When word of mouth on thriller writers among aficionados is particularly good for a certain author, that's a reason to pay attention. But when similar acclaim comes from fellow practitioners, readers really need to mark their cards. Dennis Lehane has become a must-read novelist on the strength of such gritty and forceful thrillers as Darkness, Take my Hand and Gone, Baby, Gone. Praised for his taut, carefully orchestrated story lines and expressively drawn, vulnerable characters, Lehane is the kind of writer who has achieved his position by stealth rather than massive advertising campaigns.
The new book, Mystic River, confirms his status as one of the most vigorous and skilful American talents in years. Childhood friends, Sean, Jimmy and Dave have their lives changed when a strange car turns up in their street. After one boy gets into the car and two not, a terrible event happens which terminates their friendship and changes their lives. Twenty-five years later, Sean is a homicide detective, while Jimmy has taken a criminal route. When Jimmy's daughter is found savagely killed, Sean is assigned to the case. And with his own personal relationships in deep trouble, he finds he is obliged to go back to the life he thought he had left behind, coming to terms with his ex-friends and a confrontation with a human monster. As psychological thrillers go, this one is non-pareil, and has to be read.
