Mystic River
Books | Fiction / Literary
4.4
(1.4K)
Dennis Lehane
There are threads in our lives. You pull one, and everything else gets affected. When they were children, Sean Devine, Jimmy Marcus and Dave Boyle were friends. But then a strange car pulled up their street. One boy got in the car, two did not, and something terrible happened - something that ended their friendship and changed all three boys forever. Twenty-five years later, Sean Devine is a homicide detective. Jimmy Marcus is an ex-con who owns a corner store. And Dave Boyle is trying to hold his marriage together and keep his demons at bay -demons that urge him to do horrific things. When Jimmy Marcus' daughter is found murdered, Sean Devine is assigned to the case. His personal life unravelling, he must go back into a world he thought he'd left behind to confront not only the violence of the present but the nightmares of his past. His investigation brings him into conflict with Jimmy Marcus, who finds his old criminal impulses tempt him to solve the crime with brutal justice. And then there is Dave Boyle, who came home the night Jimmy's daughter died covered in someone else's blood...
Whodunit
Thriller
AD
Buy now:
More Details:
Author
Dennis Lehane
Pages
526
Publisher
Bantam books
Published Date
2006
ISBN
0553818244 9780553818246
Community ReviewsSee all
"Had never read any previous work by this author, but this book is hands down incredible. Fantastic interlocking web of 3 men who find themselves in a butterfly effect like story. "
ky 🐦⬛
"I was bored during the middle but just push through its so so so good "
Evelyn Gerber
"Where as Lehane’s Shutter Island takes its tension from a secluded mental facility, Mystic River takes its tension from the quiet and connected suburban neighborhoods in every town and it’s horror from the secrets the people we trust most may be hiding."
J W
Jacob Wynkoop
"If it’s not evident by the fact I blew threw this novel, I really enjoyed it. Don’t get me wrong, it was DARK. And I wasn’t sure I loved the writing until I got into it, but once I did it became one of my favorite things about the book.<br/><br/>At the risk of sounding cliche, this story really did sweep you along, much like the eponymous river itself. The dialogue was snappy, and at some points the narrative veered toward stream of consciousness, but pulled back before getting muddled. It’s a jarring way of writing, but it meshed so well with this story. <br/><br/>As for the mystery, I admit I did figure it out (right at the halfway mark, I even bookmarked it for proof), but there were so many disparate parts that I didn’t mind seeing how it all played out. The characters grabbed a hold of me, and though I tend to go for the straight-lacers, I will say I was most invested in Jimmy. <br/><br/>This is my second go around with Denis Lehane (I started with his most recent novel as an intro) and I really enjoyed it. Now I’m dying to see the movie based off of this!"
A P
Allie Peduto
"I loved the movie when I saw it years ago, but for some reason the book didn’t quite do it for me. Maybe it’s because this type of mystery/detective/noir type story is spoiled once you know most or all of the twists, but I found myself not buying into certain parts and a few of the clunkier bits of writing and heavy-handed dialogue irritated me. There were plenty of skillful sections that delved into the psyches of the deeply flawed characters, though, that supported the story and were enough to keep me interested and engaged."
Matt Chinworth
"Intense, but awesome!"
Michael Young
"Absolutely 💯 "
Caroline Granger
"Thank you. I have several. The Shadow in the Wind (Carlos Ruiz Zafón); Gone Girl (Gillian Flynn); Big Little Lies (Liane Moriarity); Little Fires Everywhere (Celeste Ng) and, if you like a little scary, Mr. Mercedes trilogy and The Outsiders both by Stephen King. Enjoy. Let me know your thoughts on these."
O D
Olga Dominguez
"I think my favorite book is The alienest by Caleb Carr. Also pillars of the earth by Ken Follett. "
Peter Crafts
"Thriller"
Izak Sheinfield-Kandel
