A Catskill Eagle vs Gone, Baby, Gone: Which Should You Read?

Both live on shelves: Detectives, Massachusetts, Boston, Private investigators, Mystery, Fiction

A Catskill Eagle

A Catskill Eagle Robert B. Parker · 1985 ★★★★☆ 4.0 311 pages · ≈ 5 h 46 m · Moderate Find on Amazon

Gone, Baby, Gone Dennis Lehane · 1998 ★★★★☆ 4.2 510 pages · ≈ 9 h 27 m · Easy Find on Amazon

The verdict

Ratings are close: 4.0 vs 4.2 — either is a safe pick by score.
A Catskill Eagle is the quicker read — about 5 hours vs 9 for Gone, Baby, Gone.
Gone, Baby, Gone is the easier read (Easy), A Catskill Eagle more demanding (Moderate).