Mystic River, Dennis Lehane

Yep, more reading. Looks like this is going to be a good year for clearing off my too read list. Who am I kidding though? Iam buying them faster than I am reading them, even at the 1+ a week clip I am going at.

I saw Mystic River in December when it was in the theaters. I thought it was a good movie although I thought Sean Penn over-acted some. Turns out not so much. Looks like Clint Eastwood stuck pretty close to the book, including the parts that I thought had been over-acted. So I suppose I can't blame it on Penn.

Dennis Lehane's book, Mystic River is also pretty good. Definitely better than your run of the mill mystery novel. As kids, Jimmy Marcus and Sean Devine watch as their friend Dave Boyle is abducted by fake cops who later molest him. Years later, Sean Devine is a cop and Jimmy Marcus is an ex-con who owns a convenience store. Dave Boyle lives in the neighborhood and is married to Marcus' sister-in-law. Except they are no longer really friends. They see each other every once in a while in the neighborhood. Marcus daughter Katie is murdered the same night Boyle comes home bloodied after a supposed mugging. Devine is a detective assigned to the case.

What I liked about the book is similar to what I liked about the movie. None of the characters are stock good guys or stock bad guys. The book explores the guilt Devine feels over letting Boyle into the car. It shows how Marcus is alienated from those around him, but manages to straighten himself out from the path he was on and become a loving father and husband. Boyle is permanently down on his luck, but because of the molestation has a core that is hard and dangerous. The best part of the book is how the murder and other events around each forces each to face the demons.