A Drink Before the War by Dennis Lehane -- a review by Elleanore G. Vance

 

 CW from the reviewer: This book uses a variety of slurs (1-2 whole pages of n-word slurs somewhere in the middle, and a few more sprinkled throughout, among others ), domestic abuse, transactional sex, abuse of power, parental abuse of a minor, sexual abuse of a minor, sexual assault and sexual trafficking. Should you decide to read this book, know that some of these are plot points and may be upsetting. This may not be the book for you. 

 Patrick Kenzie is a private detective whose office is in the belfry of the neighborhood Catholic church. His partner is childhood BFF, Angela Gennaro, who is married to former pal Phil. (It is not a happy union. More on that later) The pair are hired by a trio of politicians who want them to recover some documents purloined by a former employee. While in search of the documents and the woman who took them, Patrick and Angie confront personal demons. Then they get a scrap of a piece of evidence that threatens to throw the whole case upside down and inside out. The violent death of a witness weighs heavily on Patrick's mind. As once might expect, it seems to mar his soul. Set in Boston's Dorchester neighborhood, this seems an almost voyeuristically real look into the living, breathing, bleeding community. 

 Race relations, or rather lack thereof, have a central role, not only in action, but in theme. This is a heavy book. It starts off bleak and gets bleaker. The cast feels real, like you could look in your phone and find your good friend Patrick Kenzie wants to meet up for the proverbial beer. The cost of that reality, that life on the page, is weight. We do not look away from life's horror, we take it in, and grow from it. Like a vaccine (or iocane powder) absorb a small amount of whatever would harm you, and over time build an immunity. Patrick takes the job. He looks at all the blood and the filth, and strives to do better. Angie's arc mostly is about her marriage to Phil, which is abusive in nature. Around that, we learn that she is a better shot than Patrick; a good and dedicated detective in her own right. She often serves as a sounding board for finding the next direction of investigation, and contributes good ideas. We, the reader, see her take a journey through Patrick's eyes (first person narrative), and I feel that the book is worth it just for Angie's arc. I hesitate to say that I loved this book. Its gritty and grimy like Christopher Nolan's Batman Begins. My only previous experience with these characters was the 2007 Film "Gone Baby Gone" starring Casey Affleck: . I really, really, really wanted the audio to be read by Casey Affleck. I would also have accepted either of the Wahlberg brothers (Donnie and Mark are from Dorchester) or even the guy who does the annoying Sam Adams radio commercial. Keeping the CW section in mind, this is a structurally complex story, and well written. 5/5