Set in Philadelphia, a city at the heart of the opiate epidemic, Long Bright River follows Mickey, a copy caught up in this world through her work and personal life who becomes involved in trying to solve the mystery of young sex workers who are being found dead across the city.

Billed as a thriller - or at least that was the impression I had going in - I think this novel has been slightly mis-marketed. Ok, yes, it is a mystery, but is more on the slow burn end of the mystery/thriller genre. Others have labelled it as "literary suspense" which is fair, but it's also a police procedural and a story of a family torn apart by drugs.

While I found the plot engaging the writing wasn't standout (for me), hence my rating of 3 instead of 4 stars.

Philadelphia-based crime thriller.

Two sisters' lives take dramatically different turns. Mickey, a conformist, joins the Philadelphia Police Department. Kacey, the rebel, goes into prostitution to fuel her drug habit. After a series of prostitutes are found murdered, Mickey begins to suspect someone within the police department is crooked. Then, her sister goes missing.

Moore writes a pacey, character-led thriller, that keeps the reader guessing. In general, the plot twists were well-wrought.

At times, there is so much backstory that it is possible to forget the crime..

Suspenseful..

Thanks to NetGalley and Penguin Random House for the ARC.

When I started this I was very confused Kensington? Didn’t sound like the Kensington I knew, then I realised it was in USA not UK! Then the lead character, at first I thought it was female then she was called Mickey so perhaps a guy but no she was Michaela! So those were cleared up. I then really got into the book. It is quite complex with a lot going on but I found it fascinating and couldn’t put it down. I really enjoyed it & would recommend it

Thrilling and really moving
A winning combination of page turner ,suspenseful and yet very moving and poignant
A riveting crime novel but also an emotional study of family and siblings

Although usually daunted by a large book this one gripped me by its powerful and moving story. The writing is beautiful and fluid with many twists and turns and this, along with the development of strong characters, their past struggles and relationships, keeps the reader engrossed.

I’m sorry to say that I didn’t get on well with Long Bright River. I like Liz Moore’s work and thought that Heft in particular was excellent. This one didn’t do it for me, I’m afraid.

The story is narrated by Michaela (“Mickey”) who is a police officer in a tough, drug-riddled part of Philadelphia. Mickey’s sister Kacey is a drug addict and is missing, it emerges that there is a killer preying on such women and we get her search for Kacey intercut with Mickey’s history, while the police investigation feels rather like a minor side-issue.

Liz Moore’s books aim for deep, insightful character studies and this is a study of Mickey and a picture of the drug culture in some parts of the USA. It’s pretty good at both, but I didn’t find it all that original this time and it is extremely slow to the point of turgidity in places as we also get pictures of lots and lots of other characters including Mickey’s extended family - which seems to extend forever at times – while the crime story is a bit thin and unsatisafctory. I’m afraid I got pretty fed up and began to skim.

I’m genuinely sorry to be critical of an author whom I like and who is writing about important matters, but the truth is that I didn’t like this one much. If you haven’t read Heft I’d strongly recommend it, but although others have enjoyed it more than me, I can only give Long Bright River a very qualified recommendation.

(My thanks to Penguin for an ARC via NetGalley.)

What I really liked about this is the depth of detail about Mikey and her troubled family life, especially her push/pull bond with her sister: what appears, at first, to be a good girl (cop)/bad girl (opioid addict/street girl) dichotomy becomes more complicated, and Moore's empathy for society's underdogs is bright and angry.

That said, there are some flaws in the plotting: this gestures towards a police investigation into the killing of street girls but then that kind of fizzles out - only for the plot to re-emerge at the end with a rush of suspects and a quick finish.

So if you're looking for a crime/thriller this is underpowered with too many convenient happenings - but for something more socially-engaged, with attention to character and an unforgettable portrait of Philadelphia which won't make the tourist brochures, this stands up well. Think of it more as a story which happens to be set against a crime/police background, pulled together by Moore's engaging, precise, emotive writing.

I loved this book and couldn't put it down. The story deals with many difficult and topical issues, but the central character Michaela is so convincing, and appealing that the book never feels preachy. It is well-written, with believable characters, and an easy writing style, and I look forward to reading other books by this author.

Every member of the cast of this book seems to have upbringing issues,dysfunctional issues,multiple addictions and work betrayals. Some seem to have them all. The main character,Michaela,a detective sergeant has the upbringing and relationship problems and spends more time tracking her addicted sister and the abusive police than she does doing her job. She is a mess too and should have been dismissed. The book becomes more exciting as it moves to its climax but the choice of murderer and rogue policemen is disappointing as he features only briefly early in the book. The story does draw attention to important social issues but it could be tackled more convincingly.

I absolutely loved this book - an easy five stars. It’s got everything you’d expect from a great crime novel - a pacy plot that makes it hard to put down, intriguing characters, and a gritty story world. But Long Bright River offers so much more that that.

The writer brings an original voice and style, and it’s wonderful to find a novel in the crime genre that stands out in this way. It’s superbly written, and I found myself reading a little slower than usual to savour every sentence. I was captivated throughout and read the novel in one sitting.

The story is told from the point of view of Mickey, a police patrol officer in the deprived neighbourhood of Kensington in Philadelphia. The narrative is split between the present and the past. The past narrative tells the story of Mickey and her sister Kacey, and the different paths they took following a troubled upbringing. While Mickey wasn’t able to follow her dreams, she settled on a stable career in the police. Kacey ended up as a drug addict and sex worker. The book takes its title from the description of Kacey’s veins when Mickey finds her sister left for dead after a drugs overdose. In the present, the sisters are estranged, and initially their paths only cross when Mickey sees her sister on the streets, or even having to arrest her. The story of the sisters and their relationship is brought into the present as their lives are interwoven into the plot.

The present narrative follows Mickey’s personal and work lives, including a series of murders targeting young women in Kensington who live in similar similar circumstances to Kacey. Mickey lives with the constant fear her sister could be the next murder victim, yet has to work with police colleagues who are indifferent or openly disdainful about the plight of vulnerable and disadvantaged people in Kensington. Her frustration increases as her colleagues fail to act or listen, and when Kacey goes missing, Mickey goes on a mission to find her, with some serious personal consequences.

One thing I really enjoyed about this book was how Liz Moore uses her personal experiences of the neighbourhood of Kensington to tell the story of vulnerable and disadvantaged people with such compassion, and brings in themes of social inequality and police abuses of power. Her writing evokes a real sense of atmosphere and really brings to life the gritty realities through powerful, vivid descriptions, and interactions between characters. What also worked really well was the portrayal of the police and how they view the neighbourhood with disdain, and show a lack of empathy for vulnerable people. This ranges from a lazy, passive abuse of power through to serious corruption. This comes to life in the book with Mickey as a good cop trying to work through a failing system that exacerbates the social injustice and suffering of people in Kensington. This brings a great deal of realism and richness to the novel.

Long Bright River is up there among the best crime novels I’ve read. I’m grateful to NetGalley and the publisher for the chance to read an early copy of this brilliant book in exchange for my personal review.

Long Bright River

This is a hard-hitting novel with a unique place in today’s reading and social landscape. The opioid crisis in the US is something I’ve read a lot about in the media but never before in a novel. This might be fiction, but it reads very real, and the scary thing is that it probably is in some way.

Two sisters. Two very different paths in life. One has taken the route into the police force and the other has taken to drugs. Now the drug addict sister has gone missing and the very place she might be, is the last place you would want to go. This place is Kensington Ave, Philladelphia and the avenue of the same name. It’s where the drug trade and the sex trade prosper side by side. It’s a fascinating if not morbid look into the lives of people addicted and the affects on their family and friends as well as the wider community.

With such a strong background, the thriller also packs a punch. This novel has so many (heartbreaking) layers. Broken families, estranged siblings, the slide into drugs….oh this will pull at your heartstrings and get your heart pumping. Ir’s raw, real and downright immersive. Uncomfortably so at times, but that’s the skill of the author - to take you, no drag you into their world to feel the pain, anguish and sense of foreboding in the book.

The setting of the book is a character in itself. The city comes to life, its politics, the social side of things, everyday for its citizens, how life on the streets can be…

It’s Powerful. Agressive. Provocative and Visceral. Yep, a must-read in many ways.

I loved this book. This book is beautifully written and emotional
It is multi layered and as you read the pages the layers begin to unfold
This book is thought provoking and intense
An excellent read

I loved this book so much for all the things I expected it to be from the blurb but also because it was so much more than surface appearance would lead you to believe- a literary crime novel where the setting is just as much a character as the people you’ll meet there, a road trip through sisterhood that is beautifully written and hugely emotional.

There is a real noir feel to the prose as the tale unfolds, Mickey patrolling the streets, one eye out always for her wayward sister, one eye towards home and her beloved son. When it becomes clear a killer is working those same streets, Mickey’s two worlds will dangerously collide.

Long Bright River has multiple layers that slowly peel away as you read, revealing truths as the history of the relationship between Mickey and Kacey unfolds in unexpectedly emotive ways. Underneath that the mystery element simmers away quietly until coming to boiling point in a highly charged and pitch perfect resolution.

This novel is melancholy and gorgeous, the twists of personality informing the whole, the Kensington Avenue backdrop always there behind every small nuanced event. Philadelphia comes to life, the politics and the realities of life on the streets, it is thought provoking, intensely involving and never once misses a beat.

A powerful, provocative and authentic tale that will stay with you long after you are done. I’m not ashamed to say I shed a tear at the end, so caught up had I been in this. A really excellent read.

Highly Recommended.

Long Bright River has a synopsis that’s similar to hundreds of other books but what blew me away is how well it’s written. All characters are fleshed out and realistic, it’s full of suspense and has a good amount of twists without relying on them to move the plot along.

Overall it’s the type of book that other authors should aspire to. I look forward to seeing more from Liz Moore!