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A Drink Before the War |  | Author: Dennis Lehane
Publisher: Mariner Books
Category: Book
List Price: $14.00
Buy Used: $0.24
as of 7/31/2010 18:53 MDT details
You Save: $13.76 (98%)
New (38) Used (98) from $0.24
Seller: snowlionbooks
Rating:  157 reviews
Sales Rank: 210805
Media: Paperback
Pages: 267
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.6
Dimensions (in): 8 x 5.4 x 0.8
ISBN: 0156029022
Dewey Decimal Number: 813.54
EAN: 9780156029025
ASIN: 0156029022
Publication Date: September 15, 2003
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| • | ISBN13: 9780156029025 | | • | Condition: New | | • | Notes: BUY WITH CONFIDENCE, Over one million books sold! 98% Positive feedback. Compare our books, prices and service to the competition. 100% Satisfaction Guaranteed |
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Product Description
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.
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| Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 1-5 of 157
 Where has Lehane been hiding? March 5, 2000
62 out of 65 found this review helpful
Started on this series based on a recommendation I read from Michael Connelly (author of a bunch of books, most recently Void Moon). Had never heard of him before --- but man, oh man! This book is incredible, a true page turner --- in a time when page turners really are kind of rare. Mystery-thrillers seem to follow a set formula that a seasoned fan/reader can spot from the beginning. I fell in love with Patrick and Angie and even Bubba. Lehane's characters are so REAL, you feel like you really do know them. They're screwy, quirky, flawed, funny as hell,one or two are downright psychopaths, but you're bound to love them. Tight, well-written -- masterfully written to be honest. Buy this today, and while you're at it, go ahead and order the next four (Darkness, Take My Hand, Sacred, Gone, Baby Gone, and Prayers for Rain). You'll need them fast. This book will leave you literally thirsting for more Lehane.
A Drink Before the War gets 5 stars from a choosy reader. November 7, 1999
47 out of 50 found this review helpful
I don't give five stars easily -- to anything. If the rating system had 1/2 stars, I might have chosen 4 1/2, but that still would have made A Drink Before the War a great read. The first 100 pages had me scratching my head, wondering what all the fuss has been about Dennis Lehane. I read the book on a recommendation from a pal whose tastes I trust, and I wasn't getting this one. Then...everything changed. Lead character Patrick Kenzie's PI wise-cracking was getting on my nerves. Angie Gennaro's role as his PI partner and domestic punching bag was getting on my nerves. Lehane's tendency to put Kenzie on a soapbox doing riffs on race and politics was getting on my nerves. Then, the "schtick" gave way to a compelling and fast-moving story, with action and intelligence and a plot that I wouldn't have figured out for the world, and I'm good at it. The full body of the story made up for what I felt was a weak start off and came to a shuddering end that left me reeling. All was forgiven. There's no way that I could give this book less than a top rating. Dennis Lehane is on his way to being one of the masters, if only he would tone down the "schtick".
Man, Oh Man, I loved this! May 26, 2000
K. Barrett (Valley Mills, TX USA)
22 out of 22 found this review helpful
Based upon customer reviews of Dennis LeHane's series of novels featuring detectives Kenzie and Gennaro, I bought all of them at one time and have just finished this series debut. I had not quite finished it last night when I went to bed. After about 30 minutes of wondering what was going to happen, I got up and finished the book in the middle of the night. That's gotta tell you something! I am mesmerized by the characters: the detectives are sharp, quirky, risk-taking folks most of the time; and they surround themselves with a wonderful assortment of cohorts from Bubba the bodyguard to Devin and Oscar the cops. Throw in a sympathetic priest and you have an excellent mix of lovable, if not quite understandable, characters. The story was gripping, terrifying and believable. I couldn't wait to start "Darkness, Take my Hand, " the second in the series, but I did wait until the coffee perked this a.m. A must read, but read the series in order so you don't miss the personal and touching references to the childhoods and personal lives of the heroes!
The Beginning for Dennis Lehane September 12, 2003
prisrob (New EnglandUSA)
21 out of 22 found this review helpful
To find a great mystery writer is akin to a great bottle of wine for me. Dennis Lehane is one of the best mystery writers around. His stories center around Boston and South Boston is the neighborhood. In "A Drink Before the War" we meet Patrick Kenzie and Anglea Gennaro- a private detective team. Both are locked into their own mysteries- that of abvuse- Patick abuse from his father, a powerful man in his own right. And Angela abuse from her husband. The hint of a relationship is there, but it is subtle and nothing is out in the open.
This mystery opens with a cleaning woman who has stolen papers from an important Boston politico. She asks for assistance and as the storyline deepens- race relations between black and white come to the fore. The streets of Boston are explored and explained. There is violence in this mystery and some of it is not pleasant but somehow opens the mystery to deeper understanding. The writing is superb. This is the beginning of a series exploring Patrick and Angela's relationship and their business partnership. Come along on the journey of Dennis Lehane into the streets and neighborhood of Boston. One of the best writers available- collect all of his books. You will thank me. prisrob
Brilliant June 23, 2001
Untouchable (Sydney, NSW Australia)
12 out of 12 found this review helpful
This is Lehane's first book, and what a devastatingly brilliant book it is too. It introduces us to Patrick Kenzie and Angela Gennaro and their private investigation business in their hometown of Boston. The Boston we get to see, though, is the lower working class and slum areas of town. This is a hardboiled thriller to the core. Patrick Kenzie is haunted by memories of his abusive father; Angie Gennaro is married to an abusive husband. Together they have a fantastic chemistry in which they can virtually read each other's minds.Kenzie and Gennaro are hired by a local Senator to find a black cleaning woman who was in his employ until she disappeared with some important documents. The case is simple, find the woman and return the documents. The woman is found, but from this point on, things start to go wrong, and it's clear that Kenzie and Gennaro haven't been told the whole story. They soon find themselves caught up in a gangland war where survival is looking less and less likely. The dialogue is witty and sharp, the story is very well paced and the characters are very believable and all too real-life. I have read all the other Kenzie-Gennaro books before this one (shame on me for reading this out of order) and rate it very highly in comparison. In actual fact, it would have been of great benefit if I had have read this book first as it puts into perspective events that occur in the later books.
Showing reviews 1-5 of 157
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