Reviews with content warning for Death of parent - Long Bright River

A gut punch. Beautifully written, well-drawn characters, really (surprisingly) readable, but, man, does it leave you grieving. I think pitches of it as a thriller -- or, worse, a procedural -- ultimately do the novel a disservice; I found it to be a thoughtful investigation of and tribute, even, to a community that so many others have deemed broken.

Fans of Mare of Easttown (me) will definitely enjoy it.

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thespinystacks's review

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challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

This is a hugely confronting story about addiction, and how it affects the people around an addict more so than that of the addict. It’s a powerful story to tell, and I think this book did a great job of it.

Told in past and present timelines, you really feel for Mickey as she struggles through childhood and adolescence with a sister she loves dearly but worries for.

Hidden amongst the story of heartbreak within a family is a crime that Michaela is investigating and worried she may be linked to in more ways than one.

Sad and hopeful simultaneously.

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elisabethjoe's review against another edition

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emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

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osomo's review against another edition

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dark emotional informative mysterious reflective medium-paced

Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

I would prefer it if the author has explored some of the themes touched upon in the book at more depth.
For instance, there is a comment one character makes about police brutality to, as he puts it, people in general, and it seems almost like and afterthought and is not brought up again, the book focuses on crimes against a particular group of people and forgets to explore police brutality at large. In this sense the book does not give new insights to police brutality, thus, i am not happy with the way it was vaguely brought up in a conversation and brushed off.

Another thing I was unhappy about was the way the main character’s problematic relationship with her baby daddy was shown. A secondary character denounced it (way post-factum), but made it clear everyone around them knew this relationship and this person were problematic and did nothing. At the same time, the main character spends most of the time oblivious to the problem and then is simply extremely ashamed. Shame plays a significant role in her life (in situations in which she should not be ashamed, since she was not even at fault etc.), and she never deals that feeling and what causes it, she does not reconsider the situation, she does not learn that she has nothing to be ashamed of. And as a survivor of a similar scenario to what she went through, I do not appreciate how this reinforces the idea that women should be victimised and ashamed. Also, the fact that others could have stopped a gr**mer and didn’t is not addressed properly. The topic is brought up in the middle of the book and then forgotten. The main character does not address her feelings, does nothing about the situation, police does nothing, nobody acknowledges that this isn’t right. It seems that the line with the pr*dator was only introduced to give readers a “bad guy” to suspect in the crimes. But in real life trauma would affect the main character and stay with her, not just come and go at convenient for the plot times.
Thus, since the author is clearly trying to raise awareness about certain issues, which the acknowledgements show, the author should be attentive to the points they bring about and how the sentiments expressed in the book may contribute to problematic ideas and myths.

I liked the pacing of the book and the main story focusing on the relationships between two sisters. I liked that there were two timelines: contemporary events and the memories.

I will not comment on the plot-twists and the murder mystery reveal since those seem to be just a background to the main things the book is trying to do.

I was not too happy with the way the second sister’s current day story was revealed (in a bulk of text, bland retelling of the events), felt like pacing slowed down in that part, not matching with the rest of the more subtle narration, but it was not too long, so not a huge deal.

Mainly, the time I spent with this book was a good one.

It is not my place to tell whether the book discusses the main issues it focuses on (dr*g ab*se and how it affects people, families and communities) was explored with enough care and depth, but as a person who knows little about it these problems, I thought the author did a good job in exploring them. The characters (and the readers) learnt about different aspects of the issues, gained understanding and changed their perception by the end of the story.
I only wish the other important issues the author raised were concluded in a similar way.

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tiltedwhirled's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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flavinja's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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jsoakes's review against another edition

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dark emotional medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.25

This is a story that could have been great. All the stuff about living with and overcoming addiction (or not) was really interesting. The familial interactions felt realistic and were engaging, especially the relationship of the sisters. But all the cop stuff was just..... Really bad?

Also, this could just be a personal gripe, but I really hate it when a character insists that she isn't dumb using her excellence in schooling as proof and then proceeds to be absolutely idiotic in every situation possible.

I also realize that there are tons of issues with abuse of power in the police force, but this representation felt weak. It felt like the author was trying to make a point about corruption, but at the same time was sort of copping out with her chosen villains (which were painfully obvious from the very beginning).

It's easy to see a literal serial killer as evil, but literal serial killers are not very common in the real world where police brutality and abuse actually occurs. This book obviously touches on that with the members of the force protecting each other and not taking claims against them seriously, but it also goes too far and pushes it away from reality. This could have been so much more satisfying if the story was just about a cop coercing sex from vulnerable women and actually getting caught.

There was one twist I didn't anticipate that was well done

(I did not guess that Thomas was Kacey's son)

, but there were a few that were..... Just dumb.

The killer OBVIOUSLY wasn't Truman, and it was so obviously Laherty from the very first page. Clear was very obviously a creepy grooming asshole and their father was very obviously alive. I felt like all of these were supposed to be shocking twists that just did not land.

It wasn't a bad story, I just think it could have been great if the protagonist wasn't so bad at her job and actually made a few good decisions, or if "the bad guys" were fleshed out a bit more...

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christiereads23's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

This was a story about two sisters who have been affected by drug addiction their whole lives. One sister Mickey becomes a cop and works in Kensington in Philadelphia, an area notorious for drug addiction, while the other sister Kacey who is struggling with drug addiction has not been seen for over a month. As a serious of murders happen, Mickey is desperate to find her sister before she becomes the next victim.
Anyone who has any experience with a loved one suffering through drug addiction will recognize the struggles that both sisters go through in this book. While there is a murder mystery going on as the main plot point of the novel, the major focus is on the two sisters' relationship and how it has been impacted by drugs. Both Kacey and Mickey felt real, and neither were perfect. They both have done things that they are ashamed of and that impact them daily. The murder mystery, however, was expertly plotted. I want to re-read this novel to see all the clues that led us to our killer. Finally, as someone who was born and raised in Philadelphia, Moore captures the neighborhoods and locations of Philly perfectly.

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