Mystic river vs The Redbreast: Which Should You Read?
Both live on shelves: Police, Investigation, Murder, Fiction
Mystic river
“WHEN SEAN DEVINE and Jimmy Marcus were kids, their fathers worked together at the Coleman Candy plant and carried the stench of warm chocolate back home with them.”
More
When they were children, Sean Devine, Jimmy Marcus, and Dave Boyle were friends. But then a strange car pulled up to their street. One boy got into the car, two did not, and something terrible happened -- something that…
The Redbreast
More
Don’t Miss the Netflix series Detective Hole, based on Jo Nesbo’s Harry Hole series, premiering March 26, 2026!“An elegant and complex thriller….Harrowingly beautiful.” —New York Times Book Review“The Redbreast…
Side by side
The verdict
- Readers rate The Redbreast highest: The Redbreast 4.5 · Mystic river 4.2.
- Mystic river has the widest readership — 171181 ratings behind its score.
Scores by source
| Mystic river | The Redbreast | |
|---|---|---|
| Goodreads | 4.2 (171181) | — |
| Hardcover | 4.1 (184) | 4.0 (2) |
| Apple Books | 4.5 (687) | 4.5 (601) |
Reception
| Mystic river | The Redbreast | |
|---|---|---|
| Ratings | 171181 | 601 |
| Editions | 53 | 2 |
| Film adaptations | 1 | 1 |
| Want to read | 139549 | — |
| Reading it now | 4943 | — |
| Written reviews | 6742 | — |
| Wikipedia attention | 5175 | 1677 |
| Pages | 496 | 448 |
Questions readers ask
Which is rated higher: Mystic river or The Redbreast?
The Redbreast has the higher combined reader rating across sources (The Redbreast 4.5/5, Mystic river 4.2/5).
Which is shorter to read: Mystic river or The Redbreast?
The Redbreast is the quickest read. Estimated at 225 words per minute: The Redbreast (448 pages, ≈ 8 h 18 m); Mystic river (496 pages, ≈ 9 h 11 m).
Which is harder to read: Mystic river or The Redbreast?
Estimated difficulty, based on era, reader shelves and length — Mystic river: Moderate; The Redbreast: Moderate.
Have both books been made into films?
Mystic river: 5 film adaptations; The Redbreast: no film adaptation on record.