Rating: 
Summary: A Fateful Friendship
Review: Destiny throws together three young boys, and their childhood friendship eventually leads to murder.As youths, Sean Devine, Jimmy Marcus and Dave Boyle become pals. While hanging out at Sean's house one weekend, a car approaches. One of the boys gets in the car and disappears. During the four days he's gone, no one know what the men inside the car did to him, but everyone suspects the worst. Twenty-five years later, their lives cross paths again. Sean is now a homicide detective. Just off of suspension and struggling with the recent failure of his marriage, he throws himself fully into the investigation of a new case -- the murder of Jimmy's daughter Katie. Jimmy's life has been far from easy. He grew up on the fringes, engaging in criminal activities that eventually landed him in prison. But he turned his life around, and was in the process of running a successful corner store and living comfortably with his wife and three daughters when Katie is killed. Dave has also had a bit of trouble. He can't seem to keep his life in order -- his work history is spotty, his drinking is getting worse and for some reason, he can't stop driving by parks and public swimming pools. His marriage seems to be on the rocks until the night he comes home, covered in blood, and announces to his wife that he just killed a mugger. Katie's death would appear to be the central focus point of the story, the thread that links the lives of these three men together. And yet, in truth, their fates were decided long ago, on the day a car rolled up and two men demanded the boys get inside. "Mystic River" is a stand-alone tale with many twists and turns. Since all the clues are clearly presented, attentive readers will surely have the whole plot figured out by page 300. The book separates itself from Dennis Lehane's previous mystery series about two private detectives working in Boston. The pace of
"Mystic River" is much slower, and the writing definitely feels more "literary." Lehane has a knack for pulling the reader into his stories. He writes like a chess player -- each character's move is carefully planned and executed. All of the characters, even the "bad guys," have qualities that endear them to the reader. Be sure to clear your schedules when reading this book. It takes a bit of time to
read, but you're not going to want to put it down.
Rating: 
Summary: Wonderful writing in a thrilling story
Review: I felt like I was reading a mystery, a psychological thriller, a pathological crime novel, and a family story all in one. The characters are easy to have an interest in and the story grips you because it really a who-dun-it type mystery and you don't know which way it goes. The writing is excellent and the the scenery is described so well that I highly recommend this.
Rating: 
Summary: No Redeeming Value
Review: "Mystic River" received reviews that caused me to request it from the library, and I eagerly awaited its arrival. To my dismay, the novel has turned out to be, in my opinion, a story of dark and ugly dimensions with no redeeming value. When I concluded it, I wondered why I had bothered. After only a short way into the book, I put it down -- then decided to keep at it because of the reviews -- surely, I thought, it will get better. Yes, the author can write -- but to what purpose, except to horribly intertwine a number of characters in a hideously sad tale. Were it a Stephen King novel, one could put out of mind some of the more gross aspects of the story -- but this story is written within a reality context and therefore the sheer ugliness of the plot only depresses. I have rated the book 2 stars and not just 1 because the author does write realistic dialogue and tells his story in an adequate manner. But please, don't bother to read it if you don't want to be saddened and depressed, and very much let down at its conclusion -- sorry, "no redeeming value."
Rating:
Summary: Great read
Review: Mystic river was very hard to put down and it was finished in a day. I love Dennis' style of writng the book was very dark. It seemed not a soul in that town stood a chance. It kept you guessing and on your feet. I don't want to give anything away but you don't necessarily feel bad or sad for the "bad guy". I totally understood where he was coming from and I liked how he turned out. In a sense he helped the guy along with the demons he was batteling. I love the dialogue between the detecives especially. Mystic River is a great read.
I also enjoyed "Prayers for Rain". I think your're a fine writer.
Rating:
Summary: This book drags
Review: Perhaps if I'd grown up in NYC I might find this work more interesting...as it is, I have to agree with the other reviewer who found the characters too two dimensional. Also, when a writer gets technical details wrong, it tends to put me off and the plot becomes as a cardboard facade - I begin to see "the man behind the curtain". For example, a female character decides she will destroy evidence by taking off the grease trap under the sink and cleaning it (wouldn't pouring bleach or something through the pipe do this?). She manages this with a LUG wrench. I'd like for someone to explain how one could use a lug wrench to remove the elbow from under the sink. Sheesh.
Rating:
Summary: A disappointment
Review: I had been anxiously awaiting this book after reading Mr. Lehane's previous titles. Unfortunately, this book was not worth the wait. The characters could have been interesting, but they seemed a bit two-dimensional.
Rating:
Summary: Didn't see it coming
Review: This book kept me guessing. Everytime I thought I had it figured out, something else would change my mind. This book was recommended by a friend who wanted to see if I could figure it out before page 300. I couldn't. This is a good, fast read!
Rating:
Summary: Excellent
Review: I loved his earlier novels but Mystic River surpasses them all. Lehane flaunts his ability as a writer with incredible characterizations and a gripping plot. Disturbing, thoughtful, and incredibly well written - I couldn't put it down.
Rating:
Summary: Hard to put this book down..
Review: I read this book in 3 sittings. It was, to me, a murder mystery. There were a lot of side trips along the way, but, bottom line, it is a Who Done It? I vaguely remember I solved it at one point, but figured I was probably wrong. Anyway, this writer is good at developing his characters. They are tragic and doomed, but you feel as though you understand them and know them. You feel lucky that certain events in your own life went right and you feel sorry that most of the events in the characters lives didn't. I can remember once when I was out late at night in the 60's and for some reason I locked my car doors when I dropped off a friend. Someone tried to get into my car at the very next light. I always wondered "what would have happened if I didn't lock that door?" Mystic River is about not locking the door.
Rating:
Summary: This River Runs Deep
Review: Mystic River is tough-guy crime fiction that also somehow manages to be lyrical and poignant. The characters are deep, thoughtful, emotional, almost too real in their complexity. Each has his own hard set of problems or horrors to cope with. There's a cop with a spousal relationship problem, an abused kid with a serious adjustment problem, an ex-mobster with some terrible secrets. Their stories sometimes collide and sometimes run together, eventually converging into a deep and fascinating mystery. The pace starts somewhat slowly, but the tension increases as the story unfolds, then refolds onto itself, then unfolds a little more. I generally read more typical thrillers, so the slower pace of this book took a bit of adjustment. But that pace enables Lehane to write with a degree of depth and detail that renders the tension greater, thicker and ultimately more troubling than the typical mystery. Parts of this novel reminded me of the in-your-face, street-wise style of Chandler or Hammett; other parts evoked questions about morality and criminality more likely to arise in a college discussion of Dostoevsky. Yet the story is seamless, fluid: like a polluted but powerful river that will run through your psyche well after you think you have finished this novel.
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