Moonlight Mile

By: Dennis Lehane

Narrated by: Jonathan Davis

“[Lehane has] emerged from the whodunit ghetto as a broader and more substantial talent....When it comes to keeping readers exactly where he wants them, Mr. Lehane offers a bravura demonstration of how it’s done.”
—New York Times

Moonlight Mile is the first Patrick Kenzie and Angela Gennaro suspense novel in more than a decade from the acclaimed, New York Times bestselling master of the new noir, Dennis Lehane. An explosive tale of vengeance and redemption—the brilliant sequel to Gone, Baby, Gone—Moonlight Mile returns Lehane’s unforgettable and deeply human detective duo to the mean streets of blue collar Boston to investigate the second disappearance of Amanda McCready, now sixteen years old. After his remarkable success with Mystic River, Shutter Island, and The Given Day, the celebrated author whom the Washington Post praises as, “one of those brave new detective stylists who is not afraid of fooling around with the genre’s traditions,” returns to his roots—and the result, as always, is electrifying.

Smart, asks and answers some tough questions.

What made the experience of listening to Moonlight Mile the most enjoyable?

You've gotten to know and care about the main characters, and Lehane writes about not only what they do but why, and that makes this series so good.

What other book might you compare Moonlight Mile to and why?

The Ian Rankin Rebus series is very different, the culture in particular, but the struggle of a moral person to do the right thing is similar.

Which character – as performed by Jonathan Davis – was your favorite?

Patrick Kenzie

A brilliant book. His best by far.

If you could sum up Moonlight Mile in three words, what would they be?

That's (a) goofy question.
This is about the eighth book I have read by Mr. Lehane, with (I believe) Jonathan Davis narrating all of them, although maybe not. In any case, this book is a powerful demonstration of all of the gifts of both of these men. I will also note that this book is half the length of his standard book, and I think it's no coincidence that it's the best of the lot. The plot covers a lot of distance, but it never gets out of control, even when we are treated to the monstrous Russian gangsters who do truly unspeakable things. Prepare yourself for that. The gore is a little over the top, but I will grant him license (as if he cares about whom I grant what) because both the stories and the characters are all brilliantly written. In addition, Mr. Lehane maintains his extraordinary descriptive ability when it comes to almost all aspects of his beloved Boston. And Mr. Davis is likewise fantastic at reproducing the many Boston accents and sub-dialects, the sounds of the streets, and even of the suburbs, although this last is the least of his concerns. I won't give you the plot, as it is much too complicated, too multi-faceted to describe in such a small space; plus, you deserve to have the pleasure of discovering it yourself. I do wonder about several things, which gives you something of an idea of how these books and their characters have come alive for me. In Moonlight Mile Patrick and Angie have a four-year-old daughter, Gabriella. They are married. And I think it is not spoiling it to reveal that at the end of the book Patrick decides to leave his profession. You have to wonder if Mr. Lehane will develop some other characters, or what. I'll be glad to see. The Drop is also a great book, and it does not belong to the Kenzie-Gennaro series.

Who was your favorite character and why?

I think it is not unfair, this being fiction and all, to merge Patrick and Angie together into one character, which in some great marriages comes very close to that. They are both fully human, warts and all. They both want their version of the American dream, and the both struggle mightily with the obstacles in the way of attaining the dream. The passion between them is a gorgeous thing to listen to: both Mr. Lehane and Mr. Davis are artists of the first order in writing about romance, often an extremely difficult thing. The fun that they have with little Gabby is delightful. It reminds me of when my sons were children. The only real cartoon character is Bubba, and I'll give him that. Like Hawk in Robert Parker's books, there has to be a mysteriously powerful guy who can swoop in and yank the damsel off the railroad tracks.

Have you listened to any of Jonathan Davis’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

I have only listened to Mr. Davis narrating Lehane's books, about eight of them now. He is great in all of them. I will look for some other author's work with Mr. Davis reading, but he is so perfect in these that it's a little hard imagining him in another world completely. If he can master accents of places other than the Boston area, I would say that he is truly a gifted gentleman.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

The end of the book is very moving, but there are quite a number of scenes in which the passion/friendship/partnership that exists between Patrick and Angie comes fully alive. I sure wish I could write like that.

Any additional comments?

If you enjoy mystery/thrillers, this should be a delightful experience for you. Save the twice-as-long novels for later. This one and The Drop are some fine, fine entertainment.

Endurance

Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?

Not particularly

What didn’t you like about Jonathan Davis’s performance?

Contrary to a previous reviewers remarks, I did not like the Boston accent - attempted Boston accent. Another issue, but a big one is that Massachusetts town names are notoriously difficult to pronounce correctly based on spelling alone. Mr Davis falls into the typical pitfalls. What I don;t get about the accent is that he didn;t attempt to do the accent in previous novels. Why now?

Other than the accent I like Davis's performance.

If this book were a movie would you go see it?

No. Nothing happens - all conversation and narration.

top notch

great story, memorable characters. Narration perfect for the setting. I want to share with friends.

Felt like LeHane was Pressured

At the end of Prayers for Rain, Patrick and Angie are back together, and it's a good end for the series. Moonlight Mile feels like LeHane was pressured, either by fans or his publisher, to crank out another Kenzie and Gennaro to answer the question of what became of Amanda McCready.

I won't spoil the book, but this definitely doesn't feel like a book the author wanted to write.