Book Review: Mystic River

Crime dramas are always fascinating (if done right). Exploring lawlessness, murder and suffering that are violent and visceral in nature, Dennis Lehane's Mystic River is nothing but terrific, gut-wrenching and offers unparalleled psychological insight into the minds of three friends - Jimmy Marcus, Dave Boyle and Sean Devine. The story begins in 1975 when they were still kids and spent their time goofing around in Boston. Jimmy is of a rebellious type while Sean is the opposite, quite afraid of incurring his father's wrath. Dave, on the other hand, is just a rubber-stamp who hangs around with them. His opinions are never taken seriously and neither Jimmy nor Sean look up to him as their close friend. But the fact is that none of the three wanted to be friends with each other.

Jimmy, being brought up in a poor side of the city called the The Flats, despises Sean, who has a better upbringing and lives in The Point. Dave, who too is from the same place as Jimmy, loathes the fact that he is so spineless unlike the other two of them. Despite all the animosity and hate inside, they outwardly go on with their camaraderie out of no other choice. One day while fighting over a trivial matter, a car pulls up not far from them, and thinking the men in the car are cops, they stop the fight. One of the men, learning that Dave is from The Flats, asks him to get into the car after admonishing them for their street fight. And Dave vanishes only to return after four days, having escaped from the clutches of his hebephile captors.

The Dave who comes back after the abduction gets aloof and becomes the butt of all jokes and is humiliated by his classmates. The three supposed friends - Jimmy, Dave and Sean drift apart slowly and twenty-five years later a murder ties up the estranged chums together. Sean is now a detective with Boston PD, Jimmy, after mending his criminal ways, leads a straight life running a neighbourhood store, while Dave is a blue collar worker struggling to make both ends meet. Jimmy's daughter, Katie, disappears all of a sudden one Saturday night and is later discovered to be brutally murdered in a city park.

On the same night, Dave returns home fully bathed in blood and tells his wife Celeste a very unconvincing story to explain his appearance. Meanwhile Sean, being an old friend of Jimmy, is assigned to investigate the case, and thus the lives of the three get entangled in a complex web of love, friendship, betrayal and revenge. Mystic River is a powerhouse that is absolutely riveting from start to finish. The characterizations are first-rate; delving into the deepest of their minds, Lehane brings out their personalities alive in flesh and blood. The emotional turmoil of the Boyles - Dave, who is unable to forget his past tragic encounter and Celeste, who tries to see reason in her husband's inconsistent lies have been etched perfectly.

The compelling narrative is bolstered by terrific twists and turns, and Lehane holds a masterful grip that keeps you hooked until the very last page. The writing is equally impeccable and is sure to make you pause and savour the beautiful prose despite the breakneck pace at which the story zips forward. Having read the entire book in one-sitting, I was left gasping for breath in the end for I have never been so affected by reading a novel. Haunting, hypnotic and immensely memorable, Dennis Lehane has delivered a masterpiece.