Sisters’ paths diverge in ‘Long Bright River’

The complicated relationship of two estranged sisters who choose different life paths functions as a persuasive metaphor for their declining old neighborhood in Liz Moore’s outstanding “Long Bright River.”

Deftly plotted with strong, vivid characters, Moore’s fourth novel serves as both a solid work of crime fiction and an intense family thriller.

A street officer for the Philadelphia Police Department, Mickey Fitzpatrick patrols the Kensington neighborhood, an area once solidly middleclass. A “rapid economic decline” has left it overrun with addicts, prostitutes, the homeless and shuttered businesses and houses.

Mickey, a single mother, refuses to allow her rough upbringing to influence her parenting decisions as she also deals with the police department’s sexism and office politics. Her younger sister Kacey has succumbed to opioid addiction, working occasionally as a prostitute. Often, Mickey has had to arrest Kacey, adding to the sisters’ animosity.

In their own way, the sisters still care about each other. Mickey hears about Kacey’s activities from the local merchants and street people. Mickey’s concerns mount when Kacey disappears in the wake of several murders of other young women in Kensington. She uses her training as a beat cop to try to find the killer, fearing that Kacey might already be a victim.

Moore skillfully explores the sisters’ bond from their closeness during their toxic upbringing to the decay of their relationship that seems almost irreparable. The chapters “Then” and “Now” alternate from their childhood and young adult years to the present.

Their mother died of a drug overdose, and drugs eventually claimed their father. They lived with their maternal grandmother, who, at best, was unloving and often given to bouts of mental and verbal cruelty.

Moore delves deeply to illustrate how the sisters’ lives parallel what is happening in the neighborhood and how it is trying to rise above the morass that surrounds it.

As the main narrator, Mickey quickly emerges as an effective, appealing character determined to do better by her child and succeed in life. The sweet scenes of Mickey with her son contrast the street life that she witnesses daily.

She has based her life on “decisions, not chance.” Her intense need for privacy also has made her stubborn about how she reacts to others and causes her to make mistakes.

Although she takes risks, Mickey’s high intelligence and knowledge about how quickly a person can be dragged down by the street elevate her. Her determination to succeed as a cop is often in conflict with her naivete about office politics.

The clever plot and engrossing characters of “Long Bright River” set a high standard for the rest of 2020.

“Long Bright River” by Liz Moore (Riverhead, $19.50)