Mystic River - Dennis Lehane

This book is so much better than the film! The first Dennis Lehane book I read was A Drink Before the War, which I loved because of its atmospheric quality. This is continued in his other novels, this one included. The writing is very visual, and you can see how it was considered ideal for a film. Somehow, Lehane manages to put intensely vivid pictures into your head while you are reading, although this is unexpected because it is not wordy or arty. The book is very much about family values, looking after one's own, keeping outsiders out. It is set in the 'wrong' side of town, which is controlled by a sort of mini-mafia. This is set against the crisp clean ...

Sean Devine, Jimmy Marcus and awkward hanger on Dave Boyle grew up together in a blue collar district of Boston. When they were 11 years old one of the boys was abducted within sight of the others with long reaching consequences for them all. My library has placed a handcuffs sticker on the spine to denote a detective story. However, Dennis Lehane's Mystic River is much more. An absorbing novel as well as detective story, this book also becomes ultimately a pschychological thriller which drew me on through its 500 pages without any loss of impetus. The abduction is a prologue and we return to South Boston 25 years after the incident with ...

1975 - three 11 year old boys Sean Devine, Jimmy Marcus and Dave Boyle were friends. They hung around together and played in the streets. One day a car pulls up. Two men emerge, saying they are policemen and that the boys are causing a nuisance and they need to go home. Two of the boys lie and say they live in the street but Dave Boyle gets into the car with the men. Four days later he?s found at an Esso gas station, having escaped his kidnappers. Something terrible happened during that time but nobody knows what and they certainly don?t want to talk about it. Sean and Jimmy suffer guilt as their friend ...