A Drink Before The War – Kenzie and Gennaro Series Book #1

Author: Dennis Lehane
Genre: Thriller, Crime Fiction
323 pages
Publisher: HarperCollins, 1994

Synopsis
Kenzie and Gennaro are private investigators in the blue-collar neighborhoods and ghettos of South Boston-they know it 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 state documents. Finding Jenna, however, is easy compared to staying alive once they’ve got her. The investigation escalates, implicating members of Jenna’s family and rival gang leaders while uncovering extortion, assassination, and child prostitution extending from bombed-out ghetto streets to the highest levels of government. A Drink Before the War , the first in Lehane’s acclaimed series with Boston detectives Patrick Kenzie and Angie Gennaro, is a remarkable debut that 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.

My review
A Drink Before The War is a solid crime novel by Dennis Lehane. Although it’s been a while since I read one of his books, I’ll definitely read the other installments in this series. This is a dark, compelling, and violent crime story that also explores racial and class conflicts, politics, and morally ambiguous characters. Lehane grew up in Boston’s Dorchester neighborhood of Boston and he meticulously crafted a realistic and gritty atmosphere that added to the believability and mood of the story.

The two main protagonists, private investigators Patrick Kenzie and Angela Gennaro, were very well developed. My favorite character might be Bubba, the ‘slightly sociopathic’, loyal sidekick who deals in stolen guns and lives life on his own terms. Lehane invests significant effort in developing his rich cast of characters, diving into their pasts and relationships. Most importantly, Lehane creates deeply flawed, morally ambiguous characters who struggle to find their identities within the larger context of class and racial relations of that era.

A Drink Before the War was a fantastic start to a well-known series. Having read other books by Lehane, I can say his writing is consistently strong, with tightly woven plots and suspenseful narratives that always provide an engrossing reading experience.

My recommendation: read it!