1.17k reviews for:

Mystic River

Dennis Lehane

4.07 AVERAGE

ashleyntpaul's review against another edition

5.0

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So I got this book and Shutter Island at the same time, but I chose to read Shutter Island first. The movie came out more recently and was fresher on my mind, so I was more excited for it. Now, a year later, I’ve finally read Mystic River, and I’m almost mad at myself for pushing it off so long!

The book from beginning to end is just excellent. I was worried it would be boring, because I remember from the movie how dark and broody the tone was. But wow, I was completely wrong. You’d think there’s no way a nearly 500-page long book could keep your interest the whole time, I could barely stand to put it down. Lehane’s characters were so well developed, captivating, compelling, and real . And, let’s not forget, flawed. Deeply flawed.

I haven’t watched the movie adaptation in probably 20+ years, so I while I remembered the plot, I couldn’t remember the ending, though about 2/3 of the way through the book I picked up on a few clues they reminded me. And it was truly a blow to remember how the story played out. A brilliant and gut wrenching plot. And Lehane’s ability to weave in things like morality and socioeconomics without smacking you in the face with it was skillful.

My only complaint, and it is rather thin, was that I didn’t find Sean’s whole deal with Lauren nearly as compelling as the other characters’ storylines.

4.75/5 rounded up

drake1fb's review against another edition

4.5

adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: No

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

kindledrealms's review against another edition

4.25

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: No

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

scarroll633's review against another edition

4.5

dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

chachareads23's review against another edition

4.25

mysterious sad medium-paced

sehalpin's review against another edition

3.25

dark mysterious reflective sad slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: No

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

ctyotablue's review against another edition

3.0

challenging dark mysterious sad medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Plot

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: No

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

thebesteric's review against another edition

2.0

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Good story.  It probably makes a better movie than a book.  I think that's what Dennis Lehane does best; Shutter Island was practically a screenplay.

alexisgracev's review against another edition

4.0

dark emotional mysterious reflective tense slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Plot

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: No

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

towanda000's review against another edition

4.0

challenging dark emotional sad medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: No

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes