Long Bright River is told from the POV of thirty-something Mikey, a single mother who juggles life as a patrol officer. She patrols the streets of Philadelphia, also searching for her heroin-addicted younger sister, Kacey. Her search for her sister becomes frenzied when she discovers heroin-addicted prostitutes are being strangled. Can Mickey find her sister before she becomes the next victim?...
With flashbacks to their childhood this is a heart-breaking story about the broken relationship of sisters. This also touches upon the themes of police corruption, drug addiction, juggling being a mother and a job, as well as trans-generational trauma. I was particularly moved by the character of Thomas, her son, and the fragile mother-son relationship filled with guilt and a simultaneous fierce desire to protect. I was highly moved by this assuredly written debut. The streets of Kensington, Philadelphia, are vividly drawn. There’s plenty of reveals and twists in this gritty read. My only gripe is that I felt the reveal of the killer wasn’t explored enough. I was confused about the killer’s motivations and wished the person was more fleshed out. Other than that this is a stellar read. 4/5.

This book was very sad and heartbreaking to read, but I guess it's a part of life too. It's the story of 2 sisters, one is a drug addict and the other is a police officer. It's very well written with great character development. It's one of those slow and detailed literary reads.
I think Moore is very successful at placing you in the middle of the scene and making you part of it and feel everything that goes with the story.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for this copy!

Wow, this is a book that will kick you right in the guts with its raw honestly and emotion. It’s a book that tackles the very difficult and often heart-wrenching topics of drug addiction, opiate use, overdoses and the harrowing effects of addiction on families. Parts of this story were told with so much insight that I felt like the author must have had firsthand experience of the subject matter. (The author does explain how this book came about, and it did involve her getting up close and personal with men and women who had come to Kensington in Philadelphia in search of opioids).

This story alternates between two different timelines, which I always love. It shows the reader the changing relationship between two sisters, one of whom is now a cop and the other one a drug addict, who’s gone missing and hasn’t been seen in a month. The chapters that go back to the past detail the difficult childhood that the sisters shared and they show exactly when and how Kacey’s drug addiction starts to take hold, and how her sister tried to rescue her on a number of occasions. My heart literally broke reading about Mickey’s experiences trying to bring her sister back from the edge, when she’d gone missing for days, was presumed dead, only to be found in some dingy house, passed out, her skin blue and her body mimicking that of a corpse. Hard hitting, that I can promise you.

Emotions run deep in this story, and there were many times when I felt like I was there, experiencing the gritty and soul destroying world that the characters found themselves in. At times, this is an uncomfortable read, but if truth be told, I live for these types of reads. I’m very comfortable with uncomfortable when it comes to my reading preferences. At nearly 500 pages, this book is fairly long and I did feel that some chapters could have been shortened. Having said that, I never actually felt bored, or like I was wishing the pages away. As a potential reader though, you just need to know that this is a long story, and it’s told in some detail. The upside to that of course is that the characters are very well developed and you really have a sense of who they are.

I have a sneaky feeling that this one might feature in my Top 10 reads of the year. It’s a book that’s so difficult to pigeon hole, but the subject matter is very poignant for our times. With so many different forms of addiction ripe in society today, I feel that this book will resonate with many readers.

It’s hard, gritty, emotional and dark…but it’s excellent. It’s part mystery, part police procedural, part crime novel, and part family drama, so you can’t pigeon hole this one. If you’re the type of reader that’s comfortable with dark, serious novels filled with suspense, then do yourselves a favour and try this one. I thoroughly enjoyed it.

To say I was engrossed in <b>The Long Bright River</b> by Liz Moore is an understatement.    This fast pace novel which started out as a murder mystery had me reassessing suspects left, right and centre.   However, it was so much more than a standard murder mystery (if there is such a thing).   This story was one that tugged at the heartstrings as we learnt of the enduring love between two sisters on either side of the drug and crime divide.


Told from Mickey's (Michaela) perspective the story alternates between the present day and the past, gradually revealing information about her complicated, dysfunctional family history.    When the story opens a female body has been found, assumed to be yet another in a long list of overdose victims, but she notices the tell tale signs of strangulation and it is eventually deemed a homicide.   Mickey is a single mother with a cherished four year old son Thomas.   She's a police woman who's taken it upon herself to unofficially investigate a serial killer who has been targeting prostitutes and young drug addicted women.    And she's afraid for Kacey, the sister she's been estranged from for years, the sister who also happens to be a drug addict and prostitute and has not been sighted for several weeks now.   

The author cleverly helped readers form opinions and make assumptions, but then revealed things were not as straight forward nor clear cut as you first anticipated.      She included examples of police abusing their positions of trust and others going outside the law to help the drug impacted generations of families in this community.   She infused a great balance of tension and emotion into the story and expertly wove all of this into a riveting read which was crafted over a ten year period.     I highly recommend this book and intend to investigate other titles by this author.

My thanks to Liz Moore for her efforts bringing this story to life, and  to Penguin Random House UK and NetGalley for the opportunity of reading this digital ARC in exchange for an honest review which I was delighted to provide.

The story follows Mickey, a Philadelphia Police Officer who patrols the poorest and toughest parts of the city, largely the neighbourhood of Kensington.  For the most part, Mickey’s job is painful and laborious. Philadelphia, notably Kensington, is in the grips of an opioid crisis. Finding a dead body is a common occurrence for Mickey. The thing that fascinated me most about this book was that it’s all based on true events. The neighborhood is real and regrettably so is the opioid crisis in certain cities in America. It was fascinating and heartbreaking at the same time.


Mickey and her younger sister, Kacey, were affected by the drug crisis from a young age. Both parents were addicts and the girls were eventually given to the care of their tough and bitter Grandmother, Gee. While Mickey went on to become a Police Officer, Kacey finds herself deep in the depths of addiction and soon severes all ties with her family. For years the sisters have barely spoken, although Mickey always kept tabs on her sister’s whereabouts until Kacey is pronounced missing. Mickey risks everything to find her sister, her job, her family and her life. 


This book was incredible. I will admit uncomfortable at times due to the reality of the story. I loved Mickey. From the outside, she looks like she has got it together but the more we read we see she has been deeply affected by the traumas of her childhood and remains living a quiet and isolated life with only her young son for company. An amazing and tragic story of the fierce love of family and the destructive nature of addiction. Incredible. Five big stars.

My thanks to Penguin Random House U.K./Hutchinson for an eARC via NetGalley of ‘Long Bright River’ by Liz Moore in exchange for an honest review.

It only took me a short time to realise that I was fully engaged by this novel and as it was available as an audiobook, narrated by Allyson Ryan, I obtained it in order to listen alongside reading the eARC.

Mickey is a police officer in Philadelphia who doesn’t look the other way when sex workers are victims of crime as some members of the PD are apt to do. She is very aware that her sister, Kacey, an opioid addict and sex worker, may well be next.
The Kensington beat that Mickey covers is firmly in the grip of the national opioid crises.

Mickey and Kacey were once inseparable but are now estranged though Mickey continues to worry about her sister’s high risk lifestyle. Mickey becomes especially concerned when her sister disappears at the same time as a string of murders targeting women occurs in the district. Although she’s not part of the official investigative team, Mickey becomes obsessed to a dangerous degree with finding the culprit.

Mickey is the novel’s narrator and the story alternates between the present day and an account of the sisters’ childhood and adolescence. I found this a very powerful novel: a well crafted hybrid of literary crime fiction with family drama. I found it almost impossible to put down and despite its nearly 500 page length finished it in two sittings.

Liz Moore opens with a letter to her readers explaining the genesis of ‘Long Bright River’ following her collaboration with photographer Jeffrey Stockbridge in Kensington, Philadelphia on projects highlighting the effects of the opioid crises within the community. She also continues to engage in community work there. This sense of social relevancy underpins the narrative.

It is a multilayered novel, very dark and gritty with very vivid descriptions of the cityscape. Moore doesn’t pull any punches in describing the effects of opioid addiction. Her account of a newborn suffering withdrawal due to the mother’s drug use during pregnancy was especially harrowing. So, quite bleak in places though Mickey‘s determination to make a difference was inspiring.

I am very glad that I read this novel and while it is not comfortable reading, I feel that it’s an important work and one that I would recommend highly.

Full Review: http://www.readingruby.co.uk/?p=2567

I knew I needed to read this one as soon as I read that short synopsis. It was so intriguing and I love going into a mystery with no idea of what it is about really. Therefore I had no idea what I was about to read.⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣

What I got was an incredible slow-burn, gritty story about family, addiction, and the characters’ different struggles with a mystery weaved throughout the plot. It was intricate and suspenseful but with a deep emotional underlying story. Essentially, it combined the dynamics of a domestic drama novel and a police procedural. It is also incredibly relevant because of the plot and discussions around the opioid crisis.⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣

The characterisation was very well done here, I didn’t particularly like any of the characters but I appreciated their stories and could feel their emotions. The setting is almost it’s own character. I felt like I knew the city. Such an immersive experience.

I managed to guess most of the plot twists in this one, although one towards the last few hundred pages did surprise me. However, I didn’t mind predicting this as I was just desperate to see how everything worked out. I finished this near 500-page book in two sittings!⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣

Overall, I would definitely recommend this one. I feel as though it is going to be a popular story this year and that lots of people will really relate to this story. It is quite different from most books within this genre today and an important subject. If you enjoy a good slow story about family dynamics with an underlying mystery, then I think you will enjoy this one.⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣

Thank you to Hutchinson, Penguin and Netgalley for an advance copy of 'Long Bright River' by Liz Hutchinson for review.

4 - 5 stars

This is a powerful and well written story which focuses on the destruction wreaked by drug addiction via the story of two very different sisters. It is set principally in the Kensington district of Philadelphia. Mickey (Michaela) Fitzpatrick is a single mum of Thomas and is a police officer in the PPD and is partnered for a while with Eddie Lafferty. They are called to a suspicious death of a female on the tracks. Mickey is terrified it will prove to be her sister Kacey with whom she has lost contact due to Kacey’s spiralling decline into drug addiction. The story is told Then and Now with Then backtracking to the sisters difficult upbringing by their grandmother, known as Gee and describes how Kacey became addicted in her teenage years. Now looks at Mickeys attempts to find Kacey with a rising body count in Kensington. Mickey realises that she can trust very few people, that there are lies and corruption around her and that includes within the police force but despite all the obstacles she keeps going doggedly to get to the truth.

I’m not going to pretend this is an easy read as it clearly shows the horrifying downward path and the consequences of addiction through Kacey’s battle but also via other characters in the book. Mickey is an admirable and intelligent character who tries to do the right thing but she is not always likeable. There is a lot of sadness in the story both in the girls background as their mother died because of addiction when the sisters were very young and it also details what happens to babies born to addicts. This breaks your heart as they are such innocent victims. The story has many twists and turns and there are some shocks along the way. The trail to find Kacey uncovers the abuse of power and corruption in the PPD which is very disturbing.

Overall, a very good book which really makes you think. I like the way it is written and would like to read more by Liz Moore. Highly recommended.

A very depressing read.

Michaela (Mickey) Fitzpatrick is on patrol with her new partner, Eddie Lafferty when a call comes through for them to report to the scene where the body of a woman is found in the Kensington district that they patrol. She’s been murdered. When Mickey first reaches the murder scene she is terrified that the body might be that of her sister, Kacey, a drug-addict.

As more murders occur, the more worried Mickey becomes about her sister especially as she can’t find her. What is even more disturbing is that one of the prostitutes has told her that the murderer is a policeman. But who? Can Michaela find the person before her sister becomes his next victim?

This is one of the most depressing books I’ve ever read. Its setting is in an area of Philadelphia that is rundown and crime-riddled thanks to the opioid use amongst its diverse population of Irish American, African American, East Asian and Caribbean inhabitants. I found it hard to have any empathy for either the characters or the area and therefore couldn’t find any enthusiasm or anything to want to keep turning the pages.

Bluebell

Breakaway Reviewers received a copy of the book to review.

Liz Moore’s literary thriller is a realistic look at the drug culture, particularly the opiod crisis, that abounds in many cities and towns in America and around the world. It’s gritty and brutal and pulls no punches when it shows the devastating effect of addiction not only in destroying the lives and potential of so many young people but also in pulling apart families.

Kensington was once a respectable working class neighbourhood in Philadelphia, but as jobs became scarce, houses have been abandoned and drug users and prostitutes have moved in. Mickey is a cop who patrols this district, often keeping her eye open for her sister Kacey who unfortunately is an addict living on the streets. Mickey and Kacey lost their mother to a drug overdose when they were young and, with their father estranged, were brought up with the tough love by their grandmother Gee, herself struggling financially and resentful of being saddled with her daughter’s children. Although the girls were close growing up, Mickey realised she had to let Kacey go while she is unable to overcome her addiction.

When several young women are found dead in the district, the police suspect there is a serial killer in the neighbourhood and Mickey discovers that no one has seen Kacey for several weeks. Using family and police contacts Mickey begins looking for Kacey and trying to make sense of who could be killing women. Everyone seems to know more than they are saying making her job difficult and putting her in danger.

There are many layers to unpack in this dark, complex novel. Mickey has not escaped damage growing up in a difficult environment and struggles with her feelings of guilt and helplessness over her sister’s plight. She avoids contact with her extended family and as a single mother of a young child, worries over his future and her ability to be a good mother to him. Her loneliness and fears for her sister is also compounded by her feelings of remorse for her long-term police partner and only friend, who received a serious injury while on the beat with her, and now has trouble reaching out to him for advice and support. While the murder mystery is one compelling and suspenseful aspect of this novel, there is so much more to it with its themes of love, sisterhood, addiction and corruption and ultimately humanity. Although the nature of the subject may make for difficult reading, this novel is well worth reading for its beautiful writing, unique characters and compassionate story as well as for its well paced thriller.

Heartbreaking story of 2 sisters, one of whom is struggling with drug addiction and the other is a police officer. It is a slow burner, but well worth the slow read to the end. Excellent characterisation makes this more of a literary novel rather than crime fiction.

Two sisters who could hardly differ more. Mickey has always been the serious, more diligent one who went to school eagerly and was dreaming of a better life than the one they had at their not very loving grandmother’s. Kacey, eighteen months her junior, has always been the wilder, more adventurous girl who early pushed against the boundaries. Now, as grown-ups, they find themselves on opposing sides: Mickey has become a cop with the Philadelphia police, Kacey is highly addicted and working on the street. Mickey always has an eye on her younger sister even though they haven’t been talking for years. When several young and vulnerable women are killed, Mickey is highly alarmed since she hasn’t seen Kacey for several weeks.

Liz Moore‘s novel is a brilliant combination of a mystery novel with the search for a serial killer and a very sad story about a dysfunctional family where problems are handed from one generation to the next and where an escape is not really possible not matter how hard you try. Even though it looks as if there were clear sides, the good sister Mickey and the bad sister Kacey, you realise soon that life isn‘t that easy and that both women are more like different and changing shades of grey.

Mickey is a great protagonist in so far as she has a lot of interesting traits to offer. On the one hand, she is the hard working single mom who only wants the best for her son and constantly fears that she cannot live up to her own expectations. As a policewoman, too, she seems to do a great job, her family history helping her to understand the situation of the less favoured by life and those on the streets. That she suffers from constant misogyny in the forces does not really astonish. Yet, there are also other sides of the young women which only slowly unfold and show that there are a lot of lies she has been told by the people around her, but also lies that she told herself to shape the things in the way she wants to see them.

The mystery parts about the serial killer and the search for the sister are full of suspense and have some unexpected twists and turns to offer. What struck me most was the feeling that a lot of what Moore narrates is actually very sad, none of the characters has much to look forward to in their life and all seems but too authentic. A novel which provides entertainment but also much to ponder about after the last page thus something not to be missed.

Mickey and Kacey are sisters living on different sides of Kensington; a neighborhood that is dying at the hands of heroin. Mickey is a police officer and Kacey is an addict. When Kacey goes missing, Mickey has to decide just how far to go in her search for a sister who may not ever want to be found...or saved.

This book was great! It's about the bonds of sisterhood and a love story for a decrepit neighborhood. Kensington is gritty and bleak. Yet the author describes the abandoned buildings and broken people beautifully and with clarity. The characters are multi-dimensional and I had a lot of empathy for Mickey. She is caught somewhere between the past and the present; between where Kacey is now and what Mickey wishes for her sister's future. There are twists and suspense. I alternatively didn't want it to end but couldn't wait to find out how it would. I highly recommend this book and could see it becoming a movie. Very well-written!

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this book.

What a brilliant read. A thriller with a heart - a rip roaring plot, likeable characters and a superb twist. I have made the most of the tail end of Christmas and zoomed through this book - one that I will be raving about to anyone who cares to listen.

Long Bright River was everything! Relatable, heroic, eye-opening, and current.

Mickey and Kacey Fitzpatrick were both into a life of addiction. When their mother died from an overdose, they were sent to live with their grandmother – a cold, resentful woman who showed them little love and attention. By age sixteen, Kacey too was hooked on drugs.

Now in her early thirties, Mickey is a police officer for the northeast quadrant of Philadelphia, patrolling rough areas like Kensington Avenue (the Ave) – known for its high crime rate, drug abuse, and prostitution. And Kacey is one of its regulars – living on the streets, selling her body to earn money for her next fix. Mickey sees her around from time to time, keeps an eye on her from a distance, but they haven't spoken in years. But now the Ave has become an even more dangerous place. Young vulnerable women are being stalked and murdered by a dangerous predator. And when Kacey is nowhere to be found, Mickey fears she's become the stranglers latest victim.

When I requested this title, I envisioned Long Bright River as a police procedural focusing on the crimes, the investigation – a race against time to identify and capture a killer. And some of it was, there were genuine terrifying moments where I feared for the main character as she continuously put herself, and those around her, in imminent danger. And the big reveal of who was hunting sex workers was shocking and unexpected, but there was so much more to the story than just thrills and chills. The prominent theme was Mickey's need to save her sister at any cost – regardless of whether the threat was external or internal. There were multiple flashbacks showcasing Kacey's descent into a haze of substance abuse and how it impacted both sisters’ lives. Then there was Mickey's grief over losing her sister, the person she was closest to, who changed from a strong, determined, intelligent, and caring young woman into an unrecognisable stranger.

And what an emotional time bomb it was – affecting, impacting, and confronting. Is addiction caused by a genetic predisposition, environment and upbringing, personality traits, brain chemistry, all of, or none of the above? What made Kacey more susceptible to drugs than Mickey? These are examples of some of the questions you will be internally debating while reading.

All the characters were fascinating, three-dimensional, unique, and I grew to care about them deeply. Mickey was my favourite, how she worked tirelessly to help Kacey for years, and her guilt and feelings of failure over abandoning her sister upon realising she just couldn't do it anymore. There were several big twists, not just in regards to the crime, but also Mickey's personal life.

The authors richly detailed descriptions of Kensington and the area surrounding it – the derelict and abandoned shops and houses, the hidden, and not-so-hidden recreational drug corners, while also showing that there were good, decent hardworking individuals who cared about the neighbourhood and it’s people – added so much realism. Mickey, who once dreamed of being a history teacher, would often morph into reflecting on architectural detail, or drop little nuggets of historical information, which also really brought the setting to life.

My mission, and yours, to read everything by Liz Moore as soon as possible.

I'd like to thank Netgalley, Penguin Random House UK – Hutchinson, and Liz Moore for the e-ARC.

Release Date: 9th January, 2020.

Mickey Fitzpatrick is a police officer working in Kensington, Philadelphia. As bodies of women are turning up, she fears that the next one will be her younger sister Kacey who she has been estranged from for five years. Determined to find Kacey, she utilises every skill and contact she has at her disposal. As the plot takes us back to their childhood of neglect and tragedy, we learn where the roots of Kacey's addiction stem from, and we also gain a deeper understanding of the heart of Mickey, who herself has been through trauma and betrayal. This story will keep you on the edge of your seat, and the suspense builds wonderfully. Long Bright River is a triumph - original and breath-taking - I loved it.

This story revolves around two sisters. One is a policewoman and the other is a drug addict. Mickey (the cop) has tried her best to protect her sister, Kacey. Kacey lives on the streets looking for her next high. She disappears around the same time as a string of murders take place in Mickeys district. Mickey needs to find her sister and the killer before he strikes again.

This story covers some very dark subject matter. The book goes back and forward between the present day and the sisters tough childhood. The book starts of slowly but but by the time you get around the 50% mark, the pa e builds and you won't want to put the book down. The plotline is complex with many twist and turns. The book is hard to read at times but it's also beautifully written. The characters were realistic. The author has meticulously researched the subject matter. I do recommend this book.

I would like to thank NetGalley, Penguin Random House UK and the author Liz Moore for my ARC in exchange for an honest review.

It took me a few chapters to get into this book, to get a handle on the main character, Mickey. The book flits between the present day - Mickey's involvement in a serial killer case, and the search for her missing sister, Kacey - and the past - filling us in on her upbringing, her relationships with Kacey, Simon and her former partner. I enjoyed how the story unfolded, with inevitable twists and turns and a twist I didn't see coming.

Mickey Fitzpatrick has been a Patrol officer in Philadelphia for many years, she loves her job and trying to help the women that work the streets, one reason is that she really does care about everyone on the streets but another is that she is hoping to save her sister Kacey.
When the bodies of the working girls start turning up murdered Mickey has a race against time in the hope that she will find her sister alive.

An absolute gutpunch of a novel. It's grim and sad, with gritty details of the half-lives addiction leads to. So many things made me frustrated and angry, and I appreciated the difficulties of Mickey's life shaped by addicts. I think that the book has an agenda to remind people that even addicts are people. But, with so much focus on the endless cycles of lives touched by drugs I wasn't able to come away feeling hopeful. There were some great reveals but I couldn't help but feel that the people were a more compelling mystery than the actual crimes. A gripping, powerful read that will stay with me for better or worse. Thanks to the publisher and netgalley for a review copy in exchange for an honest review.