A Drink Before the War by Dennis Lehane Summary and Reviews
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Book Reviews of A Drink Before the War
Book Review: A remarkable book...
Summary: 5 Stars
Usually when I read a detective/thriller type book, I enjoy it and quickly cast it aside and look forward to my next fiction book. That was not the case with Dennis Lehane's 'A Drink Before the War.' This was a book that was both entertaining and disturbing. This was a book that made you think long after you finished it.
The book follows Patrick Kenzie and Angela Gennaro and their detective work on the streets of Boston. The story begins with some politicians looking for some documents which they say were stolen from them by a person. The two go off and search for this person and uncover dirty political secrets, gang warfare and a mystery. It is up to these two to try and figure out the truth and to keep themselves safe while doing it.
The story is well put together, intense and interesting. The story alone is top notch. The difference is the background given...the character given to Boston...the emotions that are on display and held back at times. This is a book much more than the central characters. This is a book that makes you think about kids growing up, fractured race relations, spousal abuse and corruption on the streets (openly dangerous) and the inner offices of politicians (secretly dangerous).
I have become a fan of Lehanes after reading this one book and I look forward to reading his additional books.
Book Review: Lehane is one of my favorite genre writers
Summary: 3 Stars
When I say that Lehane is one of my favorite writers, I mean it. Mystic River is one of, if not the best, genre book ever written. It ranks up there with the best of Chandler, Hammett, and Jim Thompson. Lehane's Kenzie/Gennaro series is also pretty good. From one book to the next in this series I think that Lehane found himself as an author. A Drink Before the War was Lehane's first effort that was published I believe. It is a bit weary when compared to his more mature work and really deserves no more than three stars. This series is worth reading, and you should not pass this book by if you plan on wandering into it. Just keep in mind that these books do get better with the passage of time. They kind of remind me of a darker Harlan Coben/Myron Bolitar effort.
This book has several major faults. First of all, it drops right into the series as if this were the second or third book and not its first. Time and again Lehane references past excursions or characters as if the reader were in the know. It feels as though Lehane were using the plot to jump from one action scene to the next without regard to plausibility. I was looking forwards to reading this book after enjoying the rest of the series if just because I wanted a more intimate introduction to the duo protagonists. But this is not the case here. They arrive fully formed and undergo little fleshing out.
I do urge you to read Lehane. His only masterpiece thus far is Mystic River, and you might as well start with that book if you have yet to read Lehane.
Book Review: A toast to the author!!!!
Summary: 5 Stars
Read in the paper that Ben Affleck is going to direct the movie of this book. So I read it again. What a good writer Dennis Lehane is! All the characters (and they are characters) in his books are well described and their interactions are superb. Love Bubba! The mysteries are all good and the relationships are poignant. The aura of Boston neighborhoods was accurate and vivid. Mr. Lehane is a native of Massachusetts. Well done, Dennis! (Hope Ben doesn't muck up the story).
Book Review: The beginning of Kenzie and Gennaro
Summary: 5 Stars
My first Dennis Lehane book was "Mystic river", and I was impressed with the directness of his style, the development of his characters, even if they are perfectly common people, and the power of his plot. Lehane is bold without being pedantic, and modern without being overstyled.
"A drink before the war" is the first in the Patrick Kenzie / Angela Gennaro series. The two bostonians share an office in the tower of a church, where they sit to look through the window and work the cases they get as respected private detectives. In this book, the job is fairly simple, at a first glance. Two senators and a congressman ask Kenzie and Gennaro to find Jenna Angeline, a janitor in the Senate House. She appearently abandoned her job, taking with her a stack of photographies. The representatives are, of course, more concerned about the photographies than with the woman. Patrick and Angela take the case, and soon see themselves in the middle of a gang war, fighting powerful people and being attacked by different sides.
Lehane's book is one of those that will keep the reader reading without rest. Lots of action sequences (some of them a little bit overplayed, but this is fiction, and it fits the story), never boring, never slowing the pace down. But what I liked the most was the characters. Kenzie has a terrible past relation with his father, the heroic fireman. He is corageous, shy, honest, bold and stupid. He could be many people I know. Angela is also a great character, but I think her stunning beauty makes her a little less believable than Kenzie. Anyway, Lehane is an intelligent author, and gives clues to his characters personalities in the middle of his story, and the reader always has something new to disclose about them. Right now I'm reading "Darkness, take my hand" and I can see that Kenzie's and Gennaro's backgrounds will be constantly developed in further books. Other constant characters in the series are also interesting, like the two Boston PD detectives, Oscar and Devin and the teddy bear psychotic arms dealer Bubba.
The city of Boston itself is a character (and a powerful one) in Lehane's book. He is able to describe the different parts and aspects of life in Boston, and make the reader understand that the city is a very important part of his plot. Lehane is one of my favorite detective/thriller authors, along with Michael Connelly and Greg Iles.
Grade 8.9/10
Book Review: Awful!
Summary: 1 Stars
I hate be the lone dissenter here, but I honestly hated this book and cannot figure out why it is so highly praised. The storyline is boring, the characters are one-dimensional, unrealistic and annoying, and the violence in this book is overwhelming. Gruesome shootings and beatings occur at regular intervals, and one particularly awful torture scene is enough to turn one's stomach. It seems like the author, instead of wanting to write a decent story with realistic and engaging dialogue, instead decided that it would be much easier to simply pen scenes where everyone gets blown to smithereens, while our heroic duo emerge with barely a scratch. And yes, I do realize the book centers around gang warfare, but all the guns, snipers and grenades seemed a bit much a times. Perhaps I'm naive.
I'm certainly glad that I checked this book out at the library and did not waste money on it.