This was a heartbreaking story that I will never forget.

Beth is a 10 years old who lives with her alcoholic mother in Georgia. She’s told to stay in the house and not go to the door when she’s home alone just like any other child whose left home alone. One fateful day while at home with her babysitter, the babysitter does go to the door and opens it. This is the day Beth disappears and begins a horrendous journey searching for her.
Imogene Coulter’s family is known for its connections to the Ku Klux Klan. Edison Coulter, the man she calls her father , is one of the local leaders. He’s buried but his legacy with the Klan continues with his son, Eddie, his daughter, Jo Lynne, and her husband, Garland. Imogene tries to distance herself from her family. When she’s asked by her mother to get rid of a wire that leads to her grandfather’s house, she’s tragically pulled into the family’s past and history.
This book was dark and of violence against race. This isn’t a typical thriller but rather an in depth character study and that is hard to read at times.

An interesting plot but somewhat slow moving at times - well-written but I was a little disappointed in the ending.

WOW! Gone Too Long is one of those books you start reading and can't put down until the very end.

Well written the story of Beth, a Klan leader, and Imogene takes us on a roller coaster with an unexpected ending.

Looking forward to reading more by this author in the future.

"Gone Too Long" was a bit of a slow read and took me quite awhile to get through. I loved that there were real historical facts in this book but it was a tad disturbing. Solid three stars.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for a copy in exchange for an honest review.

A gripping and heart-wrenching story about a small town run and terrorized by Ku Klux Klan group of men and women. Seven year old Beth is taken from her home and held in a basement for years. Imogene, the daughter of a KKK leader find a child in that same basement and suspects her father of holding the child captive. As Imogene searches for the child's mother, she uncovers the truth about her family and their connection to the Klan.

Long and depressing. Ig you want to know what it is like to be raised within or be the victim of the KKK, then this is for you. I found the characters to be frustratingly slow. I may have not been in the mood for this kind of story. It just didn't hold me or sit well with me.

I received an advanced reader’s copy in exchange for an honest review!

This book was complex and heavy. It took me awhile to get through it all. Still worth checking out.

I am a member of the American Library Association Reading List Award Committee. This title was suggested for the 2020 list. It was not nominated for the award. The complete list of winners and shortlisted titles is at <a href="https://rusaupdate.org/2020/01/2020-reading-list-years-best-in-genre-fiction-for-adult-readers/">

Thanks to NetGalley and Penguin Books Dutton for a reading copy in exchange for an honest review.

In Gone Too Long, two-time Edgar Award winning author, Lori Roy, has written another compelling novel full of heart and quiet fury. It is first and foremost a tale of fractured race relations in modern America. Yet Roy eschews the broad-brush approach to the history of racially motivated violence in the US in favour of a more intimate, domestic drama. The petri-dish for this incisive exploration of domestic racial terrorism in the contemporary United States is a prominent Klan family, the Coulters. If a tale about the KKK in the 21st century seems somewhat anachronistic, Lori Roy reminds us that it is not. This is no simple tale of latent racism given permission to rear its ugly head by the racial epithets of the Trump era and Brexit, - although this has allowed a certain permissiveness in behaviour. Primarily, the racism Roy portrays is of a dynastic nature; a recessive gene of hate passed along multiple generations of hood-wearing, lesser-species of humanity. There are these threads in the story, of course. The struggles of a once kidnapped Beth and the anonymous child found on the property of the Coulter's all have their roots in this legacy of hate. But we also have Imogene Coulter and her mother who deny, and even defy, the unbroken continuity of their racial inheritance. Indeed, while the Klan are a distillation of all that is ugly and dark about humanity, in the context of Roy's book, they also come off as slightly absurd figures, out of step with the more liberating march of history. A dark, frightening tale for sure, but in Roy's tour de force of a novel, there is still hope... always hope.

Thought-provoking, mesmerising and compelling. Only Lori Roy could have written a novel about the racial tensions in contemporary America with such understated brilliance.

Thank you Netgalley for the opportunity to read Gone Too Long by Lori Roy. This is a deep and sometimes disturbing novel. Written in different POV's and timelines, the author tells a story of family trama and drama.
Imogene has always challenged her father's politics - he was a member of the KKK and when he dies, she discovers a secret room. It's not what she finds it's WHO and this opens a box of secrets that she is horrified by all the deep rooted family dynamics she uncovers.
Imogene wants to know the truth, but in knowing what happened, she may just put herself and family in harms way.
Good Book - 3 stars.

Finally read this book after so long but Kinda glad it waited. The story for me was a bit slow and took me awhile to read. It has a lot to take in though with even real historical facts which make it interesting and also this story very disturbing at points throughout the book.

Set against the backdrop of the KKK in present day southern Georgia, Lori Roy's Gone Too Long is a dark and haunting tale of family, secrets, and survival. When Imogene's father dies, secrets from his life as the leader of the local Klan group begin to unfurl. The most disturbing of all is a child locked in the basement of her father's getaway - a child that has a connection to a young girl whose family was a target of Klan activity and who went missing seven years previously. As Imogene tries to uncover her father's connection to this child, her family's secrets come back to haunt them in ways no one saw coming.

Gone Too Long is a taut, suspenseful thriller told in viewpoints alternating from present day to past. As Imogene follows in her deceased father's footsteps, trying to sort out his last days, readers are brought back to the day a little girl - Beth - went missing from her home. Beth narrates everything that happened leading up to today's events, which finds a child locked in a basement, and a family learning how little they actually know of each other, while Imogene navigates the aftermath left in her father's wake. Both parts of the book gel together to create a story sure to keep you on the edge of your seat.

Lori Roy has written an atmospheric novel, steeped deeply in suspense. Evocative and emotional, Gone Too Long is a story about the sins of the father and the long-held secrets people keep. Recommended for those who enjoy suspense stories with a literary flair.

I find it very difficult to read books set in the South that revolve around the Klan and its campaign of terrorism against people of color. This story revolved around the disappearance of a young girl years ago and a young woman in current time, who is trying to come to terms with her father's history of racism when she returns to her home for her father's funeral. What ties him to the past? And who is the young boy currently imprisoned in the basement of her father's old house? Years of rage and terrorism come to a head.

Im sorry but I have been able to get to this book yet, although I am hoping to read more of my back log of books next year. As this one has such great reviews it’s been added to be reviewed on my blog at a later date. Sorry

Being from the south.....I enjoyed reading this book. It contained interesting historical information about the KKK. I felt very sad but I could not put the book down. I will recommend this book to others.

A timely book a book about the insidious danger of racism the strength of a woman to overcome,So well written a book that drew me in kept me involved.#netgalley #penguindutton,

Another amazing piece of southern fiction by Ms. Roy. A timely story that shows just how insidious and evil racism is, and that this evil affects everyone. Wisely, Ms. Roy does not attempt to write from the perspective of a minority, but shows that this evil tears apart families.

This book captivated me from page one. I'll admit it was slow at times, but it was still griping.

Imogene's father is a Klan leader, and though she does not follow the Klan's beliefs, the rest of her family does. She is struggling after her husband and son were killed in an accident. After her father's death she finds a child being kept in her father's secret hideout.

This is also the story of Beth, who was kidnapped and held for years by a Klan member.

We spend a lot of time in each of these women's heads as they struggle to cope with their situations. These are both strong women who, while being vulnerable, do what they need to do to survive. The characters were very well developed and I was so anxious for them, turning the pages to find out how their stories would turn out. There was almost a psychological thriller aspect to the whole thing.

The narrative is also interspersed with pages about the history of the Ku Klux Klan, which is fascinating and definitely adds to the story. The author clearly did her research as the parts about the Klan felt authentic.

Overall, this book is harrowing, gripping, and timely. I found the writing compelling and the author did an amazing job with her ambitious mandate.

Call me crazy, but I am sick and TIRED of reading about the klan. Such a disgusting body of people and work, and though I find it important to document - count me out. I'm skipping this one.

I’m late to the game, and I don’t know how I missed this gem. Better late than never.
A heart wrenching story involving a missing girl Beth, and Imogene’s family, who is involved in the KKK. Such a great character study.