Rating: 
Summary: An excellent book, and excellent reading thereof
Review: I have a pet peeve. I wish that audiobook readers, when confronted with words, usually place names, that they obviously don't know, would find someone to tell them the correct pronunciation. For example, Narragansett is not pronounced na-RAH-gun-set. Nor does Leominster have any sound like "Leo" in it. I only mention this because yes, it's a pet peeve, and it only serves to jerk me out of the flow of the book as it's read. However, now that that's off my chest, please let me say that Scott Brick did an excellent job of bringing this book to life for me. The book is dense with description, and I think it would be easy to become lost in it. However, it all builds rich layers to characters that, however flawed, I came to care about. Toward the end of the book I found myself in tears, which doesn't happen very often. Every time I'd put the book down (stop the tape, actually), it would stay with me until I'd pick it up again. I needed to know what would happen next. I've read A Drink Before The War, and I enjoyed it tremendously. My next task, and one I look forward to, is to go back and read Mr. Lehane's other books. I will also eagerly await Mr. Lehane's next book - he's an excellent writer, and is not to be missed.
Rating:
Summary: lehane at his best
Review: I almost didn't buy this book because it wasn't a Kenzie/Gennaro mystery. All I can say is I would have missed out on a top notch novel by a great author. If your a fan of his other novels I strongly suggest you try this one out. You will not be disappointed!
Rating: 
Summary: What goes around, comes around
Review: This is my first LeHane novel, and I don't think it will be my last. His writing is tight, clean and his characterization is sparkling. You really get to know these people in depth without chapters devoted to each personality. You know exactly what you need to know to flow with the story and the plot. There is no waste of verbage here. It is a story on a story on a story and a good ending. The neighborhood reflects elements that we all come from and can relate to. The people are somewhat more violent than most neighborhoods, but the politics of the hood are general to all. I kept thinking throughout the story, plots and plans we are part of early in life ALWAYS COME BACK TO GET US sometime later in life. These sad and violent occurences do just that to this small community and group of people intertwined with a story early in life, played out during their lives, and subsequently forming, destroying or solving their lifes's complexities. Fabulous read!
Rating:
Summary: Another good job from Lehane.
Review: Dennis Lehane, Mystic River (Morrow, 2000)Lehane is still an "under the radar" writer, to an extent, but his reputation grows with each novel. Mystic River, his fifth, should help his rep along just fine. It's the story of three kids, later grown-ups. Ostensibly it's about the abduction of one of them and how the effects of that abduction have repercussions later on in their lives. But as with all the best mystery novels (and it's really something of a stretch to classify this as a mystery, actually), it's about a whole lot more than that-- class consciousness in the irish sections of Boston, the ways in which different people deal with traumatic situations, family connections, that sort of thing. If you're a diehard mystery fan, don't let my parenthetical in the last paragraph throw you off. There _is_ a mystery here (one of our boys, a homicide investigator, is tapped to solve the disappearance of the daughter of another of our boys, now a reputed crimelord, and our third boy is the prime suspect), though it takes a backseat to Lehane's exploration of his three main characters and the ways in which they interact with the world around them. It's different enough from Lehane's previous work that you should go in without expectations, but it's a satisfying read nonetheless. ****
Rating:
Summary: This is one fantastic writer
Review: I've read Lehane's Kenzie and Gennaro detective series and couldn't put them down. I've found the same thing in Mystic River. Same gritty type of voice, but not in the first person. Lehane makes you feel like you are in his scenes. He certainly has his views about certain things that he slips in, but Lehane doesn't preach. He just delivers high-quality stories.
Rating:
Summary: One of the best writers today....mystery or otherwise!
Review: Mystic River is proof that Dennis Lehane's talent is not limited to his popular mystery series, but comes alive in stand-alone novels such as this one. I can't wait to see what he writes next. This is only the second book I've read by Dennis Lehane, but I plan to read everything now! Lehane is a master at drawing and developing his characters, in creating people we wish were real and some we're thankful aren't. His dialogue is tight and lean and smart. He gives the sense of knowing the neighborhoods and the temperments of the people who inhabit them. If you love mystery, or just love great reads, pick up any Dennis Lehane book today!
Rating: 
Summary: Good start but lost it in the ending
Review: I am a great fan of Dennis Lehane, with "Gone Baby Gone" one of my all time favorites. I was, therefore, looking forward to the release of this book. I can say that I'm a little disappointed, though. The beginning was good and the plot and characters were developing nicely. Once I got into it I found myself engrossed. Then, all of a sudden, it ended and there was no real explanation of why the guilty acted as they did. I could have given motive - in fact I guessed the "whodunit" long before I got there - but only the barest of motive was given by the author. It felt empty - all that build up and then, oh well, that's why the crime was committed. Maybe that was the idea by Mr. Lehane, to show that no big motives are necessary to commit such a heinous crime but I didn't connect that at all.
Rating:
Summary: Keeps getting better and better...
Review: Just when I thought Dennis Lehane had pigeon-holed himself with the Kenzie series, he comes out with another spectacularly written piece. While still set in Boston environs, Mystic River depicts the South Boston atmosphere with gritty realism. Lehane's character development, which always took a backseat to the action and the plot twists in the Kenzie series, takes center stage here, and nobody does it better. Lehane truly captures the essence of several protagonists, while winding up the tension to a great climax. Terrific piece--I can't wait for the next one (with or without Patrick Kenzie).
Rating:
Summary: I love Dennis Lehane!
Review: I had never read anything by Dennis Lehane before Mystic River, and as soon as I had finished it, I bought all the other books he's written. The writing is exquisite, and really captures the feel of Boston, where I live. I'm now in the middle of A Drink Before the War, and like Otto Penzler says, I'll be reading all the others right afterwards. In fact, I was lucky enough to speak to Mr. Lehane on the radio, and he told me the order to read his books. Read Mystic River right away!
Rating:
Summary: Wonderful
Review: I typically read while working out on the life cycle. Thanks to Mr. Lehane's book, my workout routine has improved quite a bit the past week or so! This book has it all...character development, human insight, moving dialogue, driving plot. You can identify Mr. Lehane's priorities in storytelling by how he reveals pieces of the murder mystery. While there's a build to each major plot revelation, there isn't a "gotcha, were you able to figure this out?" feel. The writing is far too balanced for that, though the plot revelations are exciting. Character is obviously a priority. He defines his characters beautifully. He shapes them so that they stay with you during and after the read, but he doesn't weigh them down with unnecessary prose that could be counterproductive to moving the story. You can identify with the "good" guys, the "bad" guys and the in-between, because lines of distinction are very blurred, and perhaps non-existent. The book makes you think, not only about the plot, but how these characters and events could occur in our own lives. Yet, it's an engaging read. It's hard not to want to get in the car and drive to the Flats and check out the neighborhoods. It's hard to believe that they don't actually exist. A wonderful work by Mr. Lehane.
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