Long Bright River by Liz Moore

Long Bright River by Liz Moore
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

While I could not put this book down, I struggled with narrator Mickey through the whole book (I do not like unreliable narrators) her internal struggle between being the smart sister, now a cop with dignity, a responsible mother to young son Thomas, was always fraught with her trauma from childhood, her feelings of insecurity at work that stopped her from being a really good cop, her need to keep silent about everything (stopped her from getting answers about her sister, Simon, the search for a killer, and partner, Truman who is on disability) and this constant pushing away of people or thoughts made her constantly a target---of despair, insecurity, and betrayal (she betrays herself over and over). The opioid struggle in Philadelphia is depicted starkly, authentically by Liz Moore, while also providing the reality of class struggle, drugs, alcohol, and the disintegration of families and society. While Mickey's sister, Kacey struggles throughout with drug addiction or being missing I found her to be bigger than life when she appeared on the pages toward the end of the book; she is a lifeline to Mickey, always sticking up for her, and always being honest with Mickey (about Simon, the Fitzpatrick & O'Brien family) whether Mickey believes her or not. I loved Mrs Mahon her landlady and Thomas her son and saw those two characters as pivotal to keeping Mickey focused and on track about her parental dignity and self worth. A compelling mystery touching on family ties, family dsintegration and the opioid crisis in Kensington (and everywhere else).

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