Mystic River

By: Dennis Lehane

Narrated by: Scott Brick

Length: 15 hrs and 24 mins

Publisher's summary

When they were children, Sean Devine, Jimmy Marcus, and Dave Boyle were friends. But then a strange car drove up their street. One boy got in the car, two did not, and something terrible happened - something that ended their friendship and changed the boys forever. Twenty-five years later, Sean is a homicide detective. Jimmy is an ex-con. And Dave is trying to hold his marriage together and keep his demons at bay - demons that urge him to do horrific things.

When Jimmy's daughter is murdered, Sean is assigned to the case. His investigation brings him into conflict with Jimmy, who finds his old criminal impulses tempt him to solve the crime with brutal justice. And then there is Dave, who came home the night Jimmy's daughter died covered in someone else's blood. While Sean attempts to use the law to return peace and order to the neighborhood, Jimmy finds his need for vengeance pushing him ever closer to a moral abyss from which he won't be able to return.

©2001 Dennis Lehane (P)2003 HarperCollins Publishers

About time!

It was about time I read this and it was excellent. The writing was incredible, the story gripping, and the character development was outstanding. This may have been one I should have read and not listened to because the narrator made every character sound the same. All of the characters' lowest common denominator is their grittiness, but not all of them have to talk like the are exasperated and have gravel in their throat. No matter, read it or listen to it!

One of the best books I've ever listened to/read.

Unless I'm so far out of the reading game that my opinions are completely irrelevant, I believe I'd be accurate and justified in saying that they don't make stories like this anymore. This is one of those rare books where you'll want to shush your friends and loved ones while you listen. You'll want to call in sick from work so you can concentrate on the rich character development. I can't believe I haven't read this story before now, but it was enough to keep me from canceling my audible subscription because I felt like I just couldn't come through the weeds long enough to find a book worth reading. What a masterpiece of storytelling and omniscient narrative this was! A definite top 5 favorite for me. 👏

So much better than the movie ...

As it adds a ton of character building and their thoughts. In fact, if I had read the book first, I would have been disappointed by the movie; the book and performance add so much more.

Great listen! One minor complaint in production.

Loved the storyline and performance.
The only thing I didn't like was that transitions between chapter sections were too fast. A few seconds pause would be nice to give the listener a chance to realize that there is a change in characters coming. Instead, I'd find myself having to rewind to find when the book transitioned from Sean to Jimmy, for example.

Good. A little slow, maybe.

Lots of scenery and character development. Decent story. Sad. Interesting endings to each of the pieces/relationships

Great Book

I have always enjoyed the movie and found that the book was even better. The narrator was perfect for this book and did a very good job.

Wow!

Extremely talented writing and character development. I felt saddened as I Iistened to the last couple chapters. It seems tragedy beget tragedy and I could imagine this happening in the world these characters existed in. Glad I listened but not left with a good feeling at the conclusion. Narration was perfect!

a modern classic

I figured out the mystery in this book pretty quickly, although,I do think that was intentionally done by the author as the "whodunnit" part of this book seemed very secondary to the characters and how they navigated through the aftermath of the murder. I had a lot of fun with this story and will definitely read/ listen to more of this author. As always Scott Brick made the story come to life in the best way.

Tragic and Amazing

I've never read Dennis Lehane before. He is an amazing writer. I felt the joy, the anguish, the tragedy of this book. Scott Brick was a great choice of narrator. I find I like the way Mr. Brick narrated books earlier in his career. He seemed to give a more nuanced performance. I loved this book

Excellent story

Scott Brick is one of my favorite narrators and he does not disappoint once again.