Breakaway Books

Authored by Charlie Donlea; Published May 2024; Mystery

⭐️⭐️ / 🏖️🏖️🏖️🏖️

Sometimes, I set myself up for failure when I pick up a mystery to read. My brain has a tendency to go into overdrive and create twists where none exist, seeing ghosts behind every metaphorical corner. Reading Long Time Gone was a little like that–I kept thinking of twists that the author could have taken that would have made for a more suspenseful read.

Which is not to say that the novel lacked suspense–I read the last third in one sitting, despite being surrounded by the chaotic noise of my family. In Long Time Gone, Sloane learns more than she bargained for when studying to be a medical examiner. Taking her own genealogy test took her away to a land of rich family drama in the west, but I couldn’t help but think that the plot developed and resolved without surprise. I kept suspecting other characters would betray Sloane at the last second, but sadly, I think I read far more depth into them that they deserved.

As with many mysteries, my attachments to the characters did not run deep. I did enjoy Sloane’s newfound aunt and the brief tutorial she offered in developing old-school film, and it was clever to include it as a key element of the plot. The stretch of chapters featuring the development of the photos that captured a murder were some of my favorites in the novel–a great way to build up the suspense as the mystery resolved between the past and the present. 

However, apart from an enjoyment of their hobby photography, I can’t say I ever cared too much about Sloane or the detectives she worked with. The tension of novel began to increase when Sloane went out west to be reunited with her long-lost family, but it wasn’t quite enough to make me forget the clunkiness of the first few chapters in North Carolina, which felt like an extended workaround to explain get Sloane in touch with her relatives. I wish I had gotten to know Sloane a little better to feel more of a stake in how the mystery was resolved. 

But, if what you want is a quick page-turner thriller, Long Time Gone is a good choice—just don’t expect a long-term attachment out of it.