A review by browniydgrl1
Long Time Gone: A Novel by Hannah Martian

4.0

Long Time Gone by Hannah Martian was a dual timeline missing persons/murder mystery with a heavy dose of personal trauma for our two main characters. Quinn's estranged aunt went missing, and the unaccounted-for aunt's ranch hand, out of desperation, contacted her to return to the ranch to help locate her. Quinn was sent away from the ranch 8 years prior without explanation, so she wasn't keen to return.
Hunter considered Cora family after she was taken in by her when hers were killed in an accident. Quinn became a private investigator after she was sent away, and so became Hunter's last hope of finding Cora.
Their lives are mysteriously intertwined with a cold case murder the small conservative town of Wonderland, WY, wanted everyone to forget about.
Enemies-to-loves (though I am not exactly sure why they were enemies), Quinn and Ice-queen Hunter, had to unravel these mysteries and struggle with their baggage as they bonded over their past and present experiences.
There are some heavy topics such as homophobia, child rejection, abandonment, shading dealings, excessive drinking, murder, death of a loved one, religious oppression, and childhood trauma. 
The passion between the two mains was palpable, although the actual spice was off page. It worked well. The twisting dual mysteries were engaging, and I didn't expect the ending. 
The bittersweet ending gave closure and hope for the future.
I enjoyed the writing style and alternating timelines. The present-day perspective was delivered from Quinn's (foul-mouthed) point of view and worked for me. 
Long Time Gone was an immersive, quick read. I was wrapped up in the story from beginning to end.
This felt like a debut novel with some of the pitfalls associated with that. There were some unanswered questions, etc. However, overall, I highly enjoyed it, and this author has tons of potential. I would absolutely sign up to read more from them.
#smalltown #conservativetown #Wyoming #enemie-to-lovers #traumabonding #dealthofalovedone #religiousoppression #homophobia #childrejection #abandonment #icequeen #excessivedrinking #dualtimeline #murder #ranchhand #privateinvestigator #bittersweetending #hometownreturn #city/rural #fishoutofwater #touchheranddie
I received this free ARC from NetGalley. This is my honest opinion.