The sunniest places hold the darkest secrets. Yesterday, I kissed my husband for the last time . . . It's the summer of 1959, and the well-trimmed lawns of Sunnylakes, California, wilt under the sun. And at some point during the long, long afternoon, Joyce Haney vanishes from her home. Ruby Wight arrives for work at Sunnylakes that day expecting the usual: chores she despises, sore joints, prejudice from her employers. And at least some kindness from Joyce. Instead, she encounters two terrified toddlers and a bloodstain on the kitchen floor. Joyce is missing. Detective Mick Blanke, recently transferred to the area, is assigned the case, but before long he realises it is Ruby who holds the key to this mystery. She knows more about the secrets lurking behind the starched curtains of Sunnylakes than he ever could . . . The Long, Long Afternoon is a riveting mystery from the cracked heart of the American Dream.