I am not a foodie and do not like to cook. Couldn't get into this book! However, if you ARE a foodie and enjoy cooking, you will enjoy it.

Beautifully written, “Long Bright River” is a both a family saga and page-turner wrapped around life in a decaying city slamming into the opioid crisis. The protagonist, a policewoman and single mother who patrols a seedier district outside Philadelphia, searches for her opioid-addicted sister as the search for the killer of young women on her beat escalates. We slowly learn about Mickey’s lonely life as protector of her younger sister growing up abandoned by their parents, who now fiercely safeguards her preschool son. I can’t shake the powerful passages describing her pain as she slowly uncovers profession and personal truths. Resolution of both struggles kept me guessing until the very end.

Take your pick of brilliant discussion points: family dynamics, social struggle, and the drama of the hunt for a killer before he strikes again.

Loved this book! It seamlessly hops between points of view and settings as its main characters, an octogenarian granny and her millennial granddaughter, trade places for the summer, swapping a rural village cottage for a trendy London flat. Itâ??s funny and charming as the two women overcome challenges in their new environments. Richly drawn secondary characters add even more dimension.



The book also uplifts as it gently explores themes of grief, loss and abuse. Not a dark read, the rom com offers deep discussion potential for book clubs.



I thoroughly enjoyed the audiobook as much as I loved Oâ??Learyâ??s debut novel, â??The Flat Share.â? Canâ??t wait for our book club discussion.