This period in the recent US history is not the most comfortable of settings. The racism and misogyny make for uncomfortable reading and so unfortunately my view of the book was coloured by them. The plot was fairly predictable but the way the author set the scene was very good. I felt so hot and lethargic at time I think I would have made a good police officer of the time.

I found The Long, Long Afternoon a really easy read and read it in two sittings.
It's the summer of 1959, and the well-trimmed lawns of Sunnylakes, California, wilt under the restless sun. At some point during the afternoon, Joyce Haney, wife, mother, vanishes from her home, leaving behind two children and a bloodstain on the otherwise immaculate kitchen floor.
The opening of the book is captivating and it is interesting to hear from Joyce, the victim herself, and from  Ruby Wright, the "help", who has so much to say but also so much to lose. It was an appreciated attempt to give the character some depth.
Despite being a mystery /whodunnit, The Long, Long Afternoon deals with different topics such as segregation, racism, feminism and drug addiction, which I enjoyed but occasionally found them a bit forced.
I definitely liked the twist worthy of Boccaccio though, that is something I wasn't expecting.

Thanks to NetGalley and Bonnie Books for the ARC

I absolutely loved this book. The cover alone would probably persuade me to buy it. It’s evocative and draws the reader immediately into 1959s America. I remember watching TV as a child, fascinated by anything and everything American where things seemed so much bigger and brighter than in cold, post war Britain.

The setting is almost palpable; it’s easy to picture the scene and feel the heat. This veneer is quickly blown away and the mystery of the disappearance starts to unfold. It’s really well written and totally absorbing. I didn’t know quite what to expect from this debut; it’s genuinely engaging, carefully plotted and I was absorbed. An author I’ll watch out for.

My thanks to the publisher for a review copy via Netgalley.

“Yesterday, I kissed my husband for the last time."

Sunnylakes, Santa Monica - a town whose radiant name and shimmering skies belies the truth. Look a little closer and you will see what the residents try to hide; a place crawling with deep, dark secrets. Secrets that are slowly unveiled after Joyce Haney disappears from her home in the town one sunny August afternoon leaving behind a bloodstained kitchen and two frightened little girls.

Wow. Just, wow! I can’t believe this mesmerising book is a debut. Inga Vesper is a talented wordsmith who has woven this layered, intricate plot into a work of art. The prose is witty and poetic, transporting me to 50s suburbia and its sexism, misogyny, and racism. The author also delves deeply into the historical side of the era, examining topics such as the aforementioned sexism and racism, as well as society’s view of women’s roles, civil rights, domestic abuse and mental health. It is a book that would make a perfect film or TV series and the imagery is so vivid that I felt like I could see the bright blue California skies, feel the sun beating down and the sweat forming at every pore. It was so vivid I felt like I was watching it on the screen in front of me; a mash-up of Mad Men and Perry Mason.

"The world stops. Her breath sticks in her throat. A cocoon rises up around her, drowning out all sound. She can do nothing but stare at what is in her hands. So small and delicate and terrible."

Stepford wives and fake smiles is what springs to mind when I think of the women of Sunnylake. And it is soon clear that Joyce Hanley didn’t quite fit the mould. We get to know Joyce through the eyes of her husband, friends and maid and from the woman herself, in glimpses of her that fateful August day. She is an enigma. A presence that lingers on every page. But it’s a chorus of many voices who tell this story, and the author has created a wonderful melody for us. We have Frank, Joyce’s husband who is your typical fifties man. Nancy Ingram, Joyce’s neighbour and best friend. Mick, the detective searching for Joyce. And Ruby, the Hanley’s maid who first raises the alarm about Joyce’s disappearance. Each character, and all of the supporting cast, are richly drawn and compelling, but it was Ruby and Mick I enjoyed reading most of all.

Atmospheric, beguiling, lush, claustrophobic and evocative, The Long, Long Afternoon is a decadent piece of classic noir. Don’t miss this breathtaking debut from an exciting new author who should be on everyone’s reading list.

I loved this book and couldn't put it down. It's a fantastic evocation of time and place, and the story had me gripped from the start. The characters are well-drawn and realistic, and Ruby in particular is very believable. I will be recommending this book to all my friends, and I would love to see it as a film!

Hmmm, what can I say about this book ? I really liked it, it reminded me a lot of book ‘The Help’ which I really enjoyed enormously.
I thought the author had really captured the characters and the essence of what it must have been like back to live back then.
I give it 9/10

I loved reading this book, raced through it. The story is a ' who dunnit' , set in America of the 50's. It touches on lots of issues that were relevant back then, and still are. Domestic abuse, murder and racism all mixed up with a touch of the Stepford Wives and Big Little Lies. One of the main characters is Ruby a domestic servant who is a victim of 50's racial abuse, but despite that, is determined enough to make her voice heard, when she senses the injustice of what's happening to others around her. I did work out the ending, about two thirds of the way though, and I agree with others, in that the detective seemed a bit slow to come to the same conclusion. Thoroughly recommend this book.

Having read the synopsis, I was keen to read this debut novel. Told from 3 different view points, the writer has you hooked from the beginning. There were times when I thought I knew who the culprit was but then I would question my thinking. This kept me thinking from start to finish and I will definitely be recommending to friends
Thanks to Netgalley for this ARC.

Very good. I enjoyed this mystery set in LA, it was well written and Ruby, one of the main characters, was very believable. The description of suburban life was well described and I thought it was great.

Murder and racial tension in 1950s California. Nothing is quite as it seems in Sunnylakes, California. On the surface, all is calm and civilised. Underneath, flow deep undercurrents of discontent and inherent racism. We meet depressed Joyce and her young black maid, Ruby. Joyce, though well off doesn't seem to care much for her two little daughters Barbara and Lily, is unhappy in her marriage to Frank and keeps a dreadful secret from her husband. Ruby is poor but harbours a wish to go to college, if only she could afford it. Joyce has a smart house in a leafy suburb, while Ruby lives in cramped rooms on the wrong side of town. Joyce can't comprehend that Ruby has to wash under a fire hydrant because she has no shower at home.

The other main characters are Joyce's nosy neighbour, Mrs Ingram (the neighbour from hell) and Detective Mick Blanke, keen to make up for his past mistakes. Vesper's writing is lyrical and atmospheric. An enthralling thriller which builds up to a dramatic climax.

The Long, Long Afternoon is an atmospheric, engaging story set in the American 50s. The characters are well drawn in this mystery and are used well to dramatise the misogyny and racism of it's time and to underline the fact that, unfortunately, in a lot of respects not much has changed in these regards in the ensuing years.

thank you to netgalley & the publishers for providing a copy in exchange for an honest review

When a housewife goes missing, the family maid, Ruby, and a new to town detective find themselves wrapped up in a mystery more complicated than they were counting on.

What a mixed bag! This was a difficult read, in the sense the racism and misogyny were so prevalent and inescapable that it was often upsetting. That's no mark against the book though, as it is undoubtedly accurate to the time period (and lets be honest, only marginally different from today). The biggest issue I had is with the character of Mick. In short, I hate him and hated reading from his perspective. Pretty much every man is misogynistic in this tale, it's just a sliding scale of how bad it is. Ruby was a great character though, and I wouldn't have minded if it was 100% in her perspective.

Another reason I'm not rating higher than 3 stars is the conclusion. It was pretty obvious the whole time what was going to happen, so the big reveals weren't all that shocking. And the actual conclusion was messily written and abrupt.

The Long, Long Afternoon has everything I want in a book: a greta insight into the time and place in which it was set, wonderful characters and a terrific mystery that kept me guessing. I loved the way in which it transported me to 1960s America and highlighted the plight of both he white middle-class women and the black women and men of the time. The detective was warm and flawed and the plot was suitably gripping. A great read!

Set in America in 1959, this debut novel has everything from that time. The woman’s place was definitely in the home, the white man was powerful and those of colour were treated as servants and second class citizens. A real ‘whodunnit’ that had twists which left me intrigued and kept my mind thinking. But even when I wasn’t reading it, it was still in my mind and I couldn’t help but think of how some things have changed over the last 60 years but how much more we as humans need to do about those that haven’t. Very thought provoking. Thank you to NetGalley and Bonnier Books UK, Manilla Press for letting me read and review this book.

It's been a while since I read a mystery book. In "The long, long afternoon", we embark on the journey of trying to uncover what happened to Joyce Haney. I was captivated by the first sentence, but it didn't last long.

I found this book to be full of cliches (e.g., the detective with the turbulent past that needs to prove himself), and I was annoyed by this. I didn't think the twists and turns were surprising, and I easily figured out who the killer was early in the book, at which point my main reason to continue reading was to know if I had got it right or not, but I wasn't really invested in the story at that point.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for my ARC.

This was a very lovely and quick read, with strong voices and greatly developed characters. I really fell for the character of Ruby who gave a strong sense of what it's like to be a black woman in the American 50s.
The first chapter immediately gripped me, but unfortunately I found the plot a bit predictable, which kept the suspense fairly low to me (which might be down to me reading too many books and plots at the moment!)

The Long Long Afternoon is a story with intrigue, with secrets and lies, with civil unrest and racial tensions, interwoven with the case of a missing woman, Joyce Haney. It reminded me very much of the Sinner, with a flawed but honourable detective in the shape of Mick Blanke.

Each of the main players tells us the story, and the details unfold in a wonderfully rich and complex manner.

Ruby, 'the help' is the star of this story, and the developing relationship of trust that develops between her and Detective Blanke was so well-written, and certainly moving. She is able to uncover the truth where all others have failed, and I thought she was just brilliant. The characterisation was so well crafted, the storyline so well thought out, and the ending so satisfying that I have to say The Long, Long Afternoon has proved to be one of my favourite reads of 2021 so far.

The Long, Long Afternoon – Inga Vesper

There are two things I love – true crime and well written mysteries and this book serves up both. I’m convinced this is inspired by an actual unsolved mystery… I’m sure I saw a Buzzfeed Unsolved that was literally the disappearance aspect of this book?
Anyone else know what I’m talking about? Housewife vanishes from her home, blood in the kitchen, kids asleep upstairs? Just me?

It’s the summer of 1959, and the well-trimmed lawns of Sunnylakes wilt under the California sun.
At some point during the long, long afternoon Joyce Haney, a seemingly happy housewife and mother, vanishes from her home, leaving behind only two terrified young children and a bloodstain on the kitchen floor.
With the stifling heat of Tangerine and the gripping pace of Little Deaths, The Long, Long Afternoon is at once a page-turning mystery and an intoxicating vision of the ways in which women everywhere are diminished, silenced and, ultimately, underestimated.

Ok, so I’ve thought of another thing I love: Bougie Rich People Drama. This has that too.

So basically, this book had me at the blurb, when I saw this on netgalley, I knew it would be right up my street and I could not have been more right. This book was literally everything. We have middle class families, gossipy neighbours, a grizzly, disgraced cop and the hired help who sees everything. Each chapter is told from a different character’s perspective and slowly, the truth starts to unravel and it is OH SO SATISFYING to see. It was super fast paced and had just the perfect amount of mystery – like seriously, I did not see the reveal coming! It didn’t try to be too clever and send you on a whirlwind, it didn’t try to be too ‘of its time’ and it didn’t try to be too woke either – it was like the perfect combinations of flavours in your favourite dish – everything was equally measured and distributed.

If you’re on the hunt for a good mystery to keep you entertained during the current lockdown, this one is a great option. It’s one of the strongest debuts I’ve read and I can’t wait to see what Vesper does next!

The Long Long Afternoon

A immaculate 1950’s Californian neighbourhood where the men go to their offices and the wives keep home and attend their ladies social gatherings. What can possibly go wrong? A blood stained kitchen, a missing mother and children found alone by domestic help Ruby Wright, are just the start. As Detective Mick Blanke begins to investigate, layers of veneer are slowly peeled away, revealing dark secrets previously hidden within this community. Rising above racial bigotry, which sadly still resonates today, Ruby’s perseverance in searching for the truth, leads to a thrilling and pulsating finale.
More of a 1950’s vibe could have been an advantage, however, the pace of the story is maintained throughout, by each chapter looking at the developing situation from a different protagonist’s viewpoint.These well drawn characters, cinematic setting and the compelling need to know the outcome, lift this book above many a police procedural.

An incredibly atmospheric book with high running emotion from the discovery of the mising woman, the arrest of her cleaner, based purely on the colour of her skin, and the stullifying atmosphere surrounding the community and the way they interact with each other.
A really clever mystery with clues dropped then retracted throughout, leaving you guessing both means and motive.