"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.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for my copy of Gone Too Long by Lori Roy. The synopsis of this book really caught my attention but I was nervous to read it due to today's current issues. The topic was a little to real for me. I struggled to read this book and ultimately didn't finish it. I really struggled following along with all the characters and kept confusing people for different people until I finally gave up. This is one that I'll hold on to and probably give it another chance down the road, but for now it's on my did not finish list.

‘Gone Too Long’ by Lori Roy is a character sketch that is wrapped up in historical facts and a mystery. Set in Simmonsville, Georgia, it is about a clan called Ku Klux Klan and people who are against everything they stand for and yet, their lives are intricately entangled with them.

Imogene, with her horrid past, is the primary narrator of this story. She is joined by Beth, the victim of a gruesome kidnapping, whose personal experiences are sure to affect your fragile heart. Imogene is against Ku Klux Klan, but how does she run away for something that is deeply rooted in her family? Her father was the chief of the clan and after his death, it’s his son who has to carry the mantle.

This story throws light on violence against race through Beth’s story and Imogene’s personal encounter with the clan’s members. The insights into their conscience build up the story perfectly while maintaining a secretive and violent atmosphere. The story is accompanied by true-life facts, events and a brief history of the KKK which makes is all the more real.

Imogene’s conflicting emotions and her struggles to break away from the family ties is explored in depth. But even then, the book feels cumbersome at places. Most characters, especially the clan members contributed very little to the plot and that slowed down the book. Nonetheless. this thriller cum character sketch is worth a read because if you have ever had conflicting emotions over something that contributed immensely to the society, you’ll find the protagonist very relatable.

Tracing a legacy of hate in America would seem a daunting task for any writer, but Lori Roy makes it look effortless in her new novel, Gone Too Long. Instead of attempting to address this in an epic way, Lori Roy distills her examination down to one family – The Coulters – and their surrounding community, thereby making the all-encompassing history intimately personal.

Arguably, Gone Too Long is the story of Imogene Coulter, a woman who has spent her life trying to escape the clutches of the specter that infects her family: the Ku Klux Klan; but it is also the story of Beth, a ten-year-old girl who, through no fault of her own, finds herself trapped – imprisoned – in the basement of the Coulter patriarch’s hideaway. It is these two women who will expose the insidious nature of hatred that taints the Coulter bloodline.

The Knights of the Southern Georgia Order have long been led by a member of the Coulter family, but when Imogene’s father dies, that control is threatened when another member of the Klan vies for power. Since the group’s sole purpose is hate and violence, this type of instability certainly poses a dangerous risk to everyone in the vicinity.

On the day of her father’s funeral, Imogene’s mother tells her she discovered an electrical wire leading to a rarely used building on the property. Going to investigate, Imogene is stunned by what she finds behind that basement door – a door that is secured with no less than three locks, leading to a darkness silhouetted by a single bare bulb. 

Seven years earlier, Julie Anna was babysitting Beth when a strange man broke in, hell-bent on a violent mission. When the dust settles, Beth finds herself unsure of where she is and held captive – receiving “visits” a few times each week. As years pass, this becomes the norm for Beth, until one day maybe there is a light at the end of that tunnel.

At every turn in this engrossing novel, Lori Roy defies expectations. Readers will go in expecting one type of story, but what is presented will not be that. In an effort to remain spoiler-free, nothing more can really be said about the plot. However, it is clear that Imogene and Beth are characters that will live in the reader’s minds for a very long time. They epitomize humanity, in all of its flawed but hopeful gloriousness, in a way that makes the reader want to be a better person.

Lori Roy is a two-time Edgar Award-winning author – the only woman (to date) who has won both the Best First Novel and Best Novel categories – so there is no question that she can write. Her style is lyrical yet realistic, at times bordering on gritty, but never calling attention to itself and always in place to serve the narrative. Whereas some authors would have used the touchstones of the Ku Klux Klan timeline as moments to pass judgment, Lori Roy keeps those “chapters” journalistic in nature, allowing the reader to draw their own conclusions and reflect on how that history impacts the story of Imogene and Beth.

Gone Too Long is a novel about the lasting legacy of hate, the ripples created in a pond, echoing far into the distance, and how one person can break that chain changing lives in the process – both in the fictional world and in the world of the reader.