Long Bright River
A Novel
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4.2 • 1.9K Ratings
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- $12.99
Publisher Description
THE INSPIRATION FOR THE PEACOCK TV SERIES STARRING AMANDA SEYFRIED
ONE OF BARACK OBAMA'S FAVORITE BOOKS OF THE YEAR—BY THE AUTHOR OF THE GOD OF THE WOODS
AN INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • A GOOD MORNING AMERICA BOOK CLUB PICK
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.
"[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 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
APPLE BOOKS REVIEW
Many of the residents of Philadelphia’s poverty-stricken, opioid-wracked Kensington Avenue feel like the local cops don’t care about them. But police detective Mickey Fitzpatrick’s empathy for the people on her beat is palpable. While searching for a serial killer who’s preying on the street’s denizens, Mickey is also on the lookout for her estranged, drug-addicted sister, who may be in the murderer’s line of sight. For this riveting crime novel, Liz Moore draws upon her extensive research and community work to give us thought-provoking insights into at-risk communities. Her heroine’s passion and idealism are a source of inspiration—not a word that’s usually associated with this kind of thrilling, hardboiled mystery.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Moore (The Unseen World) weaves a police procedural and a family drama into a captivating novel. Mickey Fitzpatrick, a single mother, is an officer for the Philadelphia PD, tasked with patrolling Kensington, a neighborhood devastated by opioid addiction. Drugs have impacted Mickey's life as well: her mother died of an overdose, her father, also an addict, is thought dead after disappearing, and her estranged younger sister, Kasey, is a known user and prostitute. While on her beat, Mickey tries to keep tabs on Kasey by speaking to locals and shop owners, but when Kasey vanishes amid a flurry of unsolved murders of women in the neighborhood, Mickey dedicates herself to finding Kasey and the killer, all the while praying her sister isn't the next victim. Moore breaks her novel into sections labeled "Then" and "Now," filling each with short, direct chapters that explore Mickey and Kasey's history while also propelling the narrative's murder mystery. The author presents several characters as the potential killer, and though seasoned readers may guess the culprit long before the reveal, Mickey's personal journey that runs parallel to her pursuit is smartly crafted. Filled with strong characters and a layered plot, this will please fans of both genre and literary fiction.
Customer Reviews
Long Bright River
Tough book to read as our son was an addict. More graphic than I wanted to know. Saving grace is that there are people who care and are able to save lives. Lesson….small acts of kindness add up and change lives for the better.
Best read of 2025
A novel sharing elements with other suspense novels, and yet so far above the average. It’s not about clicking through the clockwork gears, but a story of great empathy, with a very strong narrative.
I suffered through 300 pages…
And gave up. Such a BORING, SLOW, uneventful mess of a story. Don’t waste your money or your time. I couldn’t even finish this book