2.5 stars rounded up to 3

Dr Georgina Healey can't grieve. Her nineteen year old daughter went for a walk two years ago and vanished. The police never found Stephanie's body. On the anniversary of Stephanie's disappearance, Georgina is ready to re-investigate University students, lecturers and Stephanie's previous boyfriends. But the truth is more shocking than she can handle.

This story starts of really well, dips for a bit in the middle then picks up again. I didn't like any of the characters. The pace is slow. The ending was well worth sticking with the book for. Overall, it's not a bad read but it did show more potential.

I would like to thank #NetGalley, #AriaAries and the author #PRBlack for my ARC in exchange for an honest review.

It's been two years since Stephanie disappeared and her mother Georgia has decided that she's going to find out what happened, no matter that the police have been investigating. She takes Stephanie's diary and sets out to probe where she thinks law enforcement has not. This plot might seem familiar, as will the characters, to veteran readers of this genre but hold on to the 50 percent mark or so for things to heat up. it does get dark. No spoilers. Thanks to netgalley for the ARC.

Thank you to Netgalley and Aria&Aries for the arc of this book.

3 stars- this was a quick great read can become confused at times but overall a great read. recommend.

Georgia’s Daughter , Stephanie 19yr old goes walking and vanishes on the long dark road , everyone seems to believe that she committed suicide and soon her body will turn up

But 2years later , Georgia still believes differently and decides to go on a journey and track her daughters footstep onto the long dark road

I was really excited about reading this book and started it right away but unfortunately it wasn’t what I expected ... I felt like it was just going around the bush without a true direction

The book is named the road but all the time we talked about the city and if all the characters keep acting suspicious then we’ll obviously doubt the only good one .

I was completely disappointed with this one although there was a bit of a twist that made the story interesting in the last 2 chapters but it still couldn’t take away all of my disappointment

Thank you @netgalley and Aria and Aries for sending me the arc copy in exchange of an honest review
Although this wasn’t it for me .. I look forward to reading this author’s other books .

Well......I read it. That's really all I have to say about this book.

The story had tons of potential and the opening chapter was great. But then the rest of the book went wild - extremely slow for the first 50% and then the second half was one strange twist after another.

A missing girl, a mother who is determined to find out what happened. Georgia was, frankly, SUPER aggressive and a little off her rocker when talking to all of her daughters friends, teachers. etc. I'm quite confused how the police just let her kind of ...run wild.

Either way, it failed to live up to its potential.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the opportunity to read and review.

***Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Expected release date November 5, 2020.***

I REALLY tried liking this book, but I just couldn't get into it. Sorry, not for me.

A nineteen year old girl disappeared two years ago. Her mother goes back to where it happened and is determined to find out what became of her daughter. At first I was intrigued but soon became embroiled in the search. I could not put this book down. A thriller that had me sat on the edge of my seat. I thought I knew where this book was going but boy I was so wrong. When the answers were revealed I was shocked. This book was definitely not what I was expecting it was so much more. Another great read from this author.
Thanks to Aria and Aries and Netgalley for the ARC in return for giving an honest review.

The premise of this book was intriguing, but I felt like the execution lacked somewhat. The characters were all obnoxious, and I really didn't connect with any of them. However, I thought the story was interesting, with as many twists as the Long Dark Road of the title.

Overall, it's a decent read, and goes by pretty fast if you are looking for something to settle into on a rainy day.

The Long Dark Road is one of those books that you think you have the measure of and then it makes a fool of you, this is a good thing!

Tragically Dr Georgia Healey’s daughter Stephanie vanished two years ago, most people assume she committed suicide and that her body will eventually turn up. Georgia thinks otherwise and takes herself back to the university that her daughter attended before she went missing, she is going to go over old ground, speak to friends and lecturers, find something that the police haven’t.

She is determined, she is unwilling to believe her daughter is dead and she in unaware of what is coming.

Georgia is a character that will divide, you do feel sorry for her as of course she has lost her child however some of her actions will make you dislike her. But you know what you have to admire her dedication, she knows something isn’t right and she is going to risk everything to find out.

The Long Dark Road was an enjoyable read, it was a little slow to start but once it got going I really enjoyed it.

Thanks to Net Galley for providing me with a copy in exchange for an honest review.

I received an aArc of this book from NetGalley, and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

The Long Dark Road follows Georgia Healey as see returns to the town on Ferngate two years after her daughter's mysterious disappearance during a downpour on a backroad. She's armed this time with new information and is intent on finding out what happened to Stephanie and where her body is. The book follow's Georgia's investigation as she talks to all the usual suspects and revisits key places from Stephanie's final days. The town, Georgia and Stephanie's dark secrets start to come to light as with each new secret Georgia's resolve gets stronger.

So, maybe P.R. Black isn't for me or maybe this book isn't for me. The concept sounded interesting to me: a cold case, a family member looking for the truth, dark secrets, everyone is unreliable. However, the majority of the book fell flat and the further I read the more questions I had. For instance, the inciting action of the plot is Georgia receiving a copy of her daughter's journal from the police. As she investigates Georgia runs into the police several times. At each run-in, George tells them the new information she's discovered and ask why the police didn't look into it. Every time the police say "we did look into and it didn't lead anywhere." One would think at some point the main character would have a moment of realization- the police have been on this for two years with all the information I thought was new and got no where. What could our main character uncover in the span of a few days that the police haven't already uncovered? Also, the majority of the secrets uncovered aren't' secrets at all to the majority of the players in the story.

Georgia as a main character rang false in a lot of ways. Perhaps she was intended to be that way, but the logical jump from focused career woman to almost insane with grief over her daughters disappearance doesn't work in my brain. There are some other character motivations that are revealed late in the book I don't want to spoil for readers, but even those didn't help fill in the gap.

This thriller also suffers from one of my thriller pet peeves- pacing/groundwork for the big reveal. The big reveal comes pretty late in the story and honestly I didn't see the ending coming. Maybe I need to reread this book to see the groundwork being laid for the reveal, but I didn't see any indications of what might be coming until the reveal happened. Some may say that it's a mark of a good thriller. I disagree. Mystery and it's sub-genre of thriller require some groundwork, some clues for the reader to put together ahead of the main characters. In the case of the The Long Dark Road, it felt like Mr. Black wanted to tell the story of a grieving mother out to find the truth, then realized late in writing that this story is a thriller, I should probably have a big reveal.

Also, as other reviewers have said, the last half of this book is very dark. I would put trigger warnings, but those would give away the major plot points. If you have triggers in your reading, just skip this book entirely.

Honestly, I don't recommend this book. If you're a fan of the family thrillers without detectives, thrillers with dark subject matter, or those who want to focus primarily on character relationships instead of the msytery.

2/5 stars.

Dark crepyt and intrusive. This book is a fantastic dark psychological thriller. Highly recommended for Halloween xx

Two years ago Dr Georgia's Healey's nineteen-year-old university-student daughter went missing as she walked along the lonely A928 at Ferngate Bridge. There was a furious storm going on and she'd already refused the offer of help from one man in a big vehicle. We'll see - but no one else will know - that another car stops and Stephanie is bundled into the car and driven off. There has been no sign of her - or her body - in the two years since. Georgia is back is Ferngate, determined to find out what happened and she's not going to be stopped.

Jed Mulrine, who offered help to Stephanie has been interviewed and cleared. He was actually digging a ditch at Chessington Hall to clear some flooding. There were numerous witnesses, including Sir Oliver Chessington, to vouch for him. Martin Duke is keen to have everyone know that he was Stephanie's boyfriend but the more Georgia looks at the relationship, the surer she is that it was no more than a casual relationship. Why is Duke pushing this and why does his current girlfriend, Colette Browning support him? Georgia has seen Stephanie's diary and knows that her daughter was keen on Riley Brightman, who has since achieved rockstar status, but she seemed to have been devoted to someone she nicknamed 'Cornfed'.

Adrienne Connulty, the editor of the student newspaper, the Ferngate Ferret, knew Stephanie well, but Georgia can't get past the fact that Adrienne seems to have her own agenda and knows something she's not prepared to share. Someone who is prepared to share with her is DI Neal Hurlford: he tells her in confidence exactly where the investigation is but warns her not to interfere. He'd like Georgia to go home and leave to enquiries to the police. Georgia's husband, Rod, would like Georgia to go home too. They've separated since Stephanie's departure but Rod lets his frustration with what's happening bubble to the surface all too often.

Georgia's not going to stop asking questions and she's not willing to accept that her daughter is dead. She's certainly not willing to agree to the police view that Stephanie walked out along a dangerous road in a storm with the intention of committing suicide.

It's edge-of-the-seat stuff. Half of you will be willing Georgia on - and the other half will be urging her to be careful. We know that it wasn't a suicide and that there's at least one dangerous person involved. It quickly becomes obvious that there's a lot of murky business going on: people trafficking, drug dealing and journalistic plagiarism will all rear their ugly heads. The characters are great. Stephanie impressed me most, for someone who is probably dead. She's flawed: we're going to find out things which her mother probably didn't want to know but you get a sense of a young woman with principles who's determined to live life to the full. Georgia Healey is a nightmare: you've no problems understanding DI Hurlford's frustration with her.

The plot is good. I really couldn't see how it was going to work out, but - as endings go - it's a cracker. I'd like to thank the publishers for making a copy available to the Bookbag.

Georgia Healy returns to the university her daughter Stephanie disappeared from two years previously or rather the longer dark road’ nearby.
Georgia and her husband Rod have split up and seem to be going through a nasty divorce.
Stephanie’s diary has been discovered by the police and her mother returns to the university to speak to those who knew her and uncover why their stories differ from her daughter’s account.
Georgia comes across as quite aggressive when she is meeting her daughters acquaintances which makes it difficult for her to uncover the truth.
Few of the main characters come across as likeable which makes the book difficult to read - I read this over the period of a week as I found it difficult to care about any of them, including Stephanie.
The Hunt’ was quite bizarre. The ending was totally unexpected and seemed disconnected from the rest of the story.
Not for me this book.

This book sounds intriguing and it had potential, but it just didn’t really carry through. Don’t get me wrong, it’s not a bad book. It just was too slow moving and repetitive. The main problem in my opinion, is that I did not relate to a single character. I simply didn’t click with anyone. Sure, I wanted the mother to find her daughter, and peace, but otherwise she really was annoying, but very persistent, and I admire her for that.

I can see something like this happening in real life, but it quite frankly isn’t that interesting to read about. A mother is trying to find her daughter, who simply vanished. Who wouldn’t want to find out the truth? But, harassing students, drug abusers, band members, and working women, constantly following and questioning them, and annoying the police is not quite what I’d like to read about. I just think it could have been done in a different way. The book just didn’t make me feel much else that annoyance. As I said in the beginning, the book has potential, but the execution did not really work for me. 2,5 stars.

3 for neutral. Unfortunately, this book was not for me, or not for me at this time. I tried a few times to get into it, but was not able to. Will update if able to enjoy at later date!

This was a truly amazing book, the character of Georgia was so real and the inclusion of excerts from Stephanie's diary brought her clearly to life. The conclusion was totally unexpected, one that the reader, and Georgia, could never have imagined. Fantastic book, loved every chapter. It shows you how treacherous so called friends can be and the hazards of fitting into university life while you're surrounded by lies and deceipt. Excellent, excellent.

The premise of this book sounded interesting which is why I requested it. It didn’t deliver for me. The characters weren’t likable and the story dragged. Thank you to net galley for an advanced readers copy.

When you seek the lost, be prepared for what you find...

What a story! There’s a few books that have been on my read list for ages and they’re so much better than the books I chose to read first! Don’t just go off the synopsis because The Long Dark Road is a hidden gem and very different from other thrillers on the market.

This isn’t a perfect book but do they even exist? If you’re looking for a dark creepy thriller that will leave you reading late into the night then pick up this! It’s a strong 4/5.

My thanks to the Publisher, Netgalley and P.R. Black.
When I started this adventure into bookland, I truly had no freaking clue about how very damned odd it would get!
Stephanie disappears on that long dark road.
I don't like when parents and not cops try to solve mysteries. Ah, but then there are mysteries...and blah...
Honestly? From 15% I was hooked! I loved each and every tense moment! I dreamt of these characters. I know darn well that I've read some great books this year, but this story had me strung tight!
I can't even say if I would recommend this book! A few people I know would love it...I think?
Either way, I was like a moth to the flame!

I liked the premise of this book, I could see where it was possibly going, felt interested at the beginning. But then it sort of lost steam and cohesiveness. The main character (the mother) seemed very out of sorts and her interaction with those who knew her daughter best seemed forced and edgy. I didn't really understand why she went through a lot of what she did in order to get to the truth, which, in the end didnt really make sense or combine with the rest of the story, so the antagonist kind of came out of the blue and was not really explained. Still it was a good idea and intriguing but for me, personally, it missed the mark.