Laura McHugh is the author of The Weight of Blood, which won both the 2015 International Thriller Writers award and a Silver Falchion award for best first novel, and was nominated for a Barry award and an Alex award. She spent part of her childhood in the town of Keokuk, Iowa, where Arrowood is set, and now lives in Columbia, Missouri, with her husband and two young children.
Hurt for Me (2024) Heather Levy "The queen of kink is back with a steamy, smart, suspenseful thriller and a truly unforgettable heroine. You won't want to miss this!"
Necessary Deeds (2024) Mark Wish "By turns tense and tender, Mark Wish's Necessary Deeds delivers a high-stakes noir and a taut tale of jealousy, murder, and redemption."
I Did It For You (2023) Amy Engel "Amy Engel masterfully dredges the depths of small-town darkness. Raw and riveting, I Did It For You belongs at the top of your to read list."
Night Will Find You (2023) Julia Heaberlin "Heaberlin is one of my all-time favorite authors. With NIGHT WILL FIND YOU, she nails it again, from the brilliant premise to the vivid prose to the gripping suspense to the beating hearts of her characters. Darkly beautiful, enthralling, and masterfully done. Every mystery lover should know her name."
The Resemblance (2022) Lauren Nossett "A campus crime plunges a driven young detective into the shadowy depths of Greek life, where power and privilege hide sinister secrets. In The Resemblance, Nossett pushes the stakes ever higher, and the horrors of this hidden world feel all too real. A timely and compelling thriller, and a jagged new twist on dark academia."
The Book of Cold Cases (2022) Simone St James "No one writes a ghost story like Simone St. James, whose uniquely spooky thrillers are as chilling as they are captivating, and The Book of Cold Cases is St. James at her best.Steeped in atmosphere and spine-tingling chills, this gripping mystery will haunt you from the very beginning."
Chloe Cates Is Missing (2022) Mandy McHugh "Mandy McHugh delightfully claws away the glitter to reveal the darkness and dysfunction roiling beneath the surface of a seemingly perfect family. Everyone has a secret they're desperate to hide, everyone is lying, and it's great fun (can I call murder fun?) to fit the shifting pieces together. A spectacular debut from a promising writer."
Catch Her When She Falls (2022) Allison Buccola "A tense and twisting debut thriller . . . After receiving ominous warnings that the wrong person might be in prison for her best friend's murder, Micah is in a desperate race for answers, but can she uncover the truth before her own life unravels? Catch Her When She Falls probes the dark shadows of guilt, suspicion, and obsession that surround a case where nothing is as it seems."
Parting the Veil (2021) Paulette Kennedy "Absolutely enthralling. This sultry, mysterious, and immersive tale had me in its grasp from page one."
River Bodies (2018) (Northampton County, book 1) Karen Katchur "River Bodies weaves an engrossing mystery with richly developed characters for an enjoyable, fast-paced read."
What Happened That Night (2018) Sandra Block "Block expertly navigates the emotional landscape of trauma survivors in this deeply satisfying thriller. What begins as a quest for revenge becomes so much more as Dahlia fights to uncover the truth and reclaim her life after a brutal attack. Block handles the weighty subject matter with a deftness I've come to expect from her work-she never disappoints."
Bearskin (2018) James A McLaughlin "At once brutal and beautiful, Bearskin is a tense, haunting thriller brought to life by McLaughlin’s deft and vivid rendering of the rugged mountain landscape and the beasts that dwell within. A powerful debut."
The Bad Break (2018) (Riley Ellison Mystery, book 2) Jill Orr "The best humorous mystery writer around, with a voice all her own."
The Blackbird Season (2017) Kate Moretti "The Blackbird Season is more than a haunting mystery; it’s an intense exploration of a family in crisis and a community rocked by scandal. How well can you truly know the ones you love? How far can you trust them? I couldn’t stop reading until I knew the whole and harrowing truth."
Watch Me Disappear (2017) Janelle Brown "I devoured Watch Me Disappear in one sitting. In this poignant and captivating story of a missing woman and the family she left behind, Brown deftly peels away the layers of a loving marriage to reveal a haunting mystery and a devastating truth: that no matter how much you love someone, you can never truly know them."
The Weight of Lies (2017) Emily Carpenter "The Weight of Lies is a creepy, atmospheric thriller that plunges its heroine into the mystery behind a cult classic horror novel. An intriguing tale of secrets and lies that will keep you guessing as you race to the end."
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Awards
2015 International Thriller Writers Award for Best First Novel : The Weight of Blood
Award nominations
2017 International Thriller Writers Award for Best Hardcover Novel (nominee) : Arrowood
2016 International Thriller Writers Award for Best Hardcover Novel (nominee) : Arrowood
2015 Barry Award for Best First Novel (nominee) : The Weight of Blood
