seraphjewel 's review for:

Mystic River by Dennis Lehane
3.0

I really enjoyed Shutter Island, so of course I wanted to read another of Lehane's books. This one isn't a psychological thriller as much as a regular murder mystery. I didn't mind it since the book was really good about building suspense and keeping me guessing on who did it. This book did not end happily, which I think is perfectly fine sometimes. And while I did enjoy it, I can't say I liked it as much as Shutter Island.

I think what I like least about the book is the overall conclusion of it: that people are fated to be a certain way, and even if they do try to change their natures ultimately win. When the boys were children, their characters were set up a certain way: Sean was the privileged do-gooder, Jimmy took risks and broke rules, and Dave was the piece that didn't quite fit. And they still were those things as adults. While it's true that things you do in the past leave a mark on you, they don't have to define who you are for the rest of your life.

I also didn't much care for how the class system worked in the story. How it was the ones from the poor parts of town who were the criminals, how the characters were predominantly white, and how a half Puerto Rican young woman was the victim of the brutal murder. Although it's possible all of this was on purpose to show how bad the system is for some people.

With all that said, I did enjoy the book. As I mentioned, the build-up was wonderful. I particularly liked how each character's story was given in small pieces so the reader could look into their thoughts while still not knowing the full story right away. Though while I wish there'd been a little more foreshadowing of who did it before the last third, I can understand why there wasn't much.

Overall I feel this was a good book. It provided a great murder mystery while also giving some social commentary and questioning the nature of people and how events can shape a person's life forever.