Book Review! (i do occasionally break away from the screen)

Mystic River
by Dennis Lehane (not to be confused with the LeHaye goon writing the 'Left Behind' books)

Danielle introduced me to Beers Books, a cool used bookstore near my office, and while escaping my boss one day i came across Lehane's book. i would never have given it a 2nd glance if it weren't for the masterful film version directed by Clint Eastwood. So, since the book was only $1.75, i bought it.
Oh my goodness. This book is so good! And i even knew the twisty ending already! It is in serious contention for a place in my lists of Bests and Favorites. A quick plot summary: three boys (Dave, Sean and Jimmy) are friends in the low-income outskirts of Boston. One day they're messing around in the streets when a car pulls up and two men take Dave away. Four days later Dave escapes from what was obviously a sexually abusive situation, but it's never discussed. The boys drift apart. Fast forward: Jimmy's 19-year old daughter is brutally murdered, Sean is the investigating detective, and Dave becomes a suspect. All the old demons come out.
Maybe i was partial to the book b/c the movie was so good, but based on its great reviews by others, i doubt it. Everything is so clear, even the knobbiness of Dave's bent mind. Every character: the 3 men, their wives, even peripheral characters, are so unique it's amazing that Lehane could be so dead on so many times in one book. And you don't have to know Boston to get that Lehane has its nuances down to a T. i was most impressed with how he sculpted Celeste, Dave's wife. A great depiction of how a person can become haunted by someone else's demons and not even know why or how. Annabeth is vicious (like a fox), a perfect balance to the dormant-too-long volcano that is Jimmy. Dave is SO complicated, but Lehane unfolds him slowly enough that it never overloads the reader, it just overloads Dave (which is the point). Sean is trapped in such a bizarre situation, while dealing with his own woes via phone 'coversations' with his silent wife, but manages to keep just enough of his cop's edge in the midst of the chaos to give Jimmy a run for his money and break poor Dave down a bit more. Jimmy is profoundly confused in his grief, and it's very powerful. i wish i could explain more, but doing so would give too much plot away. i feel it's necessary to point out that this is not a feel-good book, FYI. Don't say i didn't warn you.
If you've seen the movie, know that it stayed very true to the book and was probably the best book-to-film adaptation i've ever seen, but it still missed SO much, just b/c that's how it goes. If you haven't seen the movie, you should, whether you read this book or not. For me, having seen the movie first helped, but only b/c it was so well done. i don't usually recommend starting with the movie. Sean Penn and Tim Robbins both won Oscars for their portrayals of Jimmy and Dave, respectively, so having their great performances in mind, and the Boston accents, helped give the book more life, by no fault of Lehane's. Anyway, the book rocks, the movie rocks, i can loan you both. 10 out of 10 'Who do you love?'s.