In this Southern gothic thriller by a two-time Edgar Award-winning author Lori Roy, a daughter must fight against a family history of hate to save two young children and others.
... electrifying ... Roy has always been deft at creating suspense, but she hits a new level with this finely crafted thriller ... Imogene and Beth are strong female characters, and they’re more effective because Roy doesn’t make them into superheroes. Plunged without warning into extreme situations, like Beth’s abduction and Imogene’s discovery of a terrible secret, they don’t behave like they’re in an action movie, they act the way most people do under great duress. They’re confused, they’re disoriented, they’re paralyzed with fear, and that makes their resourcefulness all the more admirable ... Family relationships are key in Gone Too Long, and Roy develops them with believable complexity ... Roy crafts the book’s triple plots with skillful misdirection and sure timing ... a compelling thriller, and a story of how hatred and violence toward the other create a legacy that follows those who hate home.
... outstanding ... quietly unnerving ... Roy wisely avoids salacious violence while showing how hate creates a never-ending circle and the havoc it can wreak on families ... Roy has established a niche for lyrical prose in a noir story. Her standards continue in Gone Too Long, a formidable history of hate.
The quietly unnerving Gone Too Long persuasively looks at the legacy of violence and hate, and the responsibility to stop the festering bigotry and loathing ... Roy also turns her novel into a look at the banality of evil. On the surface, scenes seem harmless, such as a breakfast of homemade biscuits and gravy for neighbors and a woman measuring the distance between a man's eyes. But everyday situations like this are quietly chilling ... a formidable history of hate.
