Book Review: Moonlight Mile

The latest installment of Dennis Lehane's chronicles of Patrick Kenzie and Angela Gennaro lives up to its predecessors. This time, he comes back to the original story of "Gone, Baby, Gone," and tlls what happened to the little girl they found all those years ago.

The story starts with Pat and Angie 12 years after the events of "Gone, Baby, Gone." They have gotten back together after being separated for many years, and now have a child of their own. 

In the first book, Amanda McCready disappeared from her Dorchester home. Pat and Angie were hired by Amanda's aunt to aide in the police's investigation. This time, Amanda is 16 years old, and has developed into a smart and cunning young girl, despite her less than nurturing surroundings.

If you haven't read "Gone, Baby, Gone," you should read it before taking this off the shelf. Lehane doesn't make it absolutely necessary, as the story keeps the reader up to date with necessary details, while not giving everything away to the unexposed reader. These details serve a duel purpose, as they help to refresh the memory of those who have also read the first book.

Lehane's characters are amazing. The criminal cutthroats in the story seem to break the usual tough guy stereotype, and their depictions and descriptions form a clear image to the reader. Yet these characters are not without a certain level of black humor. For instance, Patrick runs into a Mordovian hit man by the name of Yefim. The presentation of this character is at least my favorite, mainly because of how Lehane does the Russian accent.

It starts obviously enough, and the reader gets a slight impression of Boris Badinoff's kind of accent from Rocky and Bullwinkle. After just a few simple inserts of a Russian accent, the reader will most likely immediately hear the accent in their heads; regardless of the fact that Lehane limits the written implication of the accent to a few simple phrases.

This book has just about as many twists and turns as the first installment of the series. It shows the kind of remarkable girl that Amanda McCready has become, and what she does with the kind of sharp, critical and meticulous intelligence she has developed.

The story deals with Russian mobsters, spam artists, high school drama, high speed trains and a hoard of iPhones and iPads; of which apparently you can't even give away, let alone sell. An intricate and subtle subplot laces the story, and like the first book, the reader has little chance to figure it all out before the ending.

The story features many of Massachusetts' local color, as the story features in-depth descriptions of the Foxborough suburban area, as well as Western Massachusetts. The settings may have changed a bit, but Pat and Angie are still the same. It seems like Lehane was attempting to rectify the events of "Gone, Baby, Gone," and it resolves the story of Amanda McCready beautifully. Lehane resolves the characters from his first book of the Pat and Angie series with gritty realism and subtle humor to boot. Even if this is your firs forray into the series, it is definitely worth a read.