrowood is a powerful and resonant novel that examines the ways in which our lives are shaped by memory. As with her award-winning debut novel, The Weight of Blood, Laura McHugh has written a thrilling novel in which nothing is as it seems, and in which our longing for the past can take hold of the present in insidious and haunting ways. Praise for Arrowood “This robust, old-fashioned gothic mystery has everything you’re looking for: a creepy old house, a tenant with a secret history, and even a few ghosts. Laura McHugh’s novel sits at the intersection of memory and history, astutely asking whether we carry the past or it carries us.”—Jodi Picoult “An eloquently eerie tale.”—Booklist “Poignant . . . lyrical.”—Publishers Weekly (starred review) “A chilling, twisting tale of family, memory, and home . . . This engaging and thrilling tale about a young woman’s homecoming, the vagaries of memory, and the impact of tragedy on both a town and a family is a terrific choice for Laura Lippman and Sue Grafton readers.”—Library Journal (starred review)

Jay Stringer

Steve Cavanagh

Lori Rader-Day

Alex Segura

John Rector

Michael Kardos

Lili Wright

Andrew Case

Jon McGoran

Dana King

James R. Tuck

Nick Kolakowski

David James Keaton

Chris Holm

Josh Stallings

James W. Ziskin

Terry Shames

Bill Crider

E.A. Aymar

Kris Calvin

Scott Loring Sanders

Dave White

The Anthony-nominated collection of crime stories without guns—the collection we didn't want to be necessary—is back for Volume 2. Two dozen more crime writers have come together to raise their voices and take pen in hand to call for a sensible and reasoned debate about guns in America. As the mass shootings continue, the avoidable accidents, the suicides, the gun violence that consumes our country rolls on unabated and unaddressed by our leadership other than to say, “Now is not the time to discuss it,” these crime writers have chosen to start the dialogue. In stories of crime, mystery and suspense these authors have left the guns out to show for a short while that we can do without them and the plot doesn’t fall apart. Maybe, in a small way, we can show that the American way of life doesn’t cease to be, either. Not anti-gun, Unloaded Vol. 2 is pro-reason. These authors comprise gun owners and non-owners, voters on both sides of the political aisle. The cause that unites us all is the desire to see the senseless killing stop and to be able to have the discussion without the divisive language, vitriol and name calling that too often accompanies this debate. The top priority in these stories is to entertain with thrilling action and suspense that readers know and love about a crime story. To do so without guns leads to some creative leaps from writers who spin tales of simians on the loose, androids with buried secrets, punk rock shows and tattoo shops. Bestselling authors like Chris Holm, Lori Rader-Day, Bill Crider, Laura McHugh, James Ziskin and John Rector along with many more join together to call for an end to the needless violence and a start to a reasoned debate. With a forward by legendary Sara Paretsky, Unloaded Vol. 2 is a book we wish wasn’t needed. But staying silent is no longer an option. Proceeds go to the non-profit States United To Prevent Gun Violence. Praise for UNLOADED VOLUME 2: “[A collection of] entertaining and often thought-provoking stories.” —Publishers Weekly

More Crime Writers Writing Without Guns

Unloaded Volume 2

Sadie se ještě nevzpamatovala z náhlé smrti svého bratra Shanea, a přichází další šok – v lese za městem je nalezena dětská lebka, která podle všeho patří zmizelé dceři její bývalé kamarádky Hannah. Během pátrání po tom, co se vlastně stalo Shaneovi, naráží na mnoho podivných a matoucích stop, které jejího zemřelého bratra propojují s případem zavražděné dívenky a jejího otce. Klíčem k odhalení pravdy by mohla být švagrová Crystle, ta se ale na čerstvou vdovu chová poněkud zvláštně a nezdá se, že by chtěla matce a sestrám svého zemřelého muže být jakkoli a čímkoli nápomocna…

Vlk chce dovnitř

Le radici della famiglia Dane sono ancora saldamente piantate nella cittadina di Henbane, nell’altopiano d’Ozark, ma questo non impedisce alla sedicenne Lucy Dane di essere trattata come un’estranea. La gente mormora ancora di sua madre, una giovane e seducente forestiera la cui misteriosa sparizione ha dato vita a una serie di miti e leggende locali. Quando una delle poche amiche di Lucy, Cheri, affetta da una forma di ritardo mentale, viene trovata morta, Lucy si sente perseguitata dalla scomparsa di quelle due ragazze perdute: la madre che non ha mai conosciuto e l’amica che non è stata in grado di proteggere. Tutto cambia quando trova casualmente una collanina appartenuta a Cheri in una roulotte abbandonata e sente il bisogno di mettersi a caccia di risposte. Quel che scoprirà renderà impossibile ignorare i sospetti che ricadono sui suoi stessi consanguinei. In un posto in cui i legami di sangue contano più di ogni altra cosa, Lucy dovrà decidere da che parte stare.

Laura McHugh

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