Live by Night is a crime saga focused on the characters, portraying them as more than one dimensional thugs. Most of them do what they do for a reason. Taking place in 1927, 8 years after the Boston Police strike, Live By Night shifts focus from Danny Coughlin to his youngest brother, Joe. Now 20 and an accomplished small time criminal, Joe falls for the wrong woman and it changes the trajectory of his life. Along the way he rubs elbows with real and fictional […]
“They never see you coming, do they?”
Bob and Cousin Marv run a bar on the south side of Boston. Despite being called “Cousin Marv’s” it’s actually owned by the local Chechen gangsters. Because of this it’s used as a secure drop point for various bookmaking money in town so that the gangsters can collect it later. One night a couple of robbers stick up the bar for $5000 and the Chechens do not react well to this event. Bob inadvertently complicates the matter by giving the investigating cop, Detective Torres, a […]
Dennis Lehane Makes a Money Grab Like a Chechan Mobster
I have always loved Dennis Lehane. He’s one of my absolute favorite writers, so when my library had a book of his on the “New” shelf, I grabbed it thinking it was odd that I hadn’t read it before. Immediately as I started reading, I realized that I saw a movie trailer for this but then never heard anything about it again…The book isn’t bad, you can tell it’s by Lehane, it has his tempo, his lingo and of course, Boston as the ever […]
The Drop by Dennis Lehane
Ooh, this was good. This was so good I picked it up from the library at 2pm and had the whole thing done by the time I went to bed. It’s not a Patrick & Angie story, but if you like anything by Dennis Lehane (and the only way you could not is if you haven’t read anything by him, and you should really do something about that) you’ll like this. Set in Boston (of course) just after Christmas, The Drop stars a lonely guy named Bob, who […]
Moonlight Mile by Dennis Lehane
So here’s a slightly different take on the PI lifestyle — Kenzie and Gennaro are quite a bit different than Izzy and the Spellmans. If you haven’t read Gone, Baby, Gone, or seen the fabulous cinematic adaptation, I’m about to spoil the ending, so back off. Gone, Baby, Gone was Lehane’s fourth installment in the Kenzie/Gennaro series (quick aside: everything I’ve ever read by Lehane has been golden. I may reread my collection just for a chance to review them for CBR). In it, the PIs are […]
Prayers for the Last Page
Karen Nichols appears to have the picture perfect life, but she comes to Patrick Kenzie, PI, when she starts having problems with an aggressive stalker. (Quick side note: someone who reviewed this book on Goodreads kept referring to Karen’s “stocker” problem, which made it sound like someone was forcibly stocking her pantry). Patrick takes care of the stalker and goes on about his life. Six months later, Karen kills herself. Patrick takes it personally, assuming that he could have done something more to help her. […]