Reviews with content warning for Death - Mystic River

This my first time reading Dennis Lehane but it will not be my last. I enjoyed the dialogue, characters, and unique twist this book developed along the way.

Content Warnings

kylielace's review against another edition

Go to review page

I absolutely hated this book.

- Victim blaming galore. Also the stupid sentiment that all children that were sexually abused grow up to be pedophiles? Disgusting and so inaccurate and insulting.
- It was pretty racist. Like the author was trying to state the character was racist, but something felt off and the book itself has a whole lotta racism in it.
- The writing style is not for me. The author is trying to hard to be smart and make the reader think. Also character POV changes with a new page break?? It doesn’t work and is distracting.
- The killer is not surprising.
- Video games = bad. The fact the cops think the killers are killers because they see it in video games? So dumb.
- 2 sex scenes in this book. At the beginning and the end. Both time the wife starts it after finding out their husband committed crime. So gross.
- Speaking of the woman characters…. They had no agency of their own. Just an of the male characters. Just tells me the author can’t write women.
- The cops…. ugh. Putting them on a pedestal as the “good guys” and basically can do no wrong. One of the main characters has an 80% silver murder rate. Yeah, i’m not buying it.
- The epilogue was not needed. No one cares what these characters are doing after.

So yeah. I def do not recommend this book.

Content Warnings

cady_sass's review against another edition

Go to review page

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Stunning and heartbreaking. Admittedly I may be biased given that this takes place literally in my backyard, although some of the neighborhoods are fabricated, but the setting is eloquently articulated and is so true to life. This feels so deeply of Boston. Having lived basically on Deer Island for so long and walking it every day, but never knowing there was a prison here, I thought it was made up. I then fell down a rabbit hole learning about my hometown and I learned a LOT! There’s so much history here, but woven into gripping fiction. It’s a tad dense but everything written is intentional and the story comes together masterfully in the end, messy and broken but final. Highly recommend.

Content Warnings