The Long and Faraway Gone – Lou Berney

A while ago I purchased  the Kindle edition of Lou Berney’s book The Long and Faraway Gone.. Like many of the books I have purchase through Bookbub, it has been in my Kindle unread. Well, something made me take a look at it the other day and I start reading it.

It didn’t take long for me to get swept up in the story.   So for the last few days I literally did not want to put the books down. Last night it was getting close to midnight, as I was finishing the book.  I could barely keep my eyes open , but I was determined to finish. And finish I did, just on the other side of midnight exhausted but satisfied and not ready to go to sleep!

The Long And Faraway Gone’s Awards

The bottom line is the book is damn good! Which is the reason Lou Berney won the following awards……

Barry Award for Best Paperback Original (2016)
Macavity Award for Best Mystery (2016),
Anthony Award for Best Paperback Original (2016)
Edgar Award for Best Paperback Original (2016)

Characters and Plot

Wyatt Rivers a Las Vegas Private Investigator and Julianna Rosales a Registered Nurse in Oklahoma City are the two main characters in the book. Both are searching for answers concerning tragic events from their pasts.

Wyatt Rivers

Wyatt Rivers travels to Oklahoma City for a major client. He was hired to investigate the harassment of a former Las Vegas waitress, at the music venue she inherited from a man she had befriended in Las Vegas but otherwise hardly knew. The question is by whom.

But the trip also takes Wyatt back to his hometown and the summer of 1986 and a movie house robbery that left six of his friends dead. Wyatt  needs to find answers: How did the robbers really gain access to the movie theater? And why is he still here?

Julianna Rosales

Meanwhile, Julianna is likewise searching for answers. Her question is What happened to her sister Genevieve on that summer night in 1986?  The night Genevieve left her younger sister Julianna alone on the Oklahoma fairgrounds and disappeared into the night.

After twenty-six years the prime suspect in the case has resurfaced and Julianna will stop at nothing to get him to tell her what really happened that night.

Bottom line

Once again the bottom line is that The Long And Faraway Gone is a terrific book. A wonderful tale  featuring two characters that you can root for. Two characters searching for answers concerning tragic incidents that have mystified them and disturbed their lives for years. The reader is, as puzzled as they are, until the last pages of the book. From Kirkus Review:

 Berney’s novel is most truly a thoughtful exploration of memory and what it means to be a survivor. Elegiac and wistful, it is a lyrical mystery that focuses more on character development than on reaching the “big reveal.”  Full Review

So Check it Out!

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