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August 14, 2008
Mystic River - Dennis Lehane
Mystic River - Dennis Lehane
Book 33 in my 52 books in 52 weeks in 2008
I like a good thriller once in a while - not too many, but when my mind is chock full of lightspeed spaceships genetically enhanced mutants, sometimes I need a break, and I find these kinds of books light relief.
This one hit the spot nicely and was another of my beach reads on my annual holiday. I chose it because I have seen Lehane's name around the bookshops for years, because I've heard good things about the Clint Eastwood movie it was made into, and because it was very cheap in a secondhand bookshop.
"One of the finest novels I've read in ages" says the blurb on the back. Well, let's not get carried away shall we - that reviewer obviously has poor judgement or has made some very unlucky choices in books lately. It's a competent thriller, no more, no less. It tries to be more, tries very hard, and almost succeeds. Maybe the film managed to distil the best parts. Don't get me wrong - it is a good book and I enjoyed reading it a lot. At over 500 pages it isn't short but it kept me going with no flagging.
The story is about three men, who suffered a trauma as boys, and drifted apart. But as adults living in the same neighbourhood, they are all still connected, and become more so when a murder is committed. One man is a cop, another a criminal, both want to solve the crime their way.
It's tense stuff, and you'll be kept guessing what really happened all the way. So enjoyable definitely, like an episode of CSI or Law and Order, but it's no Godfather.
Posted by se71 at August 14, 2008 10:44 PM
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