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Mission Flats
by
William Landay (Goodreads Author)
From the New York Times bestsellingauthor of Defending Jacob
Former D.A. William Landay explodes onto the suspense scene with an electrifying novel about the true price of crime and the hidden corners of the criminal justice system. Only an insider could so vividly capture Boston’s gritty underworld of cops and criminals. And only a natural storyteller could weave this mesm...more
Former D.A. William Landay explodes onto the suspense scene with an electrifying novel about the true price of crime and the hidden corners of the criminal justice system. Only an insider could so vividly capture Boston’s gritty underworld of cops and criminals. And only a natural storyteller could weave this mesm...more
Paperback, 464 pages
Published
October 26th 2004
by Dell
(first published 2003)
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Like many of the other reviewers, I too read Defending Jacob and enjoyed it. I enjoyed Mission Flats as well, even though I did find it to be a little slow in the beginning. It did pick up and had many plot twists and turns all the way up until the end.
The one problem I found with the story is that certain things just don't fit. One of the major complaints about mysteries is that they don't make sense or are unbelievable. This is often the reason people will give when saying that they don't li...more
The one problem I found with the story is that certain things just don't fit. One of the major complaints about mysteries is that they don't make sense or are unbelievable. This is often the reason people will give when saying that they don't li...more
Dec 27, 2012
John Johnston
added it
Mission Flats was a back-to-back read for me after finishing William Landay's - Defending Jacob. I enjoyed the first book and this second book did not disappoint me. A law degree from Boston College and several years as a prosecutor have obviously prepared our William Landay well for his career as a writer of crime novels. Mission Flats is much more than the straightforward police procedural it at first seems to be. As the plot unfolds, it becomes clear that the novel is a psychological study of...more
This is my first book by William Landay (and his first novel). The book is a stunner in the numerous plot reversals, character development, plot twists, etc. The dark side of Boston and the world of inner-city police is vividly drawn. The book is a true page turner. I hesitate to say more because almost everything I can say would be a spoiler. The set up, briefly, is this. A chief of police in a small Maine town discovers the body of a Boston DA shot to death in a summer cabin by the lake. The s...more
“Mission Flats” by William Landay, published by Dell.
Category – Mystery/Thriller
I had never heard of the author William Landay until a month ago when I read his novel, “Defending Jacob”. This was a truly exceptional read and you can find my review on “goodreads.com”. Suffice it to say I gave it the highest rating possible.
After reading “Defending Jacob” I went back to find what other books he had written. I just finished his first book, “Mission Flats”. What a marvel, I cannot determine which bo...more
Category – Mystery/Thriller
I had never heard of the author William Landay until a month ago when I read his novel, “Defending Jacob”. This was a truly exceptional read and you can find my review on “goodreads.com”. Suffice it to say I gave it the highest rating possible.
After reading “Defending Jacob” I went back to find what other books he had written. I just finished his first book, “Mission Flats”. What a marvel, I cannot determine which bo...more
"Mission Flats" features small town police chief Ben Truman. His father was the chief before him and Ben left grad school in Boston so he could help care for his mother who had Alzheimer's Disease.
As part of his job, Ben checks the summer homes on the lake and this time, he finds the deceased body of a DA from Boston. The man had been murdered in a manner that pointed the finger at a drug dealer from Boston.
As the investigation gets under way, Boston officials try to take control but Ben insists...more
As part of his job, Ben checks the summer homes on the lake and this time, he finds the deceased body of a DA from Boston. The man had been murdered in a manner that pointed the finger at a drug dealer from Boston.
As the investigation gets under way, Boston officials try to take control but Ben insists...more
Dec 18, 2011
Denise
rated it
5 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
Fans of Crime Fiction, Everyone
This novel shows life as a police officer in two different places; Mission Flats in Boston and Versailles, a small town in Maine. Ben Truman, the police chief of Versailles finds the body of a D.A of Boston in a cabin on the lake. Ben Truman becomes emerged entangled in the investigation of the murder and finds that his investigation leads him back to murders that happened years ago. He finds out that the D.A's murder isn't as clear-cut as it looks.
I loved getting to see the point-of-view of a p...more
I loved getting to see the point-of-view of a p...more
LOVED IT !!!!
2nd book of William Landay that I read and should say that his writing style has greatly improved. It was an engaging crime novel that almost felt like my own 'running thriller' movie. The description in the first few pages itself had me hooked to the book.
The story takes place in Versailles, Maine with Claude(dad, chief of police), Benjamin Wilmont(son and History major) and Anne Truman (mom, Alzeihmer's) being introduced, along with the death of Robert Danzinger, Asst DA, MA in a...more
2nd book of William Landay that I read and should say that his writing style has greatly improved. It was an engaging crime novel that almost felt like my own 'running thriller' movie. The description in the first few pages itself had me hooked to the book.
The story takes place in Versailles, Maine with Claude(dad, chief of police), Benjamin Wilmont(son and History major) and Anne Truman (mom, Alzeihmer's) being introduced, along with the death of Robert Danzinger, Asst DA, MA in a...more
I’d never heard of this author, but I decided to read this book after seeing so much good press about his latest novel, Defending Jacob. The books are not a series, but I thought it would be good to start from the author’s beginning anyway. Plus, this book was cheaper than the new one :-). For a detective novel, there’s a much greater focus on character development than I had expected. In some ways, the murder investigation is almost beside the point. There is a lot substance to the story of how...more
I checked this book out of the library after reading some really good reviews of Landay’s new book, Defending Jacob. I thought I would see if I liked his writing before buying his latest. I was not disappointed.
Police Chief Ben Truman of Versailles, Maine (that is ver-sale, not ver-sigh) discovers a dead body one evening, in one of the near by vacation cottages. The body turns out to be a Boston DA, who had been investigating an old unsolved murder of a police officer. The investigation takes Be...more
Police Chief Ben Truman of Versailles, Maine (that is ver-sale, not ver-sigh) discovers a dead body one evening, in one of the near by vacation cottages. The body turns out to be a Boston DA, who had been investigating an old unsolved murder of a police officer. The investigation takes Be...more
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I've now read all of William Landay's books in the reverse order that he wrote them...and I'm hard pressed to decide which I liked the best. This author does know how to write and reach out to his audience. At first glance this book appears to be a police procedural, but Landay quickly reveals that he has more than that in his arsenal. He develops the plot, the characters and an appreciation for the reading experience. There are plot twists and intricacies that really work but are wholly unexpec...more
The author states at the end that there is no Mission Flats area of Boston, no Versailles, Maine, but he evokes a sense of place that makes you think, how could there not be a such a place after all? The motivations, the lies, the politics, the small town, the lake, the bridge, the city, the despair .. you feel it all as this story unfolds with subtle clues (I had to go back and read the beginning again) and the hard hitting complexity that really makes you think... what if??
I will not easily fo...more
I will not easily fo...more
I first read William Landay's lauded book, Defending Jacob, and liked it so much I decided to read his books in the order written, and picked up his debut novel. I think I've found a new favourite author!
Ben Truman has been the chief of police of a small tourist town in Maine for all of three years, a position he "inherited" from his father. He was on track to an academic career as a history professor until his mother's illness brought him back home. Checking on the lakeside tourist cabins in th...more
Ben Truman has been the chief of police of a small tourist town in Maine for all of three years, a position he "inherited" from his father. He was on track to an academic career as a history professor until his mother's illness brought him back home. Checking on the lakeside tourist cabins in th...more
What do you look for in your crime novels? Plot twists? Good cops doing good things and bad cops doing bad things? Good cops doing thing bad things and bad cops doing good things? The seedy underside of the criminal justice system?
Then you will enjoy William Landay's Mission Flats. If you have some leftover funds from your holiday gifts, pick up a copy.
The book starts off with three homicides: the ugly slaying of a beat cop in 1977, the botched drug bust that left another officer dead in 1987, a...more
Then you will enjoy William Landay's Mission Flats. If you have some leftover funds from your holiday gifts, pick up a copy.
The book starts off with three homicides: the ugly slaying of a beat cop in 1977, the botched drug bust that left another officer dead in 1987, a...more
This review is going to sound bipolar. The characters are realistic and the plot is brilliant. The ending - even after I had somewhat guessed whodunnit - still threw me for a loop. But I struggled to get through it, and I never got emotionally involved. I'd compare it to watching a movie that's won a bunch of Oscars, but bores the audience even though it's flawless. Maybe it's because the author was a prosecutor for the DA's office - so it's written in a very clinical, Law & Order sort of wa...more
After Sarah compared this mystery writer to Tana French, I knew I had to read it. An excellent police procedural reminiscent of Dennis Lehane (okay Landay isn't that great of a writer) with things not being exactly what they appear. Told from the perspective of a small-town chief of police from Maine trying to solve the murder of a Boston DA that occurs off season at a fishing cabin, Truman grapples with small-town law enforcement sensibilities with the compromises big-city cops make to do their...more
I picked up Mission Flats, not realizing that it was written by the author of "Defending Jacob." While this book is not at all like Defending Jacob in plot or setting, it has the strong character development, unforeseen twists and turns of plot, and excellent writing style.
Mission Flats is a police procedural and mystery, set in a small town in Maine and in a fictitious Boston suburb. After a dead body is found in a vacation cabin in the small Maine town, the police chief, Ben Truman, assists t...more
Mission Flats is a police procedural and mystery, set in a small town in Maine and in a fictitious Boston suburb. After a dead body is found in a vacation cabin in the small Maine town, the police chief, Ben Truman, assists t...more
I read Defending Jacob, which I liked a lot, so I decided to try his first book. Overall, it kept me interested but much of it seemed hard to believe. He writes very good characters and develops them beyond what you expect as well as making you feel you can see Mission Flats for what is was as well as Maine. He wrote with a similar formula for this book as he did with Defending Jacob, basically, things are not all that they seem. I felt some of the interwoven plots were a little disjointed but a...more
After reading "Defending Jacob," I decided to give this one a try. I've been listening to it in the car on the way to and from work for the last couple of weeks. This one is ideal for listening that way. The reader is very good, the chapters are pretty short and discrete, and the characters are quite vividly drawn. I really don't read these things that often (although I feel like I keep saying that lately), but this has been quite enjoyable. "Defending Jacob" is more gripping, but this one is mo...more
Good Sunday morning, and a very happy birthday to my dad, who's still tearing around like a teenager and loving life. I hope to be exactly like him when I turn...well, let's just say today's birthday ends in a zero and leave it at that. ;-)
This week's read was Mission Flats, written by William Landlay, author of Defending Jacob. Benjamin Truman is the main character in this story, who's the chief of police in Versailles, Maine (fictional small town). So I guess he's the Maine character. Hardy ha...more
This week's read was Mission Flats, written by William Landlay, author of Defending Jacob. Benjamin Truman is the main character in this story, who's the chief of police in Versailles, Maine (fictional small town). So I guess he's the Maine character. Hardy ha...more
I was mixed on this, despite the high ranking. The story was well told, with realistic depictions of the neighborhoods, people, and the racial tensions in Boston, and what felt realistic depictions of Maine. The crimes were interesting and the involved characters kept me wanting to read more, but having read Defending Jacob a month or so ago I was really not happy to see a repeat of the (view spoiler) plot device. Not sure I will read another Landay as I w...more
Landay's new book Defending Jacob has been getting alot of good buzz so while I'm on the library's wait list for that one, I decided to read his award winning debut novel Mission Flats. The story revolves around two old cop killing cases in the Mission Flats neighborhood of Boston and how they might be related to the current murder of an assistant DA who was looking into the past cases and whose body is found in a cabin in Maine. Landay is a great writer. I loved his characters, dialog and sense...more
Nov 18, 2011
Glenda Ricord
rated it
5 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
Everyone
Recommended to Glenda by:
Goodreads Reviews
Shelves:
books-read-in-2011,
5-star-books
I absolutely loved this book. It was fast moving, well written and the end was a big surprise. I didn't figure it out until it was actually revealed at the end. This was William Landay's first book which won an award for Best First Novel. Well deserved. If you like mysteries this is one of the best I've ever read.
I have downloaded his second book which is entitled The Strangler. If it is half as good as Mission Flats it will get five stars as well.
I have downloaded his second book which is entitled The Strangler. If it is half as good as Mission Flats it will get five stars as well.
I was expecting great things from William Landay, after reading Defending Jacob (which I gave 5 stars and have declared my favorite book this year). I'm torn between giving this 1 or 2 stars. I think the writing is excellent, the details perfect. However, I had a really hard time keeping interest in this book. Maybe it was all the characters to keep track of, maybe it was the slow pace. I don't know, but in the end, it was the ending that really made me dislike the book. Yes, plot twists and goo...more
This was a three star book for me until the last six pages. It grabbed me well enough at first, but slogging through the middle (and the author's apparent need to hold a vocabulary clinic: desiderata, lambent, reliquary, equipoise, LUMPENPROLETARIAT?!) it felt a little dry and, what, slowly paced? Also, certain aspects of plot seemed implausible to me.
But wow, the ending! I don't remember an ending that made the whole book for me the way this one did. (Normally it's a lame ending that wrecks it)...more
But wow, the ending! I don't remember an ending that made the whole book for me the way this one did. (Normally it's a lame ending that wrecks it)...more
I saw Landay had a current bestseller and decided to read his earlier works before Defending Jacob in case there were some of the smae characters. I'm surprised I missed this author earlier. The Boston/Maine settings and the small town chief were similar to the Tom Selleck tv series I just watched. I like a mystery where the end isn't totally predictable. Having a bad cop and some other side plots kept you guessing and I was generally happy with the flow of the story. Now I have to decide to rea...more
I hesitated to read this book after being thoroughly disappointed in Defending Jacob. Still, any author can turn out one bad book, so I gave Landay a second chance.
Mission Flats is better than Defending Jacob but not by much. Landay tells Ben Truman’s story in a conversational voice. The story reads like he’s telling the story to a friend not reporting on events. Then he goes and spoils that easy tone with long narrative passages (sometimes whole chapters) of Ben’s thoughts that slow the story d...more
Mission Flats is better than Defending Jacob but not by much. Landay tells Ben Truman’s story in a conversational voice. The story reads like he’s telling the story to a friend not reporting on events. Then he goes and spoils that easy tone with long narrative passages (sometimes whole chapters) of Ben’s thoughts that slow the story d...more
This book, like Landay's "Defending Jacob" is a real page turner full of unexpected twists, but it isn't nearly as strong a novel as "Defending Jacob" is because there are just a few too many twists for the book to come together as neatly as it might or proceed as smoothly as it could. Both novels require the reader to accept a bit of the unlikely for the sake of novel's game, but in this one, I felt as if I was being asked to go too far in suspending my skepticism: there was just too much of th...more
I enjoyed this book but will admit to putting it down from time to time and wondering how Landay thought this or that character would act that way ... or how this or that plot twist made sense or was plausible. Thus, I would have rated this at 3.5 stars if possible but rounded up given it was a debut novel.
His last novel, Defending Jacob , is much improved in terms of plotting, character development and not unduly testing the reader's credulence.
His last novel, Defending Jacob , is much improved in terms of plotting, character development and not unduly testing the reader's credulence.
Landay's first book (author of bestseller Defending Jacob). I enjoyed this crime fiction story. Interesting characters, good story twists. A DA is killed while looking into killings in 1977 & 1987 of both cops and criminals. A small town Maine police chief becomes involved in the case when the murdered DA's body is found in his town. Landay deftly twists several stories together. He's very good at keeping you guessing who done it (as he did in Defending Jacob).
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William Landay is the author of the New York Times bestseller Defending Jacob. Previous novels include Mission Flats, winner of the Dagger Award for best debut crime novel, and The Strangler, which was an L.A. Times favorite crime novel and nominated for the Strand Magazine Critics Award as best crime novel of the year.
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“But sometimes you can't figure everything out because you can't ever really understand other people. You can't understand why they do what they do. You just have to accept a little mystery, Ben. People are mysterious, the world is mysterious. You can't know everything. You're not supposed to. This isn't a history book. It's just the world. It's a messy place.”
—
9 people liked it
“We move through time like a man in a rowboat, looking back even as we move forward.”
—
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Nov 18, 2012 05:23pm