Every so often a thriller comes along that is so remarkable that it transcends genre and Long Bright River is one such book. The mystery at its heart is absorbing, thoughtful and perfectly paced and Mickey is a flawed heroine who it’s easy to root for. But the fourth novel from acclaimed American writer Moore is also heartbreakingly profound in exploring the strain put on families and entire communities by the opioid crisis in US cities. It exposes the way addicted parents’ broken promises inflict childhood wounds that never heal. But it also gives hope that familial bonds and community spirit can ultimately triumph. This flawless masterpiece deserves to be a bestseller.

Strong characters and some truly evocative writing.

[T]he twists are clever . . . but it is the novel's more eccentric, reflective aspects that make it stand out from the ruck.

As with the best crime novels, its scope defies the constraints of genre . . . the result feels startlingly fresh . . . Moore has created a memorable portrait of the devastation created by poverty and addiction, and the compassion and courage that can rise to meet it.

Tough, tense and twisty - but tender, human and deeply affecting, too ... I don't have a sister, but when I finished the book I called my brother, just to hear his voice.

Liz Moore's stunning Long Bright River works as a vivid portrait of a city (Philadelphia), as an acute study of mothers and daughters and as a psychologically coherent, morally unsettling, incredibly moving broken-family saga. It is by some considerable distance my crime novel of the year.

An outstanding crime novel, bringing to mind the best of Dennis Lehane or David Simon. I found myself eking out the final pages because I didn't want it to end. I absolutely loved it.

Extraordinary . . . twists, turns and subverts readers’ expectations till its very last pages . . . a sweeping, elegiac novel about a blighted city.

Very moving.

Outstanding . . . an intense family thriller . . . The clever plot and involving characters set a high standard for this new year.

This is a thrilling and heartbreaking exploration of the strain the opioid crisis puts on families. A masterpiece.

A page-turning mystery . . . Equal parts literary and thrilling.

LONG BRIGHT RIVER is a remarkable, profoundly moving novel about the ties that bind and the irrevocable wounds of childhood. It’s also a riveting mystery, perfectly paced. I loved every page of it.

Both sweeping and unbearably intimate, a riveting crime novel and character-rich study of a city and its battered heart . . . Not to be missed.

Liz Moore lays open the sometimes fractured lives of others with a true novelist’s hand and eye.

[A] compassionate tale, full of empathy for the low-lying members of society.

[B]rilliant and harrowing thriller […] Beautifully told, this is a book to totally lose yourself in.

Told in a crisp, propulsive first-person voice, Long Bright River is a detailed, realistic portrait of a city and an intimate, incredibly moving study of characters seemingly beyond repair.

A haunting tale of addiction and redemption.

A gritty exploration of the power of family ties.

Sprawling, intuitive and immaculately told, this is a powerful evocation of grief and regret that haunts to the final page.

Superb

Much more than a police procedural, this is multi-layered and the reading pleasure is in the development of the characters.

A powerful and thought-provoking novel.

Ragnar Jonasson is old school . . . He deals in vertiginous, unputdownable stories that are nevertheless still imbued with melancholy and heartbreak. This is his best yet

[Jonasson's] chilling whodunits currently have readers firmly in their icy grip

Unforgettable

Will leave you breathless

Compelling, beautifully written and wickedly entertaining... A tremendously thought-provoking read

Astonishingly good. Beautifully written, gripping, disturbing

A tense and unsettling thriller that's immersive, chilling, and provocative. A book that's best read in one sitting

Ashley Audrain's The Push is not only a propulsively entertaining, read-in-one-sitting novel, it is also a deeply provocative and fearless look at motherhood written in some of the prettiest prose you'll read all year

Written with a courage that borders on audacity, and with uncanny emotional and psychological precision, Ashley Audrain's The Push is a taut, tour-de-force literary thriller that draws you in from the very first pages and plunges you into the most harrowing of journeys: parenthood

A meteoric debut. Ashley Audrain's The Push is a force of nature, an unforgettable arrival that will linger in your heart--shimmer, darken and then haunt you. Every sentence is just so achingly alive. Audrain descends with near pointillistic precision into the gore of motherhood and love. Perhaps if Stephen King had experienced motherhood--the singular exaltation and morbid terror of that state--he might have been able to dream up this book. Wise, monstrous, and tender, The Push operates at a different frequency. It seemed to pulse in my hands. I could not put it down. I could not look away

One to watch ... The Push is told from the point of view of Blythe Connor, whose experience of motherhood is not what she hoped for

Staggering - it is an intoxicating rush of a book that grips you tight from the first few pages and will not let you go

Most anticipated books of 2021 'Pre-order now and thank yourself later'

A thrilling debut

The Push is a vivid and complex spiral of questioning your grasp on reality, of uttering unspeakable thoughts, when the world tells you it's all in your head. Book blurbs often say they'll be devoured in one sitting - it's rare it proves so true

Suspenseful, dark and intriguing . . . It's going to be a big discussion point in 2021

A haunting tale about the expectations and reality of motherhood. Stunning . . . You end up staying up all night to finish The Push

Visceral, compulsive and astonishing. I could not put this down

'Best books to look forward to in 2021'

The chilling novel that caused a bidding frenzy more than lives up to the hype

A terrifying, psychological suspense tale of motherhood and nature versus nurture

This chilling tale barrels along towards a dark, thought-provoking ending

The tense, gripping novel - which, after a nine-way bidding war, has already been optioned for film by the producer of ugly-cry-inducing Marriage Story - will stay with you long after you finish the last page

This psychological family drama will be your next one-sit read . . . you won't want to miss it

A creepy, nuanced story that, with a growing sense of dread, subverts the ideals of motherhood so often presented as inviolable

Buckle up for a riveting read . . . will have you alternately whizzing through the pages to see what happens next, and reading slowly with widened eyes

[An] exploration of love, obsession and the dark truths of motherhood

Reminiscent of We Need to Talk About Kevin, Ashley Audrain has delivered a provocative, compulsive novel about modern motherhood

Compelling . . . A disturbing and complex tale about dysfunctional mother-daughter relationships. It's not always an easy read but it's absolutely one you won't be able to put down

Included in 'Books for 2021'

The mother of all thrillers! Like The Girl on the Train - but better!

Utterly mesmerising. Ashley Audrain's powerful debut novel explores the challenges of motherhood and the terrifying isolation of being trapped within a sinister truth that no-one else believes.

One of the most anticipated novels of this year . . . fast-paced, it has the ability to distract you from anything. Exactly what we need right now

Written with an unflinching eye and a stylistically sharp, tight economy The Push is a single-sitting read, as suspenseful as any thriller, as thoughtful as any literary novel, with an almost physical force behind each of its turns and revelations. By the end, the reader will feel wrung out in the way only the best of books leaves you. Audrain's debut is a stunning, devastating novel and, frankly, one hell of a way to start a year of reading

Included in 'Books to Watch 2021'

Hooks you from the very first page and will have you racing to get to the end

Included in 'Best New Books'

This is a sterling addition to the burgeoning canon of bad seed suspense, from an arrestingly original new voice

This taut and tense hurricane of a debut is best devoured in one sitting

This dazzling debut mixes page-turning suspense with a psychological drama

Once you start in on this story, it becomes difficult to control yourself. A twisted, tight, and exhilarating drama

This psychological thriller about a mother's bond with her daughter will keep you turning pages

This nuanced book challenges the notion of nature versus nurture, and whether a mother's love is enough. It's disturbing, painful and brilliant, holding a mirror up to society

The Push is a thriller that is also a compelling examination of motherhood and of how trauma is passed down through generations

A tense, chilling dip into the dark side of motherhood . . . The Push is uncomfortable and provocative, like a train wreck that demands your gaze

The most tense, thrilling read that will chill and enthral in equal measure

Disturbingly brilliant . . . will render you speechless

A page-turning debut crafted with shrewd expertise - read it before the inevitable screen adaptation

Unflinching, moving and very, very powerful

The clever and powerful psychological thriller everyone has been talking about . . . an unsettling, breathtaking and powerful read about obsession and our deepest fears that will stay with you long after you turn the final page

Audrain has the ability to mesmerise . . . heart-wrenching. A dark, pacy read

A compelling, visceral and bruising portrayal of motherhood that once read cannot ever be forgotten

A chilling and beautifully written novel that will strike dread into the heart of any new parent. The ending gave me goosebumps

A powerful debut about obsession and our deepest fears . . . will have you hooked

Exploring the dysfunctional lives of three generations of women, The Push deals with the way damage is handed down

A thought-provoking novel that delves deep into the emotional crevices of motherhood

Taut and gripping, this is a provocative look at motherhood

The Push is an unsettling and powerful read about obsession and our deepest fears that will stay with you long after you turn the final page

A gripping and vivid thriller . . . It's easy to understand why The Push has caught the attention of Hollywood film producers

Compelling

Remarkably told story which I couldn't put down. Deftly drawn characters...What a book! And the last line is creepy, haunting perfection

The danger that simmers throughout is so unbearably tense! A wonderful incisive look at maternal guilt ... the effect is staggering

Fasten your seatbelt because this book is a face paced, page turning, psychological drama that will have you on the edge of your seat until the very last line

Challenges the idyllic picture of motherhood, and will change what you know about being a mother. It is tenacious and really makes you think about what it's like when women aren't taken seriously

For fans of mum noir, The Push is an unsettling, breathtaking and powerful read about obsession and our deepest fears that will stay with you long after you turn the final page

This dark, psychological thriller offers such twists and turns that we start to doubt what we believe . . . And that sharp-intake-of-breath ending!

I didn't sleep for a week after I finished it, but that's a small price to pay for a great book

An unflinching examination of motherhood. Audrain lets no one in the Connor family off the hook, yet every character managed to elicit my sympathy. Brilliant, insightful, compassionate, and horrifying. I wish I could read it for the first time over and over. One of the best books I've read all year

One of the most talked-about books of the year. This nuanced psychological book will make you question the notion of nature vs nurture. Disturbing, painful and brilliant

This unsettling debut was so riveting it had me devouring pages and then reading slowly with widened eyes

Addictively readable . . . shines a disturbing light into the darkest recesses of motherhood

Compulsively readable

An unsettling, breathtaking and powerful read about obsession and our deepest fears that will stay with you long after you turn the final page.

A raw and visceral exploration of a mother-daughter relationship; a haunting and heartbreaking novel that will leave you thinking about it for days after you finish the last page