I'd 'third' Shutter Island: Dennis Lehane
Not that you need it, but I'd 'fourth' Last Man Standing as well.
My nomination would be a book that I have just finished:-
Mystic River: Dennis Lehane
I am working my way through the Lehane books and am finding them an excellent read - gritty and realistic but without resorting to much in the way of foul language other than one or two words that fit in the context of the type of person. It might just be that I can see reflections of several members of my own London family in several of the characters, which leaves me empathising with some of them.
Quote:
When they were children, Sean Devine, Jimmy Marcus, and Dave Boyle were friends. But then a strange car drove up their street. One boy got in the car, two did not, and something terrible happened -- something that ended their friendship and changed all three boys forever. Twenty-five years later, Sean is a homicide detective. Jimmy is an ex-con. And Dave is trying to hold his marriage together and keep his demons at bay-demons that urge him to do horrific things.
When Jimmy's daughter is found murdered, Sean is assigned to the case. His investigation brings him into serious conflict with Jimmy. And then there is Dave, who came home covered in someone else's blood the night Jimmy's daughter died. While Sean attempts to use the law to return peace and order to the neighborhood, Jimmy finds his need for vengeance pushing him ever closer to a moral abyss from which he won't be able to return.
A tense and unnerving psychological thriller, Mystic River is also an epic novel of love, loyalty, faith, and family.
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