The Long Ago

By: Michael McGarrity

Narrated by: George Newbern

Growing up in Montana, siblings Raymond and Barbara Lansdale held their chaotic world together through their shared childhood fantasy of The Long Ago: a distant place where happiness and tranquility reigned, far from the dysfunction at home. But imagination only goes so far. To escape his painful past, Ray joins the army and finds a career that gives him a sense of purpose and the promise of adventure.

Recent news of his kid sister's disappearance brings Ray home on leave before beginning a stateside assignment almost certain to send him back into the jungles of Vietnam. Determined to find Barbara despite a police investigation that has led nowhere, Ray embarks on a relentless search that takes him from the majestic Montana ranchlands and glitter of Hollywood to the mean streets of LA and beyond. As time dwindles, he must confront his worst nightmare. What if Barbara's search for The Long Ago ended in a shallow, unmarked grave, not in the carefree life she'd once so longed for and imagined?

A spin-off from McGarrity's nationally bestselling Kevin Kerney family saga, The Long Ago is a richly crafted and enthralling story of grit, determination, and the enduring, restorative strength of love.

©2023 Michael McGarrity (P)2023 HighBridge, a division of Recorded Books

Fantastic!

I’m a fan so this is biased. Great story! I found myself wanting to find out where the story led like it was an action mystery. The characters are colorful, the connections to the past are real and nostalgic, and the tragedy breeds hope. I hope Mr. McGarrity continues this series and continues to entertain us for a long time. We’ll worth your listen

the mystery

enjoyed much the nostalgia of the timeline, the era was most of my adult life. wasn't crazy about the reader. he is good with different voices for sure, but doesn't "act" enough emotion for highly dynamic scenes like very good or bad news, rare sexual scenes, birth, death, he just continues on rather same, flst, unexciting fashion.

Kind of boring

The performance is pretty good, but the story doesn’t really go anywhere.
I did not care about any of the characters and didn’t even remember who was who .

Irritating plot

As much as I usually enjoy mcGarrity’s books, this one I found cloyingly dull, with uninteresting characters, cheesy dialogue and annoying plot elements. The biggest plot point was the missing sister, who was not really missing. If not for her thoughtless, inexplicable attitude, a quick call or letter to her loved one’s would have saved all concerned a lot of needless trouble and heartache.