Details for 'The Long, Long Afternoon' by Inga Vesper
The Long, Long Afternoon
A wonderfully atmospheric mystery. A housewife goes missing one stifling hot summer, in the suburbs of 1950s America.
Recommended in November 2020
My review:
When Joyce goes missing there are fears for the worst. Her young children have been left unattended and there's blood all over the kitchen. Police detective Mick Blanke and Joyce's maid, Ruby, are determined to find out what's happened. But are they able to join forces? And who is responsible for Joyce's disappearance?
An extraordinary novel. It is wonderfully atmospheric of 1950s domestic, suburban America in this page-turning mystery, while also delicately explores racism and sexism prevalent at the time.
I was so sorry when this book came to an end.
A beautiful cover, and a fabulous book. Here's hoping this author will write much more.
Date of my review November 2020
Read by Woodbridge Book Group on 27th September 2021
Meeting in person again after the lockdown break, this was a lively and happy discussion about a book that delighted as a page-turner for its murder mystery and atmospheric setting. The themes of racism, feminism, mental health, child abuse and drug dependency were all handled sensitively by the author, though some felt she'd tried to do too much.