Mickey is the police officer who patrols the streets full of addicts, sex workers and dealers. Her sister is a street addict and appears to have gone missing, coinciding with the murders of several women in the area. Concerned that she may be a victim of the killer Mickey is frantic to find her and put the killer away. Woven in amongst this is the story of Mickey and her sister, their childhood deprived of love and opportunity and what path this led them down. For Kacey it was addiction, for Mickey it was more subtle but no less insidious. These are nuanced characters and Liz Moore shines a light on the complexity of the opioid crisis and how it impacts on communities and families in unseen ways.
This is also a story of the power men hold and their cruelty, but also the quiet, determined strength that women wield. Bleak and oppressive in places there is also a thread of hope running throughout the book; the love that Mickey has for her son, the help that she finds in unexpected places and the small changes that some members of the community are making for the better.
It's a book that made me angry, cry, feel hope and feel very glad I read it. My thanks go to the publishers and Net Galley for the advanced copy in return for an honest review.