ONE OF BARACK OBAMA’S FAVORITE BOOKS OF THE YEARNAMED A BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR BY NPR, PARADE, REAL SIMPLE, and BUZZFEEDAN INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLERA GOOD MORNING AMERICA BOOK CLUB PICK“[Moore’s] careful balance of the hard-bitten with the heartfelt is what elevates Long Bright River from entertaining page-turner to a book that makes you want to call someone you love.” – The New York Times … page-turner to a book that makes you want to call someone you love.” – The New York Times Book Review
“This is police procedural and a thriller par excellence, one in which the city of Philadelphia itself is a character (think Boston and Mystic River). But it’s also a literary tale narrated by a strong woman with a richly drawn personal life – powerful and genre-defying.” – People
“A thoughtful, powerful novel by a writer who displays enormous compassion for her characters. Long Bright River is an outstanding crime novel… I absolutely loved it.”
—Paula Hawkins, #1 New York Times-bestselling author of The Girl on the Train
Two sisters travel the same streets, though their lives couldn’t be more different. Then one of them goes missing.
In a Philadelphia neighborhood rocked by the opioid crisis, two once-inseparable sisters find themselves at odds. One, Kacey, lives on the streets in the vise of addiction. The other, Mickey, walks those same blocks on her police beat. They don’t speak anymore, but Mickey never stops worrying about her sibling.
Then Kacey disappears, suddenly, at the same time that a mysterious string of murders begins in Mickey’s district, and Mickey becomes dangerously obsessed with finding the culprit–and her sister–before it’s too late.
Alternating its present-day mystery with the story of the sisters’ childhood and adolescence, Long Bright River is at once heart-pounding and heart-wrenching: a gripping suspense novel that is also a moving story of sisters, addiction, and the formidable ties that persist between place, family, and fate.
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I’m pretty sure there was supposed to be a mystery in this book, but it was largely hidden by a dismal stroll through the tragedies of drug addiction and the disgrace of police corruption and cronyism.
Great suspense novel
Beautifully written but very sad and depressing.
I really enjoyed this book and thought the characters very interesting.
Growing up over 500 miles from a metro area, it was eye opening to learn about the hold that drugs have on people from all walks of life. It was also heartening that some strong willed people are able to break the chains.
Trigger Warnings: Drug abuse, non-consensual sex, violence, police brutality, addiction, trauma, abuse.
It was a long, very long read. Informative at best.
But in the end, a depressing thriller.
Until the next read,
TMR
You won’t be able to put this one down.
An excellent mystery and an amazing story about Philadelphia then and now. The “long bright river” is the stream of drugs that flows through the city as Mickey, a police officer, searches for her sister Kacey, who is a drug addict and lives on the streets. It’s a story of the disease of addiction within a family and within our society.
Wow, what a powerful book about the choices we make, the people we trust, the power of addiction and its destruction, all coupled with corruption and murder.
Mickey and Kacey are two sisters living in Philadelphia, but lead two very different lives. Mickey is a cop raising a young son. Kacey is living on the streets, a sex worker, looking for her next fix. When women start turning up murdered, Mickey becomes concerned for Kacey, as no one has seen her for a while.
This is a sad story, but also has some hope. The last line is chilling.
#LongBrightRiver #LizMoore
Terrific story, very well written. Characters are well-drawn and their stories are heartbreaking once you get close to them. It’s a really good book. The only reason it doesn’t get five stars is that I’m a tough grader. I reserve five stars for Hemingway etc. But this one is great. Read it.
A smart, beautifully written book with enough twists to keep you guessing!
Picked this up because it was compared to (and I believe even recommended by) Dennis Lehane. While it falls well short of that, this was a worthwhile read that balanced an interesting mystery with some compelling and complicated characters. Think “Lehane-light”
I couldn’t put this book down. Most families have dealt with problems similar to these two sisters in one way or another. Would be a great one for book clubs.
A great look into the lives of two sisters who went in dramatically different paths. An emotional book, but one that makes you think and gives you hope.
This is just one of those books that sucks you in. And fast!! A terrifically real, flawed, marvelously empathetic heroine who is searching the streets for her missing drug addict, prostitute sister and as the book unfolds she finds herself, and comes to terms with who she is and why and finds a serial killer. There is so much in this book to discuss,: how our childhoods make us who we are, the life of a drug addict, what it’s like to patrol streets as an officer of the law, what it’s like to live through an abusive childhood, be a single mother. I could go on and on. Jammed packed with real life situations…more or less. Loved this book.
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Good read! You didn’t know how this mystery was going to turn out although the author was very good in leading you with hints along the way.
I’m not interested!
I read this book in one sitting. Even at 482 pages long. I was hooked from the beginning. This book deals with many things including drug addiction. It shows how addiction effects the entire family. How babies born addicted are treated. It also deals with corruption and abuse of power in the Philadelphia police department. It’s a gripping crime novel that also deals very intimately with the characters childhood traumas.
Not much. The prose was very good , it was suspenseful but it fell flat and left me angry for having been sucked into it.
BOOK REVIEW
Long Bright River by Liz Moore
Pub Date: January 7, 2020
496 pages
-DESCRIPTION-
Mickey, a police officer in Philadelphia, is dealing with a murder, the streets overrun with drugs, drug dealers, and drug addicts….her sister, Kacey being one of them. When her sister Kacey goes missing, Mickey sets out to find her….and answers to other questions that arise.
-THOUGHTS-
1. I listened to this as an audiobook and the narrator was great. I think I enjoyed it more becuase it was an audiobook. I enjoyed the main character and her compassion for her sister. Although Kacey is a drug addict, she was depicted as a person and not a monster.
2. Overall the book was enjoyable. It was kind of a family drama and kind of a thriller. It seemed a little detached though. I felt detached from Mickey and all the characters.
-RATING-
4/5 stars
I recommend this book!
-SIMILAR RECOMMENDED READS-
The Book of Essie
Ask Again Yes
A Nearly Normal Family