Audio Review: The Weight of Lies 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.

 Kindle Edition, 382 pages 

Published June 6th 2017 

by Lake Union Publishing

****

I was drawn to this book because of the intriguing cover and recommendation from other blogs that I follow (the Baking Bookworm to be exact). I opted for the audio version with my fingers crossed that this would be told in first person, thankfully it was (it's one of my favorite views in audio, I felt like Meg was telling me her story here).

The Weight of Lies is an intriguing story with Meg Ashley trying to break free of her mother's hold by writing a tell all story of her life with a famous author/mother. What really happened forty years ago that inspired her to write this best-selling book that is still just as popular today? As Meg digs deeper it doesn't take long for it to become apparent that someone would like to stop her. As I tried to unravel the mystery myself the author made it difficult with twist and turns as well as characters I wasn't confident which I could trust.

The chapters alternated between excerpts from Kitten (the famous novel) and the other from Meg's point of view. This was handled smoothly in the audio version with distinct chapter headings making it easier to follow the story.

The location was interesting here, Bonny Island, the reader is treated to nice visuals displaying not just its suspicious/creepy side but also it wasn't hard to visualize the beauty with beaches, wild horses and nature.

The author pulled me right in with this book filled with family secrets, murder and mayhem plus a touch of romance.  This is my first time reading anything by Emily Carpenter, definitely an author I will read more of.

This audio was from my personal library (via Audible) and comes in at 11 hours and 57 minutes, the reader is Kate Orsini - she did a great job reading this one.