Long Bright River

When I began reading this book, I had high expectations based on the rave reviews. The synopsis also caught my interest. The book took me about a week to read, and my opinion shifted several times during the reading, finally landing on an overall rating of 3.5.

Long Bright River is a story about two sisters in Philadelphia living amidst an opioid crisis. Mickey Fitzpatrick, the narrator, is a patrol cop on the streets of a neighborhood plagued by drug addiction, prostitution, and crime. Mickey's sister Kacey is one of the many women suffering from addiction that work this neighborhood. Mickey and Kacey no longer have a relationship; however, when women start turning up murdered in the neighborhood, Mickey becomes concerned for her sister, who has not been seen in over a month. The story follows Mickey as she investigates the murders on her own while searching for her sister.

There is a lot to like about this book. The characters are well-developed and compassionately depicted. Mickey is developed most since the book is told from her point of view. Moore reveals both her positive and negative traits creating a character who feels very real. The same is true for Kacey, even though she is not seen much in the book until the end. The portrayal of her addiction is done sympathetically, yet without sugar coating or excusing it. The effects it has had on Mickey and her family are depicted in a manner that seems quite real and honest.

The mystery in this book is not the dominant storyline. It is more of an outlet through which the reader learns a lot about Mickey and Kacey's family drama and troubled relationships. There are some good twists in the second half of the book that are interesting and engaging.

The author has a distinctive writing style. The dialogue is not indicated by quotation marks, which was hard to get used to at first. However, after some time I barely noticed it. There are also no traditional chapters (no numbers or headings). The sections of the book are easy to recognize, though, and many of them are short, so the book moves along pretty well. The story has a dual timeline in which Mickey flashes back to the past when she and Kacey were growing up.

So if there's so much to like about the book, why is my rating only 3.5? I found the beginning of the book lacking in action. I am not saying this is a bad thing in general, but I struggled to remain interested for the first quarter of the book. I stuck with the book, though, because of its great reviews. I also found the end of the book a bit anticlimactic. It just does not feel like a story that is going to stick with me. It is good; but I do not feel wowed by it.

Would I recommend this book to other readers? Definitely! It is a good read that explores some serious topics. Readers who enjoy hard-hitting stories with family drama and a bit of mystery will enjoy this one.