A Drink Before the War

First of all, I love Dennis Lehane's books "Shutter Island" and "Mystic River". I did not previously know about the private detective series he wrote centering around Kenzie & Gennaro. The city of Boston (working class section) is almost the third character in the story. I really loved both main characters and worried about them throughout the story -- and believe me, it got scary at times. I look forward to reading all of these books in order. So glad that you can count on Audible to carry the full series. Jonathan Davis did a really good job narrating. He was an excellent choice for how I imagined the voice of Kenzie. Read this series in order, but start soon. My time was well spent listening to this audiobook.

Top 50 of around 700 books in my Audible library.

The male and female PI partners have a great collegial relationship, but the story and the partners deal the possibility of a romantic relationship.

I love the way an accent helps create the setting.

Is there anything we can do to help Dennis Lehane to write faster?

The narrator and the story. You get to know the characters, and the protagonists are likeable even if a bit flawed due to the calamities of life -> much of the underlying theme of the book is about the way things are and how they effect us. Great suspense and story.

Yes. Lost of twists and turns. And not a bit of

Not yet.

My negatives were that it preached a bit much about the unfairness of racism. The points were well made - just overdone and a little out of context. This didn't get in the way of my enjoyment too much.

Dennis Lehane has a very elegant way of turning a phrase, even in a gritty, edgy novel like this. His characters are real, flawed, not necessarily likable all the time, but with genuine emotions. The narrator has a lazy cadence to his voice that might be annoying if he were reading a third-person novel, but as Patrick (don't call me Pat) McKenzie, it works. I highly recommend for the non-squeamish listener who wants to feel like he's sitting in a Boston bar listening to Patrick tell this story over some beers.

We all know words. We all have some talent in forming sentences. But the truly gifted can massage ideas and thoughts through words that grab your attention; making one wish that he could express himself as elegantly. Lehane knows how to do it.

Dennis Lehane, an erudite mystery writer, and Jonathan Davis, a reader with a wonderful feel for the work, create a first rate piece of audio theatre.

Published in 1994, this is mostly about race relations and the politics of the 70's and 80's.

Remember the Cordovia, Grenada and Chevette. They are here along with cops riding in Crown Victoria's. Race is a huge topic in this book. It is also filled with lots of macho talk from cops, private eye's and gang members. The war in the title refers to a gang war.

The book is also fairly political and like all Lehane novels it takes place in Boston. Some authors know how to get my attention and hold it and Lehane is one of them. This is my sixth book of his and they have all been good to excellent. I am normally not a mystery or detective fan, but I do like the writings of Lehane and Gerritsen. His characters are cliche, but I love them anyway. His characters are also similar to the girl with the dragon tattoo, in that they do not always do what is politically correct. Some may be a little appalled by some of there solutions to problems. This being the first in a series you should get it. I have listened to the third book in the series (Sacred) and it is even better.

The narrator is great.

My favorite DL books are The Given Day, Sacred and Shutter Island.

Bonus: Since this is a political book, I want to make a political statement. Recently I listened to an interview on NPR in which the host was interviewing a black leader over the shooting in Florida. The host made the statement that we have made no advances in race relations. I cringed. I agree that we still have a long way to go, but we do have a black president, is that not progress? I believe the host should read books like this, to remind him how it used to be. He will see we have made progress.

Not his best book, IMO, by any means, but still a solid story. It's worth a listen, but his others are worth more than a few listens.

This is a screed about race relations. Okay for awhile and he makes some good points, but the preaching gets old.