The 10 best crime novels of the last decade

Earlier this year at the (London) Times, crime fiction experts Barry Forshaw and Laura Wilson picked the essential reading list of crime novels from the past decade.

One title on their list:

2001 Mystic River by Dennis Lehane

Lehane’s reputation was built on such galvanic and ambitious novels as Darkness, Take my Hand and Gone, Baby, Gone, noted for their taut yet complex story lines and richly drawn protagonists. Mystic River consolidated his status as a major American talent. Childhood friends Sean, Jimmy and Dave have their destinies transformed when a car arrives in their street. One boy gets into the car and a terrible event follows that ruptures their friendship and changes their lives. Twenty-five years later, Sean has become a homicide detective, while Jimmy has turned to crime. When Jimmy’s daughter is found brutally murdered, Sean is assigned to the case and is obliged to travel back to a life he thought he had left behind. As a complex psychological thriller and a state-of-the-nation novel, this is exemplary stuff.

Read about the other books on the list.

Mystic River appears on Tana French's top ten list of maverick mysteries.

--Marshal Zeringue