'Dennis Lehane has become a must-read novelist on the strength of such gritty and forceful thrillers as Darkness,Take My Hand and Gone, Baby, Gone ... Mystic River confirms his status as one of the most vigorous and skilful American talents in years... As psychological thrillers go,this one is non-pareil, and has to be read'--Crime Time

'Throughout the book Mr Lehane moves confidently between characters, elaborating elements of the story from different points of view ... Mystic River is a compelling page-turner whose drama arises not so much from events as from the conflicting perceptions of the main players'--The Economist

When they were children, Sean Devine, Jimmy Marcus and Dave Boyle were friends. But then a strange car pulled up their street.One boy got in the car, two did not, and something terrible happened - something that ended their friendship and changed all three boys forever.

Twenty-five years later, Scan Devine is a homicide detective.Jimmy Marcus is an ex-con who owns a corner store. And Dave Boyle is trying to hold his marriage together and keep his demons at bay - demons that urge him to do horrific things.

When Jimmy Marcus" daughter is found murdered, Scan Devine is assigned to the case. His personal life unravelling, he must go back into a world he thought he"d left behind to confront not only the violence of the present but the nightmares of his past. His investigation brings him into conflict with Jimmy Marcus, who finds his old criminal impulses tempt him to solve the crime with brutal justice. And then there is Dave Boyle, who came home the night Jimmy"s daughter died covered in someone else"s blood...