Long Bright River, Week 3

Welcome to Week 3 of the Online Book Club discussion of Long Bright River.

At the very beginning of the section, Paula, one of Kacey's friends from the streets, shares that the person going around and hurting the women on the street is a police officer. Did you think that was surprising? Do you think it's true? If it is true, do you think the perpetrator is one of Mickey's coworkers? Why didn't any of Mickey's superiors take her concerns seriously? Is everyone just covering up for everyone else? 

It was hard to read about all of the times that Kacey tried to get clean and then would relapse. Didn't you think that was really heartbreaking to read about? It was hard to read about how Mickey would have hope every time that things would be different, and then to read how disappointed she was once Kacey relapsed. Their relationship was so exhausting. 

I thought it was really nice that Mickey and Mrs. Mahon were able to get to know each other more during this section. I was really glad that Mrs. Mahon was willing to watch Thomas. She was a much more dependable person than Bethany. I think Mrs. Mahon will end up being the kind of supportive person that Mickey really needs in her life. I hoped that Mickey was going to make friends with some of the other moms in this section, but that wasn't the case. The whole birthday party was so embarrassing. Were you surprised when Simon was there with a wife? I was shocked. It made sense, then, why he stopped reaching out to Mickey. I did assume that he was the one visiting Mickey's house, but when he told Mickey that he had no idea where she lived, she believed him. Who is stopping by her house, then? Were you surprised when Truman revealed that Simon had been in trouble in the past for having inappropriate relationships with young women? It's sad that Mickey was just one of several who Simon took advantage of. Do you think Simon is the one that is attacking the women? 

Mickey did increasingly dangerous things in this section. I think the scariest thing was when she entered into the dangerous abandoned building by herself, looking for her sister's former boyfriend, Dock. She could have been killed so easily during that scene. Were you surprised that she was put under an internal investigation? She was being too bold and was doing too many things. I knew that someone would eventually realize that she was investigating by herself and would get her in trouble. I know that the fact that she is under investigation will not stop her from looking for Kacey. 

What did you think when Mickey came home and Thomas was gone? Did you think he had been kidnapped because of something she had overturned with the case? I was really nervous. I was glad it just ended up being Bethany acting irresponsibly. I think that incident was a wake up call, though. I hope Mickey decides to be more safe when she's working. 

This section ended with a cliff hanger. There were two huge reveals in just a couple of pages. Were you surprised when Gee shared that Kacey was pregnant? Why do you think that Gee said, "There's your baby," to Mickey? It seemed like a weird thing to say. It just seemed so mysterious. What did you think about the fact that Mickey's dad is not dead? I was shocked. Do you think he's going to come up in the next section? What do you think is going to happen with Kacey's pregnancy and Mickey's dad? Do you have any guesses about how the book will end? 

Before you go, check out the video below to hear Amanda Seyfried talk about playing Mickey. Do you think you will watch the series? 

Thanks for following along this week! I hope you'll leave a comment to let me know what you thought of the major reveals from the last couple of pages! Have fun finishing the book for next week!