The Long Night

The Long Night by Christian White

Christian White has done it again, or has he? The Long Night is about Em and Jodie, with the chapters alternating between the two. All the action takes place over one night, hence the title. I have read other Christian White books and liked them, so I thought I would give this a go.

I quite liked the book when I started, and it moved along quickly. It was when the twist occurred that things got a bit murky for me.

Em is young and has aspirations of being a screenwriter, and there are references to horror movies throughout the book. Jodie is older and a successful artist. Em goes on a blind date with Holly, and things are going well. They are heading back to Holly’s place when something happens and they get out of their car to investigate. Em is kidnapped, and she believes Holly has been killed by the kidnapper. Meanwhile, Jodie, returning home to her city apartment after a successful art show, finds a man in her apartment who tells her that her daughter has been kidnapped.

What follows is the story of Em’s kidnapping and Jodie doing anything she can to get her daughter back.

This book touches on mother–daughter relationships and people escaping violent relationships. A warning: there is a lot of violence in this book.

There is a twist, as Christian White’s books tend to have, and it might not be what you are expecting. My personal thought is that he was trying to be too clever with this twist, and I am not sure he achieved what he wanted. I would be interested to know what you think.

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