
The Long, Long Afternoon (Hardback)
Inga Vesper (author)- We can order this from the publisher

Unerringly tense and suspenseful, Vesper’s 1950s-set debut wraps a searing examination of prejudice, misogyny and the broken promises of the American Dream in a compulsive mystery of disappearance and deadly secrets.
Yesterday, I kissed my husband for the last time ...
It's the summer of 1959, and the well-trimmed lawns of Sunnylakes, California, wilt under the sun. At some point during the long, long afternoon, Joyce Haney, wife, mother, vanishes from her home, leaving behind two terrified children and a bloodstain on the kitchen floor.
While the Haney's neighbours get busy organising search parties, it is Ruby Wright, the family's 'help', who may hold the key to this unsettling mystery. Ruby knows more about the secrets behind Sunnylakes' starched curtains than anyone, and it isn't long before the detective in charge of the case wants her help. But what might it cost her to get involved?
In these long hot summer afternoons, simmering with lies, mistrust and prejudice, it could only take one spark for this whole 'perfect' world to set alight...
A beguiling, deeply atmospheric debut novel from the cracked heart of the American Dream, 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 under-estimated.
Publisher: Bonnier Books Ltd
ISBN: 9781838772260
Number of pages: 416
Weight: 529 g
Dimensions: 222 x 144 x 37 mm
MEDIA REVIEWS
'Beautifully crafted, claustrophobic and compelling, Inga Vesper's skilfully woven suburban noir is as delicious as a long drink on a hot day.' - Stacey Halls
'A perfect read. California, 1959, a nation divided. In one stifling suburb murder plays out against a backdrop of racial & gender injustice. The desire for change rises from the pages like heat off a sidewalk' - Mary Paulson Ellis, author of The Other Mrs Walker
'Lose yourself in the twisted thrills of a 1950s marriage' - Glamour
'For fans of Revolutionary Road and Mad Men, this is an atmospheric tale of repression and style at the heart of the American Dream as a wife and mother disappears from her home leaving nothing but a stain of blood' - Stylist
'Vesper mixes a gripping plot with pithy views on class, sex and race.' - The Sunday Times
'A remarkably assured debut, The Long, Long Afternoon takes us into Stepford Wives territory' - The Guardian
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“Sharply written, dark humour, magnetic and just brilliant”
Wow!!! Utterly captivating and just brilliantly sharp. I loved all the characters for how complex they are written. It’s filled with that particular 1950s world view of misogynistic views and that awakening of racial... More
“Totally unputdownable....”
Yesterday I kissed my husband for the last time…” is the poignant opening line of this story which truly captures the political and social atmosphere of 50’s suburban America.
Under the perfectly manicured lawns,...
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“Three and a half stars - interesting debut”
What an interesting debut! Set in the 1950s in America where women are the little women in the home, there to serve their husbands and 'the help' must be neither seen nor heard. Blood in the kitchen and... More
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