I absolutely loved Nicole Baart's Everything We Didn't Say, so as soon as I heard she had a new book coming out I added it to my most anticipated books of 2023 list. It had checked all my boxes for a family drama where complex, multilayered characters drive the story just as much as the actual mystery, and I couldn't wait to see what she'd come up with for her next book.

The Long Way Back alternates between past and present and focuses on the relationship of Charlie and Eva, a mother and daughter who became Instagram influencers while traveling the country in their Airstream and sharing photos and stories about their adventures. Their lives seem perfect initially, but soon the layers of their complicated relationship begin to peel back, exposing a changing dynamic and growing tension as Eva approaches her high school graduation. When Eva disappears from a boat during an afternoon on the lake, Charlie is forced to face the reality that she didn't know her daughter nearly as well as she had believed. The search is on to uncover clues to the events leading up to Eva's disappearance and her whereabouts.

At the halfway point of this book, I foolishly believed I knew exactly what type of story i was reading, and I felt I had a good idea what to expect for the second half of the book. I had settled in, gotten comfortable, and prepared for the mystery and mother/daughter drama to begin easing into a satisfying resolution. I couldn't have been more wrong! This story takes a sharp turn midway thru that I didn't see coming. I was so far off with my idea of where the story was headed that its now comical looking back. Things take a swift shift from slow burn family drama with a puzzling mystery to....well, I'll avoid spoilers and just say we shift to a completely unexpected but nonetheless engrossing thriller direction.

I really enjoyed this story, even though it went places I didn't expect it to go. I had to pause and shift mental gears when the plot changed direction, but ended up reading the 2nd half of the book in one sitting. This author again provided an ending that was satisfying without being tied up too neatly.

The Sutton Girls won me over in a big way and, I admit, its hard to believe their adventures and travel related Instagram aren't a real thing. The author did an awesome job bringing Charlie and Eva to life and off the page. Her portrayal of their complex, tangled mother and daughter relationship captured so many of the contradictory thoughts and feelings that go on during the teenage years.

In the end, The Long Way Back delivered the well developed characters and relationships I've loved with Baart's past books as well as a few twists and turns that caught me totally off guard. Baart's smoothly flowing, descriptive prose and thought provoking insights once again brought a special touch to her engaging, propulsive story. I look forward to seeing what she comes up with next!

Thank you to Netgalley and Atria Books for providing a copy for me to read and review.

Good thriller with an interesting concept.

Mother Charlie and her daughter Eva become an accidental Instagram sensation, and they decide to pack up their lives and hit the road in an Airstream, capturing their adventures on their account, "Eva Explores". This one starts off with a bang when Charlie wakes up on their boat in the middle of Lake Superior and finds that Eva has disappeared. No note, no trace of her, and the lifeboat is gone. She contacts the police, and instantly goes to the top of the suspect list.

This all gets kind of farfetched towards the end (not sure if I really bought the whole reason behind Eva's disappearance) but it was a wild wide, and I enjoyed the flashbacks from their road trips as well as the present day narrative. If you can suspend belief a little, you should enjoy this.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

What an exhilarating ride filled with suspense, anticipation and anxiety! Everything you need to know you’ve just read a very well written thriller.

Charlie and her teen daughter Eva have taken social media by storm with their cross country escapades through national parks and adventurers dream locations with their vintage airstream dubbed Sebastian. After two years on the road, they settle down at their home in Minnesota so Eva can attend her senior year of high school and apply for college. A week before graduation, Eva goes missing after taking out their lifeboat on Lake Superior and Charlie is soon a suspect in her daughter’s disappearance. Was the relationship portrayed on social media between mother and daughter real? Is Charlie to blame for Eva’s disappearance?

The story is a cautionary tale of the dangers that can lurk behind our best intentions on social media. Brava to Nicole Baart on this timely tale of social media and our cultural landscape. Thank you NetGalley and Atria Books for the opportunity to read an advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.
Publication date: June 13, 2023

This book started out like a normal mystery/ thriller. Girl goes missing, mom is blamed and things are quite what they seem from the outside. Then the book takes a huge turn (that I didn’t see coming). It was a wild ride to the end, it’s a little out there in terms of believability, but it’s fiction so that’s fine with me.

Charlie and her 15 year old daughter Eva become accidental Instagram Influencers when Charlie posts a photo of Eva one day. That leads them to traveling around the United States for 2 years visiting National Parks and spending their time documenting all their adventures in their Airstream trailer. A death in the family brings them back home to Minnesota and pushes pause on their Instagram fame. Eva goes back to public school, gets a job and starts pulling away from her mother's constant closeness.
When Eva goes missing her mother fears the worst but the police are quick to look at Charlie as a suspect.
I really enjoyed the first half of this book. It alternates between present day and 2 years ago as they are traveling together. The second half of the book kinda took a different turn then I was expecting. I still enjoyed the story and would recommend it.
Thank you to NetGalley and the Publisher for a copy of this book for review.

This was good. I loved this so much I was entrantsed with it. I couldn't stop thinking about it days after reading it.
I just reviewed The Long Way Back by Nicole Baart. #NetGalley
[NetGalley URL]

This is a story of instagram stars, a mother and a daughter, who explore the country as their platform. The daughter goes missing and the mother becomes a suspect. It is more of a family drama than a mystery, though there is that as well. Where is Eva and is she still alive. There is growth and insights re social media and what is truly valuable. It was a little slow at times, though others who like travel adventures will like that part of it, for me, it could have been shorter and the focus on other parts of the story

I was given this book by NetGalley for an honest review-
What started out as a fun thing to do-documenting their travels on instagram became a horror story—- and how will it end.
Eva and her mother take to the road in their airstream taking pictures of their travel and uploading them to instagram. They get a big following with people wanting them to promote their product.
Senior year they decide to settle on the north shore so Eva can finish her senior year.
Mom wants to begin touring again but Eva is working and unknown to her mom met an older guy and doesn’t want to go. They fight and then Eva goes missing. Everything points to mom . .. but really?
Will they find Eva?

I was excited to read Nicole Baart's new thriller! The topic of Instagram fame was really intriguing and I enjoyed the parts of the book that had Charlie and Eva traveling the country. I wish the thriller aspect of the novel had dug further into that vein, but it went in a different direction. It often felt like two entirely different books, which kept me turning pages as fast as possible so I could know what was happening in each. I finished this book in a day!

The Long Way Back by Nicole Baart is an unpredictable thriller that takes us on a wild ride with a mother and daughter whose social media following has led them into dangerous territory. Charlie loves the excursions that she takes with her teenage daughter Eva and she always does her best to protect her identity, never posting their exact location or Eva's face other than in profile. But these precautions prove not to be enough when Eva disappears from their boat trip and Charlie has to fight to convince everyone that she isn't guilty, all while struggling to find out what really happened to her daughter.

Heart pounding thriller that left me on the edge of my seat. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this one. Definitely one of the best books this year.

The Long Way Back by Nicole Baart is about an Instagram-famous teenager who mysteriously disappears, and her mother grapples with the revelation of dark secrets in this twisty, atmospheric thriller.

Mother and daughter Charlie and Eva never sought social media fame, but when a stunning photo of Eva went viral, fame found them. After more than two years documenting life on the road in their vintage Airstream trailer, the duo has temporarily settled on the North Shore of Lake Superior. Eva goes missing less than a week before her graduation, and Charlie is immediately suspected of foul play. Charlie realizes the rosy facade they portrayed online hid a complicated and potentially dangerous reality. Now, to clear her name and discover what has happened to her daughter, she’ll have to confront her role in Eva’s disappearance—and whether she knows her daughter.

The story is well-written and details what it's like to be on the road and documenting your life online. The story intrigued me on what was happening with Eva and Charlie and how things would turn out. It dives into the growing pains of a teenager and parent/child relationships and influences from others.

A good story. A solid 4 out of 5 stars.

#NetGalley @AtriaBooks

Another thought-provoking page-turner from Baart.

*Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an e-galley in exchange for an honest review.

Charlie and Eva are instagram famous. Eva Explores is a well known poster that allows thousands of people to live vicariously through mom Charlie and daughter Eva's lives as they travel the globe in their Airstream trailer.

When Eva disappears, Charlie is the first to be suspected and the police ratchet up the questions as the days go by and there is no sign of Eva. But Charlie is determined to find her daughter at whatever costs. When she discovers a secret boyfriend she has the lead she needs to launch her own investigation!

If you love a social media style story, a domestic thriller, or just a story about the growing pains of becoming and adult, The Long Way Back is for you!
#Atria #TheLongWAyBack #NicoleBaart