This is a portrait of two sisters living in a run down district of Philadelphia where crime and drug abuse are everywhere. The older, more studious and serious minded sister, Michaela (Mickey) survived their difficult and deprived upbringing to become a Patrol Officer in the Philadelphia Police Department (PPD). In contrast, her two year younger sister, Kacey, falls into a life of drugs and prostitution, and when she goes missing, Mickey fears the worst.

Their story is narrated by Mickey. It is beautifully written and has a really authentic feel. A compelling insight to a World I am grateful never to have experienced, enhanced by an interesting, well constructed story line.

Long Bright River is a slow-burn, suspense novel rather than a thriller. It is an emotional, heartbreaking story of sister love, drug addiction and forgiveness. The story is narrated by Michaela 'Mickey' who is the older 'better' sister. Mickey is a cop and worries about Kacey who is a drug addict and hasn't been seen for a few weeks. Whilst I normally like books told from only the main character's point of view, in this case I felt like the story would have benefited from another narrator. While I enjoyed getting to know Mickey and learning about her relationship with Kacey, I wished in some places the story moved at a faster pace. What I appreciated was the riveting portrayal of Philadelphia's drug culture which felt very realistic to me.

The story involves a murder mystery as a secondary plotline which makes the read more exciting. However, I found the mystery hastily solved at the end of the book with some holes in the plot. Certain things just didn't make sense to me, but that might just be me liking to have everything ironed out when it comes to solving murders.

I'd recommend the book to readers who enjoy suspense novels with richly drawn characters and complex family relationships.

Many thanks to Cornerstone for my review copy in exchange for an honest review.

Long Bright River by Liz Moore
The further I got into this story the more I enjoyed it. The main character is Mickey, a neighbourhood police officer, who joined the police in order to try and help those who are afflicted by the curse of drug addiction. She has a young son whom she is struggling to raise as a single parent and the reason for her being on her own is gradually revealed through the course of the story.
This novel is about the damage which drugs can do to families and Mickey’s own family has been torn apart. Her mother died young and left her in the care of her bitter grandmother. Now she is worried about her sister who is on the streets and addicted to drugs. A killer is targeting girls like her sister and when she goes missing Mickey is sure that her sister is about to become the next victim.
Mickey feels as if she is on her own. Her long term police partner has been invalided out of the force and her relationship with her grandmother and her son’s father have broken down. She goes to her superiors with her fears about the killer but nothing is followed up.
The characters in the story are believable and the ending is as positive as possible. A very engaging, if at times, emotionally challenging read. Especially the description of babies who are born addicted. It is a story about people, cities in the midst of a drug catastrophe, compassion and courage.
Many thanks to Net Galley and the publishers for the opportunity to read this book in return for an honest review.

Long Bright River had me gripped from the first page to the last. It's the story of regular beat cop Mickey trying to find her missing sister, while raising her young son Thomas is set in the midst of Philadelphia's opioid crisis. It's a pacy story with lots of twists and turns, which along the way illuminates the lives of those affected by drug addiction in a very credible way. As a mystery, the answer is maybe a little too telegraphed but this is a book about the characters and their world and the more compelling for that.

Mickey as the central narrator is both likeable and frustrating - I found myself thinking 'don't do that' when she made mistakes, and cheering her on as she tried to do the right thing. I found her personal guilt at the things she has done to build a life for her son very moving. The narrative voice is unusual and hooked me from the earliest moments. It's also unusual to see police work shown in this way: not from the point of view of a detective, but from a community police officer.

Beyond Mickey, the characters in this book are believable, relatable and real - by turns, complicated, flawed, good and bad - and this made me invested in their stories. The book also creates a strong sense of place which anchors it - I don't know if Liz Moore knows these places well, but it felt like she did.

I really can't praise this book highly enough. It put me right at the heart of a family split by addiction and their different ways of dealing with it. It made me care what happened to them. It handled a complex social issue without over-simplifying the issues. It delivered an intriguing and compelling plot. Since reading it, I've been recommending this book to everybody. I couldn't put it down.

(Thanks to Netgalley and Penguin for the ARC - I am genuinely grateful for the chance to review this book)

A good book which captures you into the story and grips you in. Family is important to everyone and understanding the lengths people will go to keep their family safe...

I enjoyed this story. It wasn’t what I expected and was very well written and paced. The characters and particularly the setting were well developed. I thought it was a very good account of how addiction affects families and communities.

A superb tale which will keep you turning the pages! A brilliant narrative and overall novel! Worth a read!

Here is a book with an interesting plot and excellent characters. This book will certainly keep to at the edge of your seats. A great read. This is well written and great plot.
Thank you to both NetGalley and Penguin Random House for giving me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for my review

An interesting plot with lots of twists, but the story line failed to grab my attention. I did finish the book but was not invested in the characters.
My thanks to Net Galley, the publisher and the author for allowing me to read an advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

Not an easy read, not because of the depressing nature of the story but in the way that it is written. I struggled with the lack of 'conversation marks' and occasionally I found that the narrative too detailed, almost as if the novel needed extra pages . A lot of time has been spent researching this important subject of drug dealers and users on the streets and those that help them but unfortunately this novel did not live up to the description of the book.

A good book, great plot and loads of twists to keep the reader hooked. Looking forward to more from this author.

Many thanks to Netgalley and Liz Moore for the copy of this book. I agreed to give my unbiased opinion voluntarily.

I really wanted to love this book as I loved the sound of the blurb. Sadly though, something about it just didn’t feel right to me.

Mickey Fitzpatrick is looking for her sister. A drug addicted prostitute, there is no denying that her sister lives a dangerous life on ‘the Ave’. However, when working girls start showing up dead and her sister goes missing, Mickey is worried enough to go looking. Soon, it seems like there is more than just her job on the line as Mickey starts to uncover not only the truth about when is happening to these girls, but also painful truths from her own family and history.

Long Bright River is a thriller with a twist as woven throughout the story is the painful impact of a traumatic childhood for two sisters. Sisters whose lives take very different routes. Moore does a fantastic job in describing the devastation that drugs can have on families. And how the impact of our childhoods can define the people we become.

This is where Long Bright River fell down a little for me though. On one hand it’s a great whodunnit as the concept is sound and it does keep you wondering. Then on the other it works as an exploration of sibling relationships and childhood trauma. It’s moving and I desperately wanted to know more about Kacey’s side of the story. For me though the two sides just did not blend. It would have worked as a thriller, or modern fiction but by blending the two genres together in a single book, it just missed the mark for me. By trying to do two things, it ended up not really doing either to the best of what it could have been.

This is such a shame as both sides of this story have so much potential and I think would have worked better if it were given the space to do it. More intrigue and drama for thriller and more emotion and connection for modern fiction. I did enjoy Long Bright River though and would recommend it for people who like their thrillers to have a little more depth to their characters.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the ARC in return for an unbiased review.
Predominantly a police procedural book this is normally a my prefered genre.
I have absolutely no doubt that this book will be a decent seller and attract many fans but for some reason this storyline just didn't grab me and when that happens I struggle to keep reading.
On this occassion I felt obligated to finish what I'd started and although I felt it improved as it went on, overall it wasn't really for me so on that basis I'm giving it three stars.

Philadelphia police officer Michaela "Mickey" Fitzgerald and partner Lafferty find the body of a young female drug addict. It puts Mickey in mind of her younger sister Lacey who she sets out to find...

Though the subject matter could be rather bleak, I found this can ultimately uplifting book. Part police procedural, part family drama. Twists and turns at the end with an unexpected ending.

Oh dear! . I hate it when a book that someone has obviously toiled long and hard over, leaves me cold. I could not get into this one. I like crime thriller sand police produrals but I like a bit of light, a bit of joy in amongst the darkness. This was bleak and depressing. Yes, covering the issues it did, it was bound to be but I still couldn’t like it. Undoubtedly well written, it still failed to engage me. Turgid at times and ultimately frustrating.

This book was a bit different to ones I normally read but I did enjoy it. The story gripped me and made me need to keep reading to see what happened. The story was well told and interesting and had some twists I didnt see coming.

It was a fascinating thriller, with a dramatic flair. I felt the main characters were multi-dimensional and really cared about their fate. Very well written and insightful.

Sorry this book is not for me. I couldn’t get into it at all. I persevered and although I felt sad for some of the characters and the way their lives had turned out, I did not feel engaged in the story at any point.

Thank you to Netgalley for my copy.

I loved this book so much!
It is part literary fiction, part police procedural/mystery, part family drama. All parts together make a wonderful, transcendent story.
Every action in this book fed into the larger narrative, weaving a natural, progressive tale that comes full circle.
It's been weeks since I finished reading it and I still think about it.
Powerful and moving, truly special.

An interesting book about two sisters.It deals with police procedures and drug addiction well.
Thanks to Netgalley for an Arc.