Best 2001 Adventures (2)
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December 9, 2020
One in a series of 10 posts identifying Josh Glenn’s favorite 2001 adventure novels.
Dennis Lehane’s crime adventure Mystic River.
Twenty-five years after their friend Dave Boyle was abducted by child molesters from their blue-collar Boston neighborhood, Sean Devine has become a homicide detective for the state police and Jimmy Marcus a criminal mastermind who’s trying to go straight. When Jimmy’s daughter, Kate, is murdered, Sean is assigned to investigate; Dave, meanwhile, becomes the most likely suspect. The race is on… Can Sean crack the case before Jimmy takes matters into his own hands? It’s a depressing, sordid tale about the impossibility of avoiding the violence and abuse that endures from one generation of damaged souls to the next. We spend a lot of time inside each man’s head, which is no picnic. A long, highly atmospheric tragedy.
Fun facts: Clint Eastwood directed the 2003 movie adaptation of Lehane’s novel. Sean Penn won an Oscar for his portrayal of Jimmy, and Tim Robbins won one for his portrayal of Dave. Kevin Bacon, meanwhile, played Sean.
JOSH GLENN’S *BEST ADVENTURES* LISTS: BEST 250 ADVENTURES OF THE 20TH CENTURY | 100 BEST OUGHTS ADVENTURES | 100 BEST RADIUM AGE (PROTO-)SCI-FI ADVENTURES | 100 BEST TEENS ADVENTURES | 100 BEST TWENTIES ADVENTURES | 100 BEST THIRTIES ADVENTURES | 75 BEST GOLDEN AGE SCI-FI ADVENTURES | 100 BEST FORTIES ADVENTURES | 100 BEST FIFTIES ADVENTURES | 100 BEST SIXTIES ADVENTURES | 75 BEST NEW WAVE SCI FI ADVENTURES | 100 BEST SEVENTIES ADVENTURES | 100 BEST EIGHTIES ADVENTURES | 75 BEST DIAMOND AGE SCI-FI ADVENTURES | 100 BEST NINETIES ADVENTURES | 75 BEST HADRON AGE SCI-FI ADVENTURES | NOTES ON 21st-CENTURY ADVENTURES.