A Drink Before the War

Lehane, one of my favourite authors, introduces the crime writer’s device of the duo, in his first Kenzie and Gennaro novel. For me, as in my own DCI Steel novels, the duo in writing can work to inform, or mislead, the reader and, if handled well, the reader doesn’t notice, seeing the interaction between characters as normal. Clichés abound in crime fiction, especially in lead characters, but Lehane avoids this with P.I. Patrick Kenzie, and his lifelong friend, Angie Gennaro. Given the area they inhabit, with its racial and gang tensions, added to the clients they have, clichés would seem… show more.

In my very first mystery writing class, the instructor assigned A Drink Before the War by Dennis Lehane. She said it was to show that mysteries are more than whodunits. They can be literary, filled with compelling characters, action, humor, and, above all, wonderful writing. And that is why I have devoured every Lehane book featuring Boston private investigators Patrick Kenzie and Angela Gennaro. They provide all that and more. You see, Kenzie and Gennaro live by a code that compels them to do what is right, even when it will get them into terrible trouble. I am intensely attracted… show more.

Wow. One of the best first novels I've ever read. All I can say is, “Read the damn book if you're a fan of thrillers.” Kenzie and Gennaro complement each other well as a husband-and-wife detective team. Lehane’s prose is as lyrical as it is dark, and his plot is superbly constructed. Finally, Bubba Rogowski is one of the all-time great supporting characters. He might be the only literary character who could beat Jack Reacher in a fight. Plus he’s more loyal to Kenzie and Gennaro than a thousand dogs.