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.
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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.
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Due back at library -- might try another time.

This was an okay book. Generally, I liked the story, but I have to agree with another reviewer in that it didn't quite know what it wanted to be. There's a ghost story, a mystery, and a psychological drama. While McConkey did a somewhat okay job of juggling the three and bringing them together, it was too much. The biggest issue was the mystery element, especially the first person "mystery" chapters throughout the book. Aside from the fact that I absolutely detest POV changes (third person to first person here), the whole thing was out of place. It felt like it was something that was added in later to give the book a mystery that was absolutely unneeded and a sense of intensity that still fell flat.

This intensity was missing from the entire story, really. It didn't come in the ghost story, in the tension between Sam and her family/fiancé, her growing chemistry with another character, the tension between Anne and her son Caleb, etc. I kept reading and I wanted to know what happened – mostly because I liked the characters – but I didn't feel a sense of urgency to do so. I was hoping that would come in the climax, but it didn't. The ending passed by too quickly. There were several loose ends that were either tied up in a few sentences or left dangling. I feel like the book's tag line, To what lengths would you go to keep a past buried?, is pretty misleading.

Like I said, I did like the characters, especially Samantha and Anne. They were well fleshed out, and somewhat compelling in their own right, which is what kept me reading. Sam and Anne, whether you agreed or not, had clear basis or motivation for their actions. I liked that they were strong and intelligent. It would have been so easy to keep Sam pathetic and to never have her break through her trauma and find her backbone but she did and I loved that she kept it, too. Definitely the strongest female characters I've read in awhile. I absolutely adored Roxy and Sam with her. I also wish we got more scenes with Greg. He was a great guy.

Overall, the best I can say is it was okay. If you pick it up you won't be reading for a strong story, but for strong characters. ( )

I enjoyed this read, wish I had read it sooner when I had received it. It kept you in suspense and always guessing as to who/what was going on. Felt the ending wrapped things up nicely, but a bit too rushed. ( )