Book Review: The Weight of Lies

THE WEIGHT OF LIES | Emily Carpenter
Lake Union Publishing (Amazon Publishing) | 06.06.2017
Rating: 5/5 stars

Step into the world of a mother/daughter rift that has Frances and Megan Ashley involved in a whirlwind drama that ties in past and present. Megan “Meg” Ashley, a reformed socialite, has never felt that her month, Frances Ashley was involved in her life or fit the mold of what a good mother should be. Frances Ashley, world famous author of Kitten, doesn’t seem to realize there has been an issue with her parenting, despite not speaking to her daughter for several years. When Meg has the opportunity to write a tell-all novel about their relationship, she jumps at the chance.

You tell me a story, you weave me a tale…

In order to write her memoir, Meg is forced to dig through her mother’s past and the real-life events that inspired her novel, turned horror cult-classic. We join Meg as she adventures to Bonny Island and Ambletern Hotel in search of the truth behind the novel. Here we meet Dorothy “Doro” Kitchens, who is the real-life Kitten from Frances’ novel, along with a cast of characters who currently occupy the closed hotel. Meg must determine who to trust and who is feeding her lies, while attempting to solve the forty year old murder mystery her mother’s book is based on.

If Frances was the sun…I was the dinky planet at the end of the line with a number for a name.

Intermingled with the chapters are excerpts from Kitten. The novel tells the story of Kitten, the 8-year-old daughter of Ambletern’s owners, who is accused of killing another child on the island. Doro tries to prove to Meg that Frances’ story is a work of fiction and that she is innocent. The blame shifts to numerous characters from the past as Meg digs deeper. As lies begin to build, the lines are blurred on who to trust.

I paused, flummoxed. It was a plausible enough story. So why didn’t I believe her?

Carpenter builds an atmosphere of suspense as the reader whips through the pages trying to uncover the truth about Kitten and the real-life story that inspired the tale. Along-side Meg as she finds bits of the story, the reader is constantly jumping to conclusions, only to be faced with the fact that what looks like the truth, is far from it. This novel is hard to put down, as it revolves around a story that is not only a thriller, but also an in-depth look into human interaction and relationships. I absolutely loved how the fictional novel that inspires the events of the story is woven throughout. The ending was captivating and not entirely what I was expecting. I thought at about half-way through, I had solved the mystery of Kitten, but when the truth came crashing down, I was blown away!