Long Way Down: A Thriller by Lisa KuselPublication Date: October 21, 2025
Pages: 320
Add on: Goodreads
Buy the Book: Amazon
Rating: ★★★★
Source: From the Publisher
Genre: Fiction / Thrillers / Crime
Publisher: Crooked Lane Books / Penguin Random House
She thinks she’s marrying the perfect man. But nothing is as it seems.
Perfect for fans of Rachel Hawkins and Darby Kane, this suspense-packed novel entangles readers in family lies and shocking secrets that will leave you breathless.
Deni Rydell believes her life is finally about to change for the better just as soon as she marries Cal Cooper Jr., heir to a massive California mining fortune.
When Cal and his parents perish in a plane crash, Deni’s dreams are shattered. She’s hoping to find solace with Cal’s brother Grant, who only recently returned to the small town of Gold Hills after a year’s stay in rehab. Too bad Grant is caught up trying to please Erika, the mysterious woman he brought home with him.
Meanwhile, Gold Hills detective Robyn Torres is assigned to investigate a vicious murder which she assumes to be a drug robbery that turned deadly. The deeper she digs, though, the clearer it is that she couldn’t be further from the truth. Soon enough, Torres begins to uncover a series of disturbing family secrets and dark lies connected to the Cooper family that threaten to destroy everything Deni knew to be true.
Story Locale: California
REVIEW
Lisa Kusel’s Long Way Down drops you into the quietly menacing world of Deni Rydell, a woman who thinks she’s about to land her happily-ever-after with Cal Cooper Jr., heir to a massive mining fortune. It’s set in a sleepy Northern California town, but the calm is a mirage; underneath, secrets fester and greed simmers. The story begins with a murder that unravels a web of family lies, forcing Deni to navigate a danger she never saw coming.
Deni is the kind of character you root for and worry about in equal measure, determined but naïve, chasing a better life while the ground shifts under her feet. Cal and his family bring the privilege and baggage, and Kusel uses their tangled lives to dig into what happens when ambition outpaces trust. The book leans hard into psychological suspense, trading car chases for slow-building tension and atmospheric dread.
The writing is sharp, the mood claustrophobic, and the secrets come out in a steady drip, keeping you off-balance. If you love thrillers that are as much about what’s happening inside people’s heads as what’s happening on the page, this one’s for you. Some might wish for a faster pace, but Kusel’s focus on character and atmosphere makes this a standout. Long Way Down isn’t just twisty, it’s totally unhinged, in the best possible way.
