My rating: 4 of 5 stars
An incredible page-turner that I think was ruined slightly for me by its Epilogue. The tonal (and philosophical) shift in the final section would have been more acceptable if the events it described happened not a couple days later but years later. One character moves from guilt and remorse to an acceptance of his evil in a matter of days? From grief to a rant against gentrification? Hm. But there we have it. Everything before the epilogue though was magic, with searing insight about loss and loneliness, about the end of friendships and the end of innocence, with boundless compassion for its characters, all the while managing to remain suspenseful and entertaining. This is my first Dennis Lehane novel, and what a great novel.
Other books I have recently finished that I feel you should check out: Ball Peen Hammer by Adam Rapp and George O’Connor (which I found fucked-up and terrifying and heartbreaking), and two books by David Sedaris, Me Talk Pretty One Day and Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim.
Eliza Victoria 