"A suspense novel that also looks at the anatomy of a Philadelphia family rocked by the opioid crisis and the relationship between two sisters--one, suffering from addiction, who has suddenly gone missing amid a series of mysterious murders; the other a police officer who patrols the neighborhood from which she disappeared: a story about the formidable ties between place, family, and fate"--
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"A suspense novel that also looks at the anatomy of a Philadelphia family rocked by the opioid crisis and the relationship between two sisters--one, suffering from addiction, who has suddenly gone missing amid a series of mysterious murders; the other a police officer who patrols the neighborhood from which she disappeared: a story about the formidable ties between place, family, and fate"--
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Seller's Description:
Very Good. Very Good condition. A copy that may have a few cosmetic defects. May also contain light spine creasing or a few markings such as an owner's name, short gifter's inscription or light stamp.
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When a string of sex-workers are found dead on the streets of Kensington, Police Officer Mickey is determined to find the culprit - not just for the women on her beat but for her sister who is one of them. Will she be next?
I wasn't quite sure what to make of Long Bright River from its blurb - it seemed a little obvious and cliché for me at first impression which to be honest put me off picking it up for a little while. When I did get round to reading it however, I hold my hands up that I was completely wrong. Long Bright River is a well-written, intelligent, character-driven crime thriller. At almost 500 pages it is a long read although I always felt compelled to pick it up and keep reading it - I never got tired or bored with it. The plot jumps between Police Officer Mickey in the present day trying to find her sister and flashbacks of her past and family history. These are nicely balanced together, and I liked the character of Mickey - she is really interesting with a lot of hidden depth and layers to her. It was nice to have a real deep-dive into her past rather than just skimming over the important bits and this made her feel so much more rounded and realistic as a character. The background of Kensington is also really well-described and I really got a grip on the gritty atmosphere and politics of the place (despite thinking they meant the well-off area of London for the first chapter which really confused me!)
The crime itself was well-tied into Mickey's personal story, although it does take a slight backseat to her finding her sister but it's woven nicely into the plot to help increase the tension. It didn't feel like too much was held back from the reader (other than what Mickey herself doesn't know) although there was a great twist towards the end which pushed any assumptions you may have made about a certain character. The end reveal also had a twist on a twist which really threw me - there was a red herring had me thinking 'well I totally guessed that really early on' only for it to turn around and prove me wrong!
I was reading the Kindle ARC so I completely appreciate the formatting may have changed by the published product but it wasn't the easiest format to read. Paragraphs and chapters were run together in places (including the acknowledgements and the final chapter which really jarred as my headspace as I tried to absorb the realistic but certainly not fairy-tale ending). There were also no quotation marks to establish dialogue which I think was a conscious choice and this actually worked quite nicely.
Overall, Long Bright Read is an intelligent, well-constructed thriller. Thank you to NetGalley & Penguin Random House - Hutchinson for the chance to read the ARC in exchange for an honest review.
