Mystic River is a novel set in the times of 1975 for a brief time and 2000, this book was written to take place in one of our country's greatest cities, Boston. Throughout the book, we meet a whole plethora of characters who are all linked to each other through marriage, family, or friends. The book begins with a scene of three best friends in the flats of Boston. Jimmy Marcus, Dave Boyle, and Sean Devine were inseparable when they were growing up, until one day, a poor decision, changed these boy’s lives forever.
Jimmy killed Dave for reasons he found were justified even though I do not agree with his actions. Jimmy believes that Dave killed his daughter based on little evidence and then when he discovers he was wrong, he justifies his actions anyway. Murder is a common occurrence on the streets of Boston. In Mystic River, murder is what keeps the pages turning. Not knowing what to expect next, keeps the reader interested. “And it was. Wasn’t it? You tried to mug an honest citizen, tough shit, if it didn’t go the way you planned. Too bad you might have died” (65). This scene in particular raises questions for the Boyle family since this type of stuff doesn’t seem to be a rare occurance. This would lead me to believe that the characters we meet in the book are ruthless and are open to do anything to fulfill their empty pieces in their lives. One murder in particular begins the story and there is then a domino effect that follows. I am referring to Dave Boyle allegedly killing Katie Marcus. Katie Marcus was driving in her car and when at a complete stop was shot in the shoulder at point blank and then brought out of the car and shot in the back of the head, executioner style, and was instantly assassinated. As the story went on, more details developed and as this happened, more murders began to spiral out of control. Later on the book as Jimmy gets more clues and more information about his daughter's murder, he become angry and agitated. Jimmy had come to the realization that he has to do what he feels he has to do, kill his daughter's murderer. Jimmy, before he decided to take matter into his own hands, he did very limited research and didn’t use his clues well to come to the conclusion that it was Dave who killed Katie. Dave’s hand was swollen and he kept trying to hide the fact that it was. Every time Dave was asked about what happened to his hand, he would give a different excuse when he was questioned, he even said that he hit it against the wall while playing pool. Jimmy knew that his stories were being changed which raised speculation that he beat Katie before killing her but was still insufficient evidence. The problem with Jimmy’s decision is that he took action on something that he had very little evidence to support it. It’s as if he neglected the authorities all together and didn’t even give them a chance to investigate what really
Jimmy killed Dave for reasons he found were justified even though I do not agree with his actions. Jimmy believes that Dave killed his daughter based on little evidence and then when he discovers he was wrong, he justifies his actions anyway. Murder is a common occurrence on the streets of Boston. In Mystic River, murder is what keeps the pages turning. Not knowing what to expect next, keeps the reader interested. “And it was. Wasn’t it? You tried to mug an honest citizen, tough shit, if it didn’t go the way you planned. Too bad you might have died” (65). This scene in particular raises questions for the Boyle family since this type of stuff doesn’t seem to be a rare occurance. This would lead me to believe that the characters we meet in the book are ruthless and are open to do anything to fulfill their empty pieces in their lives. One murder in particular begins the story and there is then a domino effect that follows. I am referring to Dave Boyle allegedly killing Katie Marcus. Katie Marcus was driving in her car and when at a complete stop was shot in the shoulder at point blank and then brought out of the car and shot in the back of the head, executioner style, and was instantly assassinated. As the story went on, more details developed and as this happened, more murders began to spiral out of control. Later on the book as Jimmy gets more clues and more information about his daughter's murder, he become angry and agitated. Jimmy had come to the realization that he has to do what he feels he has to do, kill his daughter's murderer. Jimmy, before he decided to take matter into his own hands, he did very limited research and didn’t use his clues well to come to the conclusion that it was Dave who killed Katie. Dave’s hand was swollen and he kept trying to hide the fact that it was. Every time Dave was asked about what happened to his hand, he would give a different excuse when he was questioned, he even said that he hit it against the wall while playing pool. Jimmy knew that his stories were being changed which raised speculation that he beat Katie before killing her but was still insufficient evidence. The problem with Jimmy’s decision is that he took action on something that he had very little evidence to support it. It’s as if he neglected the authorities all together and didn’t even give them a chance to investigate what really