A Drink Before the War by Dennis Lehane

A Drink Before the War (Patrick Kenzie and Angela Gennaro, #1) (Kenzie & Gennaro)

by Dennis Lehane

Patrick Kenzie and Angela Gennaro are tough private investigators who know the blue-collar neighbourhoods and ghettos of Boston's Dorchester section as only natives can. Working out of an old church belfry, Kenzie and Gennaro take on a seemingly simple assignment for a prominent politician: to uncover the whereabouts of Jenna Angeline, a black cleaning woman who has allegedly stolen confidential Statehouse documents.
But finding Jenna proves easy compared to staying alive. The investigation escalates, uncovering a web of corruption extending from bombed-out ghetto streets to the highest levels of state government.

With slick, hip dialogue and a lyrical narrative pocked by explosions of violence, A Drink Before the War confronts a city in which institutionalized bigotry and corruption are often the norm, and the true nature of 'racial incidents' is rarely clear. Dennis Lehane's remarkable debut is at once a pulsating crime thriller and a mirror of our world, one in which the worst human horrors are found closest to home, and the most vicious obscenities are committed in the name of love.

Reviewed by ibeforem on

4 of 5 stars

Share
I've read a couple of Lehane's books already, including a later book in this series, and so far I've liked everything I've read. This series has a nice noir feel to it, especially with the couple of private detectives having their office in the bell tower of a church. I like Kenzie and Gennaro's relationship, complicated as it may be. I also like Kenzie's gutsiness. The politics in this book could just as easily be written about today, and I always appreciate the Boston setting. This is a series I'll actually finish someday.

Last modified on

Reading updates

  • Started reading
  • 8 January, 2019: Finished reading
  • 8 January, 2019: Reviewed