Dennis Lehane‘s new novel, Moonlight Mile, marks the first book in more than a decade in the author’s private eye series featuring Patrick Kenzie and Angie Gennaro, and serves as a sequel of sorts to Lehane’s Gone, Baby, Gone (perhaps the best-known book from the series, if only because of the great film adaptation by Ben Affleck). What’s it like going back to familiar territory after having broken new ground with his big bestsellers over the last ten years? Here’s a quick excerpt from my review in the Washington Post:
In the decade between the last Kenzie-Gennaro book and this one, Lehane has made quantum leaps as a craftsman: His breakthrough novel, Mystic River, encompassed myriad perspectives and ultimately approached the level of Greek tragedy, and The Given Day, an epic history of early 20th-century Boston, revealed a writer brimming with even greater ambitions. In returning to his old private eye series now, Lehane has narrowed his scope a little: The social commentary is less nuanced, more direct, and plot twists are more prominent than deep moral predicaments. Still, Moonlight Mile should hardly be considered a step back. Instead, Lehane is a writer bringing new confidence and an easy prowess to a new chapter in an epic story — the Kenzie-Gennaro saga.
Check out the full review here. — Art Taylor