Mass Market Paperback: 400 pages ; Dimensions (in inches): 0.87 x 6.85 x 4.18 Publisher: Avon; Reissue edition (July 1996) ISBN: 0380726238

Book Description

As richly complex and brutal as the terrain it depicts, here is the mesmerizing, darkly original novel that heralded the arrival of Dennis Lehane, the master of the new noir -- and introduced Patrick Kenzie and Angela Gennaro, his smart and tough private investigators weaned on the blue-collar streets of Dorchester.

A cabal of powerful Boston politicians is willing to pay Kenzie and Gennaro big money for a seemingly small job: to find the missing cleaning woman who stole some secret documents. As Kenzie and Gennaro learn, however, this crime is no ordinary theft. It's about justice. About right and wrong. But in Boston, finding the truth isn't just a dirty business ... it's deadly.

I just finished Dennis Lehane's A DRINK BEFORE THE WAR, and enjoyed it very much. The story is written in first person, beautifully written I might add. Lehane can describe something rather ordinary in the environment in such a way that a very precise picture is painted in the reader's mind. 

I found the extreme squalor and hopelessness that he depicts almost beyond belief. I did appreciate how the protagonist reflected on the contrast between the affluent sections of Boston and the poor areas. He also dealt with racial issues quite nicely throughout the book.

The protagonist is Patrick Kenzie, a PI in Boston. Lehane never describes him, or if he did, I missed it, but very early on the reader gets the impression that Kinzie's good-looking based on comments made by his partner, the attractive but tough, Angie Gennaro. 

She affectionately calls Kenzie, Skid. She's also married to an abusive husband, whom she still loves. There's a nice bit of sexual tension between Patrick and Angie, and I thought Lehane did a great job with that.

Then there's Patrick and Angie's friend, Bubba, who happens to be a psychopath. He acts as their backup and provides weapons when needed. He added a little comic relief to the story--based on Kenzie's opinions and reactions to him--but I found the fact that he was still on the streets instead of in jail a little hard to swallow. Then there are the cops who have a like/hate relationship with Kenzie and Angie.

Anyway, the two are hired by a politician to track down documents that a cleaning women supposedly stole. And it seems that everyone, for different reasons, wants to get their hands on these photographs, including two rival gangs that go to war as the story plays out. Both gangs are willing to kill anyone who gets in their way. 

Oh, and that's how the title came about. I normally would not have looked at this book if I didn't know what it was because of the title. Based on the title, I might have thought it was about WWII or something like that. I do love how the title comes from the dialogue in the story.

This was a great read that kept my attention throughout. Kenzie is a well developed, sympathetic character with a past.

What I didn't care for was the sidekick, Bubba, an action that Kenzie and Angie take toward the end of the book, and the description used during a chase scene. Too many details are described during the chase that Kenzie would not have had time to notice, and they were happening behind him, too, so he wouldn't have seen them much less take the time to describe them. But these are minor problems with a book that I really enjoyed.
A reader from United States