The Long Long Afternoon

A immaculate 1950’s Californian neighbourhood where the men go to their offices and the wives keep home and attend their ladies social gatherings. What can possibly go wrong? A blood stained kitchen, a missing mother and children found alone by domestic help Ruby Wright, are just the start. As Detective Mick Blanke begins to investigate, layers of veneer are slowly peeled away, revealing dark secrets previously hidden within this community. Rising above racial bigotry, which sadly still resonates today, Ruby’s perseverance in searching for the truth, leads to a thrilling and pulsating finale.
More of a 1950’s vibe could have been an advantage, however, the pace of the story is maintained throughout, by each chapter looking at the developing situation from a different protagonist’s viewpoint.These well drawn characters, cinematic setting and the compelling need to know the outcome, lift this book above many a police procedural.

An incredibly atmospheric book with high running emotion from the discovery of the mising woman, the arrest of her cleaner, based purely on the colour of her skin, and the stullifying atmosphere surrounding the community and the way they interact with each other.
A really clever mystery with clues dropped then retracted throughout, leaving you guessing both means and motive.

Loved the cover picture definitely made me want to read it.
This is more than a murder/mystery set in 1959 involving segregation and racism, very moving and tearful in places just couldn`t put it down.

Joyce disappeared from her perfect home in a community of stepford wives, leaving her two children, when Ruby the cleaner arrives the kitchen floor is covered in blood and after phoning the police she is arrested mainly because of her colour. Detective Blanke is the odd one out at the precinct and he believes she is innocent and befriends her.

The story has lots of twists you couldn`t see coming and shows the prejudiced black people suffered in the fifties and how scary it can be which made the book very moving and Ruby was a very strong likeable character you just had to keep reading to see what happened to her.
It`s a must read book.

Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review

Well written and relatable.

Tackles issues of sexism and racism and highlights how fate we still have to go for equality.

The dynamics between the characters make it stand out and it is delightfully unpredictable and enjoyable.

The Long Long Afternoon by Inga Vesper was one where the cover caught my eye, yes I know, we shouldn’t judge a book by its cover, but guess what, I sometimes do! 😂 and I’m so glad this one stood out and caught my eye as I loved it!

Set in 1950’s California, we see the disappearance of Joyce, a loving mother and housewife, vanished from her home leaving her daughters and a pile of blood in the kitchen. When her maid, Ruby, discovers the scene, she is immediately arrested, until Detective Mick Blanke sees no reason why she should’ve been arrested and that the main reason the cops did so was because of the colour of her skin. This book follows Joyce, Ruby and Mick’s perspectives on this mysterious case.

This book had me. From the start I had an idea of where this was going to go, adamant that I was right, but Vesper three in twists and turns that just kept proving me wrong. I loved the triple narrative, it made it a fast paced read and I just needed to know more from each character. This book doesn’t just focus on the disappearance on Joyce, it also focuses on race and the disgusting way black peoples were treated back in 1950’s America, and how hard it was for them to get their voices heard.

It was such an interesting read that had me hooked from start to finish! The Long Long Afternoon is out on 4th Feb and I’ll be recommending to everyone! 💛

The Long, Long Afternoon is a highly readable mystery that transports the reader back to the American suburbs in the late 1950's. The story is told from different perspectives and the most intriguing part is when Joyce Haney is telling her story of the days leading up to her own disappearance and also her life before. The story covers many aspects including civil and women's rights.
So many people judge and are judged by their appearance and how their life looks to the outside world, The Long, Long Afternoon shows that appearances are deceptive in all walks of life.

I was given a copy of The Long, Long Afternoon by NetGalley and the publishers in return for an unbiased review.

Any book that begins ‘Today I kissed my husband for the last time. He doesn’t know it yet.’ instantly makes me want to read on. There’s something mysterious going on already.
It’s 1959, pre-Betty Friedan, pre The Feminine Mystique and Joyce Haney, a housewife in Santa Monica is going about her day in her lovely house on the Sunnylakes estate. It’s the ‘burbs and another achingly hot Californian day. But all is not well under the surface as she waters her beloved geraniums and ignores her crying child as she does so.
She mentions as she speaks in the first person, that she gave away her art materials as her husband didn’t like her to paint. In fact he built a fence all around their property which now obscures the view to the lake. Joyce takes pills, several each day, all with brand names which she mentions. The day stretches on, filled with children and housework and she wonders with a muted excitement where she will be the next morning. Joyce has made a decision to change her life. It will do that but not how she imagined it.
Ruby, the young black girl from the local projects in South Central, is the help and she discovers the consequences of Joyce’s decision. Two small children left alone and a blood smeared kitchen.
But no Joyce. She’s gone. Is she missing or has she been taken? Is the kitchen a murder scene?
There’s rebellion in the air that summer. Riots are beginning in South Central and Ruby is customarily arrested as she was unlucky enough to be the first on the scene. She is left in no doubt that the police think she’s guilty.
Det Mick Blanke disagrees. Newly arrived from NYC, after a messy case went wrong and nearly cost him his job and his marriage, he isn’t happy about his new posting. But he talks to Ruby and gets her released and then buckles down to work. Joyce’s husband, Frank, was out of town at a conference but is flying back. In the kitchen Mick finds a newborn baby’s blue sleepsuit which has been used to try to clear up the blood. But the Haneys have two girls although Frank later admits that he would have liked to have had a boy.
Mick starts looking at Joyce’s friends and neighbours amongst the Sunnylakes estate. Despite its respectability and apparent conformity, it has its haves and have nots. Joyce made friends with outsiders; Deena Klintz from a nearby trailer park and Ruby. She recognized kindred spirits as she was originally from the wrong side of the tracks. Mick hears stories about Joyce as well as she’s always kept quiet about her past. Frank scoffs at Mick’s suggestion that she might have had an affair as she would have been too busy to do that with the childcare, housework and shopping. I thought I detected a slight echo of the Stepford Wives.
And so the hot weather wears on as Mick discovers that Joyce spent the last day before she disappeared collecting more pills from her doctor and buying art materials. She was considered to be a very talented artist and Mick is impressed when he sees one of her paintings.
Ruby has plans to get out of South Central and become a teacher but feels dragged down by her home situation and her life. However, due to being invisible as far as most of the Sunnyvale residents who employ her are concerned she hears more than people think and soon becomes suspicious of an over friendly neighbour. But when Joyce’s geranium pot is thrown out by her moth-in-law who’s come to help Frank and Ruby carries it home it reveals a long hidden secret. One so shocking and tragic that it turns the case on its head. For Joyce decided to leave on a very significant birthday, one that she never forgot, and made her decide to leave everything behind.
This is an assured debut novel from a very talented writer and I was hooked right from the start. I liked the structure of it as the reader finds out information, a piece at a time, and then puts the jigsaw together The female characters begin to reveal themselves. Joyce takes a lot of pills to keep her depression, her sorrow and anger under control until the desire to be herself again becomes too strong. Frank apparently notices nothing. Ruby, determined to escape through education, despite all the cards apparently being stacked against her, begins to realise what’s going on as Mick arrests the wrong man.
The characters really came alive for me and they were very believable. I was kept guessing up right to the end as to Joyce’s fate. I felt that one of the one of the central themes of the book was the way that society judges men and women especially those who don’t conform or fall outside the norm. I noticed it with Joyce and her children as she ignores them or gives them petty punishments. Yet, it’s her young daughter, Barbara, who tells Ruby things that show that she sees more than anyone thinks.
A very dark tale of obsession, envy and rage underneath the seemingly conventional façade of Sunnylakes estate. For those in the know, it’s also called Funnylakes and there’s often a tragedy behind those white picket fences.

My thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for an ARC.

Beautifully written and clearly well researched with a lovely sense of place. I would definitely like to read more about these characters

I really enjoyed this story, which for me read like a detective novel. I loved the sneak peek into suburban life in the 1950’s and the secrets and lies which hid behind the polished facade of the community depicted between these pages. There were social issues and injustices outlined in this book too and the sexism and racism, whilst not unexpected due to the era in which it was set, nevertheless shocked and saddened me.

I liked the fact that I didn’t actually work out the “whodunnit” aspect of the plot, I much prefer the surprise at the end of the story which comes with a big reveal. I liked Detective Michael Blanke, who was presented as slightly more of a forward thinker than his colleagues but I was more impressed with Ruby Wright. I like a strong, clever, woman depicted in a storyline and she was definitely that, strong minded, despite the constraints of the time which sought to hold her back. Having said that, although her job within the neighbourhood placed her in the ideal situation to be privy to information which was shared behind closed doors, I’m not sure I felt it was totally realistic that she, a civilian, was in the end more capable than the Police when it came to piecing the puzzle together.

The Long Long Afternoon is a well written, intriguing and engaging story and I would certainly read more from this author in the future.

Set in 1959 in the perfect American suburbs of Sunnylakes, California. On face value, it seems that Joyce Hanley has it all – a loving husband, two perfect little girls and a pristine home.

Why then, when Ruby is running late for her cleaning job at the Hanleys does she arrive to two distraught little girls, a pool of blood in the kitchen and Joyce Hanley is nowhere to be seen?

I requested a copy of this book, hoping for secrets behind the twitching lace curtains, tales of acceptable pill popping and daytime drinking by women with time on their hands. I got all this and more. Dipping a toe into The American Dream was an absolute delight – I would heartily recommend this for anyone who took such pleasure in watching Mad Men. The overt racism and sexism on display was, at times, shocking and showed just how much the world has changed over the last 60 years.

This was an intriguing, engaging read from start to finish. As I learnt more about Ruby in particular, I started to really root for her success. The detective was more than a little bit slow, but certainly likeable character. Vesper sets the scene with descriptions of the oppressive heat so accurate that it was really like I was transported to that hot afternoon/evening time back in 1959. The overt racism that was present in society back then is handled in what I thought was a realistic manner. The depiction of American suburbia with an undercurrent of secrets and lies was spot on.
I would be glad to read something else by this author. Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for an ARC for my honest opinion.

I requested The Long, Long Afternoon as it is not the normal sort of book that I would read. I usually only read books set in the present day so I wasn't sure what I would make of this book but wow it grabbed me from the beginning and I thought it was fantastic. It was a real page turner that I read extremely quickly as I did not want to put it down. I loved it!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for my ARC.

I was attracted to this book after reading some glowing reviews with, in some cases, comparisons to The Help which I loved. I didn’t feel it had anything in common with The Help except in having one of ‘the help” – these were the African Americans working in white households – as a main character and depicting a society full of prejudice, racism and oppression. They also share in common strong female leads. The Long Long Afternoon is the story of the disappearance of a white woman, Joyce, from her home in the middle of the afternoon. There is a trail of blood, and two sobbing children, and although she is the one who found the body, Ruby is arrested. Blanke is the detective tasked with finding Joyce. He encounters a rigid barrier of uncooperative white women. These women, oppressed by societal norms which permit them to attend art classes, women’s groups, affording them everything that modern technology allows – the lecture on kitchen designing is both comic and utterly depressing –have everything except a life. This is on one level a brilliant detective story, a gathering of information, a frantic sorting of clues which takes Ruby and the detective into both White and Black neighbourhoods as they try to find Joyce. Blanke is damaged goods. He has a professional cloud hanging over him and has been moved to a new patch where he is distrusted and overlooked. I loved the relationship between Blanke and Ruby which is brilliantly observed, with a mutual dependence forced by circumstance and necessity. On the other level this a beautiful piece of societal observation – black neighbourhoods brewing with dissent and unhappiness, white neighbourhoods built upon myth. The Long Long Afternoon is thick in sunshine, geraniums and sparkling blue pools …but none of it is what it seems. This is a brilliant read, full of tension and brilliant original characters. There is so much to feel in this book, so much to see. I loved it. With thanks to Netgalley and Bonnier Books for a digital copy of this amazing book.

I loved this book and read it in a couple of days.It’s so atmospheric ,set in 60s California ,where a young housewife ,Joyce Haney ,goes missing ,leaving her two young children, and a pool of blood in her perfect kitchen. It soon transpires that there is more to Joyce’s apparently perfect life than meets the eye ,and when Detective Mick Blanke investigates, he needs the help of feisty young black woman ,Ruby Wright ,who cleans for Joyce and her neighbour and knows much more about them than she admits at first.
There is so much to this book-it covers women’s rights ,civil rights and mental health ,as well as having some killer lines and great characters.I would bet that the film rights are snapped up ,and I really hope to read more by this author.
Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for an ARC in return for an honest review which reflects my own opinion.
Highly recommended.

Ruby is a cleaner in a very posh neighbourhood, one day she goes to a house to clean and sees the owners daughter outside near the trees waiting. Then she hears the toddler crying inside and goes upstairs to investigate... Lily needs changing and her mum is nowhere to be found, after changing her She goes downstairs and finds blood on the kitchen floor, all over it to be exact.
She runs outside screaming and one of the neighbours calls the police.
What has happened here? Has Joyce been killed or just injured? Why did she tell Barbara to go and wait outside? Is her marriage perfect or are they both hiding things?
A bit like Stepford Wives meets Pretty little liars.... Who can be trusted and are they really friends or just pretending?

Thank you Net galley for giving me the opportunity to read this novel and to Inga Vesper for writing it, will be looking out for more from this author.

An interesting eye opening murder mystery. Set in Los Angeles in August 1959, an unlikely pairing, Ruby and Mick set out to solve a murder mystery. This is a book you will still be thinking about a long time after you read it.

"The crime scene photographs are buried under soda bottles. He pushes them aside and picks up the photograph of the kitchen. It's a good photograph. You can almost feel the warm rays of the sun filtering through the curtains. If only it weren't for the bloodstains."

In 1950s Sunnylake, a suburb of Santa Monica, life is perfect, the American dream. Perfect housewives stay home to bring up perfect children and wait for their perfect husbands to arrive home from work. The American Dream is shattered when housewife Joyce Haney goes missing, leaving only a pool of blood in her usually sparkling kitchen. 'The Help', Ruby White, arrives to clean and reports the disturbing sight.

Newly arrived under a cloud from New York, Detective Mick Blanke is keen to prove himself when he is sent to Sunnylake to investigate. He interviews distant Mr Haney and meets the housewives of Sunnylake, including intelligent Mrs Crane and glamorous Mrs Ingham. It's Ruby who proves most keen and capable to find out what happened to Joyce, after they bonded over lost mothers. Will Mick and Ruby solve the case and discover what happened to Joyce and why?

Infused with the heat of Santa Monica, the focus is on both the experience of overly-medicated and controlled, wealthy white, suburban housewives and their black maids, experiencing never ending racism and hatred, including riots and fear of death. Chapters switch between Mick and Ruby, giving different perspectives on the same situation as well as involving us in their lives and their different desires to solve the case. Mick is steady and decent, keen to do right by Joyce and Ruby is sparky and bright, keen to learn and better herself. Atmospheric, astute and beautifully written, this is an involving and tense debut.

This story grabbed my attention straight away, and I found the whole book very readable and fast-paced. Simply put, this is a whodunnit mystery story, but it also explores racism and sexism in 1950s America. The attitudes displayed and language used by most of the characters about race and the role of women was very frustrating, but also accurate for the time. I thought the inclusion of the civil rights movement and women’s committees were important in showing where society stood during the events of the story and also contributed to the character development.
I loved the setting of this book, and I could vividly picture the heat and brightness of 1950s California – very atmospheric! The descriptions showed how claustrophobic the town was, which was reflective of the character’s lives. I liked the message that what appears to be perfect from the outside is just how you choose to present yourself, and the reality can be drastically – and dangerously – different.
Part of the story that stood out to me was the treatment of Joyce’s mental health, which was a very taboo subject. Any medical help focused on the husband and keeping the wife submissive, which highlighted the position of women. I felt this made me more sympathetic towards her character and gave me a better understanding of how she was feeling.
The story is told from the perspective of three different characters, which I thought worked really well. While the detective and “the help” Ruby try to piece everything together, we also hear from Joyce herself – her unreliable narrative adds to the mystery. My favourite character was Ruby, who is treated poorly because of her race and place in society but continues to be ambitious and loyal. Although she is the most powerless character, she is the one who can see everything the most clearly.
I enjoyed the twists in the story and how the events unravelled with small details becoming relevant. I did find some of the action a bit over the top, but this is definitely a page turner that kept me intrigued. I would recommend this book if you love a story that keeps you guessing and for fans of mystery and thrillers.

This was a five star novel from beginning to end. Atmospheric, with rich characters and genius writing. I loved every chapter and couldn’t wait to find out who had killed Joyce. It was also an eye opener to the rife racialism in America during this era. I’ve nothing more to add apart from saying that it was one of the best books I’ve read for quite a while. Can we have more from Inga please.

Don’t let the cover deceive you, this is a page turner and will keep you thinking long after you have finished. Fantastic story, one for book clubs everywhere.