Long Bright River

A GMA Book Club Pick (A Novel)

By: Liz Moore

Narrated by: Allyson Ryan

Length: 13 hrs and 19 mins

Publisher's summary

One of Barack Obama's favorite books of the year

Named a Best Book of 2020 By NPR, Parade, Real Simple, and BuzzFeed

An instant New York Times best seller

A Good Morning America Book Club Pick

"[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, number one New York Times best-selling author of The Girl on the Train)

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.

©2020 Liz Moore (P)2020 Penguin Audio

Critic reviews

"An instant sensation and the January pick for Good Morning America’s book club." (Entertainment Weekly)

"Navigates assuredly between the plot twists and big reveals.... Long Bright River is equal parts literary and thrilling." (O: The Oprah Magazine)

"Truly, this is a great literary novel about a city in the age of opioids and two sisters navigating their past. And in the tradition of many great literary thrillers, I promise you, you will not see the end coming." (NPR)

Good book

Started out a little slow but then was surprised how quickly the end came. I don’t know if I would have stuck with it initially if I hadn’t read it was a favorite of Barack Obama’s. I’m glad I did

Murder mystery plus so much more!

This was an eye-opening (but not gratuitous) look at life through the eyes of a police officer on the beat in a district rampant with drugs and prostitution. Throw in a murder mystery, family drama, and plenty of surprises, snd you get a great story! My only complaint is too many “I say” and “he says” in the dialogue.

Narrator was excellent, but I listened at 1.2.

Excellent

Liz Moore has become one of my favorite authors. The three books that I've read/listened to are all unique, unusual stories with well drawn characters. This one is suspenseful and poignant at the same time, and there is definitely a powerful message about the ravages of addiction.

Did not like the reader

In my opinion the readers voice was very lilting & sing songy...not appropriate for this type of book. I had a very hard time finishing the book

An easy listen that kept me engaged

Overall really liked the story. Could have done without all the “I said” “she saids” and sometimes the story was a bit slow but overall thumbs up and recommend listening. I liked how I could zone out a bit during runs without having to rewind. Pretty easy to catch back up with the story and fill in the gaps.

Enjoyable and thought provoking

For Philadelphians, the Kensington setting immediately pulled you into its implications and made it relatable, but is accessible to all. Plenty of twists and turns- some too close to home! A tiny bit predictable, but maybe that’s just me- read it! God Bless those that make up The Long Bright River!

Yo!? Was that a Philly accent?

This was a wonderful, riveting read.

As a South Jersey native, I appreciated the details of setting and history of the region. Although there was so much attention to detail given to this story, the Philly accent could have been greater developed/emulated. The characters’ accents sounded more like native New Yorkers.

This is not to diminish the flawless performance by Allyson Ryan; however, Philadelphia fans are notorious for being difficult to please! Philadelphia Eagles fans have been known to throw snowballs at SANTA!

Not a murder mystery

The story was well written and poignantly portrayed the impacts of addiction on generations of a family and the city they live in. What I was looking for, though, was a good murder mystery. Unfortunately, that particular plot seemed to be more of a side note than the main path of the book.

Full of surprises

Took some time to get into it, but once I did I couldn’t put it down

Enjoyed overall book

enjoyed overall book this book was very emotional but also a good crime story relates to what is really happening with the opioid addiction and how it doesn't matter who you are and how it affects everyone in some way