As Moonlight Mile begins, Patrick receives a phone call in the middle of the night from Beatrice McCready who advises that her niece Amanda is missing - again. Beatrice then confronts Patrick on his way to work the following morning and asks if he would find Amanda, now 16, one more time. Readers may recall that Beatrice's husband actually did the kidnapping in Gone, Baby, Gone because Amanda's mom, Helene provided such a poor living environment. Beatrice's husband is still in jail and her son died the previous year in a motor vehicle accident.

To the contrary, Patrick's newspaper friend Richie says that Amanda is not missing at all and that, in fact, the police spoke with Amanda in person. It is not until Patrick is threatened at gunpoint to stay away from Beatrice that he discusses the potential danger with Angie. He decides to take the job even though they are financially strapped. Angie agrees as long as Bubba (yes, Bubba who is sadly underused in this novel) goes along to help.

The start of Moonlight Mile is quite formulaic. There is the opening gambit which elucidates Patrick's skill and character, the threat at gunpoint, and the decision to move forward. From there, the action and the originality pick up measurably. Just like the Rolling Stones song of the same name, Patrick is "just living to be lying by your side." He and Angie look at issues from both the emotional and rational sides, still asking the philosophical question "How do you know you are doing the right thing and can that actually end up wrong?:

Dennis Lehane is a most gifted and talented writer (The Given Day is my personal favorite of his) but he just misses his mark with Moonlight Mile. The book is still a worthwhile read but certainly not his best effort.

--Jerry Solot