Although crime/suspense novels are not usually “my thing,” there are a few writers in this genre whose work I love. Dennis Lehane is at the top of that list. What I particularly enjoy is he can write works of real literature – Mystic River, Shutter Island, The Given Day – and still write potboilers like the Patrick McKenzie/Angie Gennaro series. And all of them are great reads!
Moonlight Mile is the latest of the McKenzie series and is a sequel to Gone, Baby, Gone. McKenzie and the love of his life, Angie Gennaro, have married and are the parents of a four-year old daughter. They are struggling with the recession just like everyone else, and with domesticity – also just like everyone else. McKenzie is trying to go straight by doing piecework for a venerable Boston investigation firm and hoping to be offered a fulltime position. The family needs benefits! Angie has gone back to college. Out of the blue, Beatrice McCready contacts Patrick. If you have read or seen the film version of Gone, Baby, Gone, you know that she is the aunt of Amanda McCready, the kidnapped child McKenzie “rescued” in the earlier book. Patrick’s meeting with Beatrice sets the action for this story in motion.
I can’t go farther in telling you about the story. As with all this genre, the story is pretty much all you have and to divulge more information would ruin the fun of reading the book. While Lehane does provide enough background from Gone, Baby,Gone for you to follow the plot of Moonlight Mile, you’ll enjoy it a lot more if you either read or see GBG first.
I can’t say that this is the best of the McKenzie/Gennaro series, but Lehane captures dialogue and character well, keeps the plot moving, and is always entertaining. If you want to read Lehane at his best, I’d recommend Mystic River or The Given Day.
Grade: B
