About six months ago while attending a professional conference, I was offered the chance to meet author Dennis Lehane and get a signed copy of the arc of his latest novel, Moonlight Mile. Now knowing I love mysteries and knowing the Mr. Lehane is one of the best mystery writers on the planet, one would think I would have jumped at the chance. Not so much. As I explained to the rep who was extending the invite, I had quit reading Mr. Lehane some years before and I didn't want to waste his time or mine. She politely asked why I had stopped reading him and I mentioned that after reading Gone Baby Gone, his fourth book in the Kenzie and Gennaro series, I simply couldn't read him anymore. As memories of my feelings about that book came rushing back, I went on to explain that I had never been as angry with or as disappointed in a fictional character as I was with Patrick Kenzie in GBG.
The plot of GBG basically involved Kenzie and Gennaro working to track down a missing four year old girl. They are asked to find her by her aunt, because her mother is too busy drinking and drugging to bother. The book was full of twists and turns, but the moment of truth arrived when they found 4 year old Amanda. Spoiler warning here folks, Amanda was living in a loving, supportive home with people who adored her. She may have been kidnapped, but her new home and parents had given the poor child an opportunity to live in a safe, happy, loving environment for the first time ever. As always in a Lehane novel, this brings up some very hard questions about morality and right and wrong. Angie wants to leave the child where she is, knowing that returning her to her neglectful mother would end the only shot the child has at a normal life. Patrick simply won't hear of it. He is set on returning the child to her natural parent, even as he realizes it will be destroying her chance at happiness. I was incensed. As I saw it, to satisfy his own moral code, Patrick ignored the welfare of a child. Not only did he refuse to even debate the issue, he seemed smug and self righteous when others tried to convince him. I don't recall ever being so angry at a fictional character in my life. That book ended my enjoyment of a series that I had loved for many years.
"Oh you have to talk to Dennis" the rep insisted "and you have to read Moonlight Mile as well." Not wanting to offend, since Mr. Lehane had just arrived and was standing within shouting distance, I agreed. "Tell him" she encouraged as we approached, "tell him how you hate Patrick." So I did. I explained how much I have enjoyed his work, and how talented I think he is, but that I had to give up the series books and why. He could not have been nicer about hearing me say I hated one of his characters. Turns out, I am not the only one. Seems he has heard this same thing from many readers since GBG was published. Women, it seemed, were especially furious with Patrick and most felt as I did, that he had sacrificed a child's well-being without giving it a second thought. Mr. Lehane asked me to give Moonlight Mile a chance, since the plot involves Patrick and Angie revisiting the situation in GBG. He assured me that I might feel differently after seeing Patrick being forced to confront his prior actions. He promised some emotional pay-off for the pain inflicted by my disappointment in GBG. And you know what guys? He delivered.
Moonlight Mile picks up about 12 years after GBG. Patrick and Angie have married and are struggling through tough economic times. Patrick is picking up contract detective work and Angie is working on completing her advanced degree. Once again, Amanda McCready, the child in GBG, is missing. Amanda, now 16, has disappeared. Her aunt shows up to ask for Patrick and Angie's help. More haunted by the past that one could imagine, Patrick sets out to find Amanda and make sure that she is safe. What follows are the amazing twists and turns that are the trademarks of a Lehane mystery. The book is as tight and well-written as all of Lehane's stuff is and he did not exaggerate when he said that he had put Patrick through the emotional ringer. Patrick is forced to deal with the consequences of his actions from 12 years before and he seems to realize that the choice to return the girl was not as cut and dry as it might have seemed. Moonlight Mile is about morality and living with the choices that one makes. Lehane forces Patrick to deal with the fact that Amanda would very likely have been better off left with her kidnappers. We, as well as the characters, are forced to think about the general concept of right and wrong and how those concepts may be more fluid than we might like to think.
I would like to thank Mr. Lehane for writing Moonlight Mile. Thanks to his decision to revisit this story, I was able to make peace with Patrick and to find my way back to enjoying some truly excellent and thought provoking work.
- Jo Goodman
- Carla Kelly
- Jo Goodman
- Mary Balogh
- Elizabeth Hoyt
