Mindy McGinnis is one of my favourite authors of all time and so I was thrilled when I was offered an eARC of her latest title A Long Stretch of Bad Days by Harper Collins in exchange for an honest review. But, how did it live up to my sky-high expectations?
This review originally appeared on The Nerd Daily.
Lydia Chass doesn’t mind living in a small town; she just doesn’t want to die in one. A lifetime of hard work has put her on track to attend a prestigious journalism program and leave Henley behind—until a school error leaves her a credit short of graduating. Undeterred, Lydia has a plan to earn that credit: transform her listener-friendly local history podcast into a truth-telling exposé. She’ll investigate the Long Stretch of Bad Days: a week when Henley was hit by a tornado and a flash flood as well as its first—and only—murder, which remains unsolved.
But Lydia needs help to bring grit to the show. Bristal Jamison has a bad reputation and a foul mouth, but she also needs a credit to graduate. The unexpected partnership brings together the Chass family—a pillar of the community—and the rough-and-tumble Jamisons, with Bristal hoping to be the first in her family to graduate. Together, they dig into the town’s worst week, determined to solve the murder.
Their investigation unearths buried secrets: a hidden town brothel, lost family treasure, and a teen girl who disappeared. But the past is never far, and some don’t want it to see the light. As threats escalate, the girls have to uncover the truth before the dark history of Henley catches up with them.
Publication Date: 13th April
TW: death, murder, missing teen, assault, violence, sexual assault, blood, alcohol and drug use, animal death, gun use, poverty
My Thoughts:
A Long Stretch of Bad Days by Mindy McGinnis takes a titan of the genre and demonstrates just why she is such a compelling storyteller.
McGinnis is one of those authors that just never fails to completely sweep me away in her claustrophobic, tense and intensely atmospheric stories. The sheer power of her prose is unmatched. Her books burn with fury at the world, particularly in the ways it mistreats teenage girls. A Long Stretch of Bad Days is no exception to this rule, particularly focusing on the idea of the ‘perfect victim’ and how those who do not fit this criteria are ignored and forgotten. McGinnis has a lot to say about class, stereotyping and who is considered worthy of investigation and justice. Bristal Jamison is someone who has been defined by her name and background, with long-running town-wide assumptions about her family stemming from their class and home. Even Lydia falls for those assumptions, having to unlearn her own expectations and ingrained lessons. In this town, your name is everything. This creates huge divides and levels of expectations, with resulting imbalances of power and privilege. I found this thread fascinating, with your name defining your fate in the eyes of the town.
Trying to break out of that is near impossible, endearing me to Bristal instantly as someone trying to break the mould she has been forced into. It also helped that she was an extremely funny and charismatic character, with wit and plenty of heart. She deeply cares, though she may pretend not to. On the other hand, Lydia is initially blinded by her position, used to getting her way and succeeding. When this slightly chips, she gets pretty defensive and those internal prejudices come to the surface. However, you get to know her true passions and how this academic project becomes something that she will pursue at all costs. That drive for justice is commendable. I also love how McGinnis always creates such complex and flawed characters. She does not allow her teenaged girls to be pigeonholed or dismissed as vapid caricatures. They have grit beneath their nails and stones in their hearts. For me, they are devastatingly real and raw, drawing me to them endlessly.
McGinnis never fails to create books that are compulsive reads. They leave you tearing through them until the early hours, as the sun begins to break. Her pacing and ability to create tension is fantastic. This is no exception with an interesting spin on true crime podcasts and twists that leave you reeling. The way past and present mesh is interesting, with a mediation of what might have been. There is a lot of discussion around privilege, power and particularly around who controls the narrative. The way this wider discussion feeds into the plotline is incredible, leaving you with so many thought-provoking topics for future discussion and debate. I always love how wrapped up in McGinnis’ web I become. There are plenty of layered twists and turns that rip the flooring out from under your feet and upend everything that has come before. Every character has a suspicion cast over them and I was questioning everything that happened. Also, I loved how this investigation had real stakes and consequences. In such a claustrophobic small town, digging too far will unearth buried secrets and deep seated feelings, which boil over into outrage and even attacks. This, combined with Lydia’s dad’s subplot of taking on a vehemently hated client as a defence lawyer, creates a sense of every step having repercussions. You know this will all come back around and can only brace for the impact.
A Long Stretch of Bad Days is an incredibly compelling book, combining social commentary with slick storytelling that leaves you trapped in McGinnis’ complex web.
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