The Long Night (Christian White, Affirm)

Christian White’s The Long Night is a tense psychological thriller driven by a chilling kidnapping premise. Nineteen-year-old Em is abducted in a moment of vulnerability following what should have been a promising first date. With her daughter’s disappearance, Jodie’s carefully curated life slowly unravels, and she will stop at nothing to bring her home. As their stories unfold, one truth becomes clear: Em’s survival rests with Jodie. Told through the women’s alternating perspectives as they face the retribution of their own ghosts, White (The Ledge, The Nowhere Child) evocatively captures their fear and mounting desperation, instilling a visceral sense of isolation and urgency. The novel is set against an impressionistic backdrop of encroaching darkness, as the forests and suburbs around the small town of Talowin seem to close in. Each chapter propels Em and Jodie deeper into a world haunted by trauma and guilt that reverberates across generations. To confront their own personal harrowing purgatories, they must find resilience and strength in themselves and each other. With no promise of redemption or forgiveness, they must reckon with the cost of their choices to survive the night. The Long Night is a story of family, love, blood and violence for fans of cinematic yet grounded thrillers such as Chris Hammer’s The Valley, Jane Harper’s The Survivors and Karin Slaughter’s We Are All Guilty Here.

Books+Publishing reviewer: Mark Johnson is a freelance designer passionate about storytelling across all mediums, and previously worked as a bookseller. Books+Publishing is Australia’s number-one source of pre-publication book reviews.

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