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Love Lies Bleeding: A Novel
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Love Lies Bleeding: A Novel
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Love Lies Bleeding: A Novel
Ebook368 pages5 hours

Love Lies Bleeding: A Novel

Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

3/5

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About this ebook

In the vein of Jennifer McMahon’s Promise Not to Tell and The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold  comes Love Lies Bleeding, a haunting story about the lengths to which people will go to keep their pasts buried. Jess McConkey (aka award-winning author Shirley Damsgaard) enthralls with her ingenious blending of family drama and gripping mystery. Suspenseful and absolutely chilling, Love Lies Bleeding grabs hold of the reader from page one, as a young woman whose golden life is shattered by unexpected violence is sent to a small, secluded lake town in Northern Minnesota to recover—and soon suspects the town’s eccentric residents are hiding more than one truly frightening secret.
LanguageEnglish
PublisherHarperCollins
Release dateJul 26, 2011
ISBN9780062092465
Author

Jess McConkey

Jess McConkey, aka Shirley Damsgaard, is an award-winning writer of short fiction and the author of the Ophelia and Abby mysteries and Love Lies Bleeding. She lives in a small Iowa town, where she served as postmaster for more than twenty years.

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Reviews for Love Lies Bleeding

Rating: 3.111111111111111 out of 5 stars
3/5

36 ratings16 reviews

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  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    This story was riveting and very enjoyable. In the beginning I thought I knew who the antagonist was and what secrets were bound to be discovered, but towards the end there was a major twist and I was blown away. Awesome story. Gave me goosebumps.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    Trying to recuperate from a major head injury she received after a mugging, Samantha finds herself installed in a house out in the country far away for her job as an advertising executive at her father s firm in the city. Her parents’ life doesn’t give them time to be embarrassed by her accident—they can’t call it an attack—Sam feels shuffled out of the way and unable to decide what is good for her, held at the mercy of her surgeon fiancé Jackson and parents.
    Determined to take her life back she fights tooth and nail at every decision they make on her behalf until she realizes that she has an ally in the physical therapist her father hired, Anne, a local, single mom. Stuck out in a small country town far from Minneapolis, Sam finds that not only does she have to fight the family’s desires, but the small town crowd.
    Someone wants her out of the cottage, or so it seems, but is it pranks by local youths or is she haunted by the ghostly visions she sees at night, that of the missing Blanche who used to live in the same home? Are the headaches she gets causing her to have nightmares and is she being slowly driven crazy by those closest to her and for what reason?
    McConkey weaves a family drama, allowing her readers to learn the truths at the same time as Sam. Along with her new found friends, Sam peels back the layers from the buried past as the truth unravels, threatening her engagement and past life as she knew it. The story reminded me of a similarly titled debut novel, “When Dreams Bleed” by Robin Cain, an apt comparison in the vein of self-solving mystery romance, female protagonist genre. Part thriller, part ghost story “Love Lies Bleeding” unearths just what lengths some people will go to keep the past buried.
  • Rating: 1 out of 5 stars
    1/5
    This was the little story that could....but got to confused...I could feel the twisted mystery trying to work its magic on me, BUT due to a lack of character connection and a very confusing and "WEIRD" ending, I feel a little jipped. Like I invested a lot of time trying to get knee deep with the emotions and then had everything turn out just wrong.....Everyone in the book has issues but I couldn't figure out why and I felt all the building just waiting to explode but then nothing happens. Very bad plot set up and less then stellar delivery. This book was just not for me.
  • Rating: 2 out of 5 stars
    2/5
    A random mugging turns violent and results in Samantha Moore becoming comatose and suffering brain trauma and other physical problems. She awakes embittered toward life, tormented by pain and dreams of her attack. In an effort to facilitate her recovery, her fiancé and parents reserve a cabin by the lake and a physical therapist as a caretaker. Is this the hoped for new beginning for Samantha or another step in her downward spiral? The answers lie in Love Lies Bleeding by Jess McConkey.Prior to the mugging and vicious beating, Samantha Moore was a serious business woman and an asset to her father's firm. She was also an asset to her fiancé, Dr. Jackson Van Horn. Now she experiences severe mood swings, is in constant pain from the damage to her leg and head trauma, and worse has to deal with the profound side effects from the medications supposed to be helping her. Jackson and her parents feel that the best thing for her is to get away from it all, so they set up a "retreat" in the country beside a lake. Jackson had spent part of his youth there and has fond memories of summers at the lake. Unbeknownst to Samantha, her family has also arranged a caretaker. Samantha doesn't have anything against Anne Weaver, the physical therapy assistant, that has been hired but she doesn't want a care taker. She's tired of people telling her what to do and how to feel. She's tired of taking medications that are supposed to help and wind up causing more problems due to their side effects. She's just tired. As Samantha gradually gives in to her surroundings and befriends Anne, she also begins to experience some bizarre dreams. But these dreams aren't about her. These dreams seem to be rooted in the past, the past of the woman that disappeared from the cabin more than 25 years ago. To make matters worse, she also imagines that she sees this woman on the dock and periodically smells her perfume and cigarettes.Anne is experiencing her own set of issues. Her teenage son is insistent that he wants to become a musician. Anne's dreams of becoming a model were dashed when she left home and traveled to New York. She doesn't want her son's dreams to become broken or for him to suffer the same disappointments she had in her youth. Can Anne recognize that she can't control her son's life forever before she pushes him too far away?To say that everyone has issues in Love Lies Bleeding is putting it mildly. Jackson is suffering from abandonment issues corresponding to his mother's death and behavior prior to her death. Samantha's father is a control freak and presumes that he has the right to tell Samantha, a thirty-five-year-old woman, what to do, how to do it and when it should be done. Anne also has control issues when it comes to her expectations for her son. Samantha has medical and physical problems but those can be gradually overcome, her most pressing issues relate to her fiancé and family. Can she discover what she wants and how to achieve it before it’s too late? Can Samantha and Anne discover the truth behind the mysterious disappearance from the past?I rather enjoyed Love Lies Bleeding until the end. Samantha and Anne were fully developed characters, with personality to spare and likeable even when they were unpleasant. The story line was believable enough and the action and tension build until the end where everything just petered out. There's resolution to the story but it felt weak and flat after all of the prior tension. Love Lies Bleeding is a decent read, although it does seem to get bogged down with minutiae from time to time.
  • Rating: 1 out of 5 stars
    1/5
    A simply-told tale can be a good thing. A simplistically told story, on the other hand, is usually not a good thing, and that, unfortunately, is what we have here. The language is simplistic. The characterization is simplistic. The dialogue is simplistic. The plot is simplistic! It felt more like reading a comic book without the drawings than reading a novel.Add to that was the question of what kind of book this book was supposed to be. Was it supposed to be an attack-recovery story (in which case it was too pat to be convincing) or a thriller (in which case it was not at all thrilling)? Making it even harder to figure out was that there was no believable connection between the two parts of the story. I wish I could say that McConkey would have done better to decide what kind of book this was supposed to be and stuck with that, but since neither part was very good, I don't think it would have helped.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    I enjoyed this book from the first page! Love Lies Bleeding tells the story of a woman, Samantha, who is attacked and suffers brain injuries as a result. She is sent to a isolated cabin by her "loving" father and fiance to recover and cared for by a local physical therapist. Samantha begins to have dreams and visions of the previous owner - a woman who is not thought of kindly by the rest of the small community due to her sorrid past with the local men.This book lost me towards the end though. It kept me gripped and interested throughout the entire story, but the ending felt rushed. So many unanswered questions! I would love to read a sequal where the questions would be explained.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    I love reading books by first time authors. They usually have great ideas and a really compelling story to tell. "Love Lies Bleeding" was an above average first novel. The story was interesting, I wanted to keep reading to see what would happen next. The characters were well thought out, if not always believable. The story itself was not very believable either. BUT, I did keep reading until the end. McConkey is a good storyteller, I think that with a better editor, this book could have been great. I will definitely pick up her next novel.
  • Rating: 2 out of 5 stars
    2/5
    This was a confused little story. I wanted to like it, I really did but the ending sucked. I felt like I missed something. It's a story of a girl recovering from a tragic accident while being controlled by her father and fiance while being haunted by a woman she never met. Weird. I didn't connect with the characters and I'm left with so many loose ends and questions that were never answered. I'm still scratching my head hoping the next book I choose will be better.I won this book from Librarything.com and I won't be recommending it. It's just not worth it.
  • Rating: 2 out of 5 stars
    2/5
    Love Lies Bleeding was almost there, but never quite made it to the good book pile. The main reason for me not really liking Love Lies Bleeding is the characters. I found the main protagonist whiny, and immediately took a dislike to her. Her dad is a control freak, but at least she rebelled against him. Her fiance was like her dad in so many ways, yet it was okay for her to listen to him. WHAT? As for the plot, it took me in so many directions. The flow was gone because it seemed like the author didn't know where she wanted to take the story. The writing wasn't quite there, as well. I think she had a good idea but no follow through, that being said I would give author Jess Mcconkey another go in hope that her writing has matured some.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Samantha Moore has it all until a violent act puts her in a coma for two months. She goes to a lake community to recover placed under a physical therapists care (unwillingly). With both a father and a fiance controlling her life, she is robbed of the freedom of her life. Strange things begin to happen and Sam struggles to solve the mystery of what is happening to her. From start to finish, this book is a compelling read. It has some paranormal elements, without being over the top. It also has a nice mystery to uncover along the way. I loved the growth of both Sam and her therapist Anne over the course of the story. This book is not only a mystery to be unraveled, but it shows the power of dreams and standing up for the people and things that you love. It's about making a life that fits your needs. A nice light summer read. Note: Reader received an Advanced Readers Copy of this book through Library Thing and HarperCollins Publishers. flag
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    Won this from Early Reviewers on Librarything. I was excited about reading this, even though I found it a good read, I kind of expected more. Sam recovering from an attack in a cabin, is struggling with depression, anxiety, the stress of her family and being alone and forced to do things she doesn't want to and not the way she wants to. Can she really trust anyone anymore? I liked the characters at first but as the book went on, I didn't like them as much. It was a good story for an authors debut book, and will read more of her books in hopes her next novel is better than this, still a good read and would recommend it though.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    I was very excited to have won this book from the Early Reviewers program. It looked like an excellent read.Sadly, I was disappointed. I had a very hard time getting into this book. I was not a fan of the writing style, I felt it was a little forced. It just didn't seem natural to me. I also felt this way about some of the dialogue. I know the author was trying to prove a point about certain characters 'snootiness" and all, but it didn't come off right at times. I had considered just giving up at a few points, even as early as page 30, but stuck it out. It did pick up and I am glad Io finished it. Still, it isn't what I was expecting. I don't like when "real world" stories cross over with supernatural stories.
  • Rating: 2 out of 5 stars
    2/5
    What is going on? Seriously, this is the second mystery I've read this month that has suffered from an acute identity crisis! Love Lies Bleeding just does not know what it wants to be. Oh, it's a mystery. Oh, it's a psychological thriller, no wait, it's a haunted house story. Now, I don't mind genre-bending when it's done right, but I didn't think it was in Love Lies Bleeding. The certain aspects of the genres she used just didn't...mesh well together. That made it seem like the author wanted to take the book in three different directions, but didn't know which direction to take...so she took all of them. Another thing that bothered me was Samantha's behavior. I get that she's paranoid, bitter, depressed, and a whole lot of other things due to her attack, but I found her written very inconsistenly. She was okay one minute and then bratty the next. I don't mean justifiably bratty (because some brattiness would be justified after what she went through), but more like teenager bratty. Seriously, she said "Whatever" and rolled her eyes like fifteen times in Love Lies Bleeding. At first, I was like "Man, this chick must be pretty young", because with her behavior I had assumed that she was in her early to mid twenties. Then I found out towards the middle of the novel that she's actually THIRTY-FIVE! I was in shock. No thirty-five year old would act like that. It's not even only her constant overuse of the word "Whatever". Samantha was constantly bitching about wanting more control, she NEEDS more control over her life, but everytime she gets control, she acts immature and stupid, and that really just proves the point that she can't be trusted with control. Another thing that bothered me was how much she wanted control over her situation when it came to her father. That part right there didn't bother me. What bothered me was that she had no qualms whatsoever in relinquishing control to her controlling fiance. And I just remembered something else...in one part of Love Lies Bleeding, she actually tells another character "You're supposed to be MY friend! I thought you were on MY side!" Seriously? Seriously?! Does that sound like the actions of a thirty-five year old to you? So, Love Lies Bleeding gets two stars for an intriguing premise that allowed me to read the book in one sitting. But the inconsistency of the main character, the genre-bending, and the somewhat predictable whodunit aspect of the novel left me feeling cold. But I will definitely check out Jess Mcconkey's future work as I do think she can write one hell of a page-turner.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Once I picked this book up, I found it extremely hard to put down. After getting attacked and waking up from a coma, Samantha Moore is trying to pick up the pieces to her life again but while recovering, she starts to wonder who can she really trust? Everyone close to her tells her the treatment is for the best but while the truth starts to unfold, she starts to second guess herself even more. I recommend this book to everyone who enjoys a good thriller.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    This story was riveting and very enjoyable. In the beginning I thought I knew who the antagonist was and what secrets were bound to be discovered, but towards the end there was a major twist and I was blown away. Awesome story. Gave me goosebumps.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    I really wasn't sure what to expect but I began reading this novel earlier this evening and I finished it today because I really found it to be that great.Sam is the victim of a terrible crime, one that leaves her in the hospital in a coma for months and it left her with terrible anxiety and nightmares that are a constant reminder of what happened to her. Her family takes her to a secluded lake front cabin so she can work on her recovery and, Sam thinks, to keep her away from the public eye, as her family are quite well off and she doesn't think she wants them to know everything that is happening with her. Of course, her family knows best and this is a constant struggle for Sam as she must work to get better and finally put her foot down to do what is right for her. However, the entire community seems to have secrets and no one is safe. Sam once again finds herself in trouble and she must make a decision fight or suffer at the hands of another enemy. Her family truly angered me. I really just wanted to give her dad a great big slap because I really hate how he treated his daughter. She's 35 and yet daddy dearest wanted to treat her like she was five. I guess that's a good sign, the book really got me really involved with Sam and her life even if I did dislike her family.Great read!