"A Drink Before the War"-Dennis Lehane

Book Title: A Drink Before the War (Kenzie & Genaro 1)
Author: Dennis Lehane
Version: ebook
ISBN: 9780062015655
Publisher: HarperCollins e-books
Published: July 27th, 2010
First Published: 1994
Number of Pages: 266

SYNOPSIS: Private eyes Patrick Kenzie and Angie Genaro seem to be in very low demand these days. When they get a call from one of the local politician asking them to help out with a small problem he has they jump at the chance, with all dignity of course. The job seems pretty simple at first, they have to find a missing cleaning woman who has been accused of stealing sensitive documents. Patrick gets a picture and address of the woman who is missing, thinking that it's rather 'convenient' that the woman who supposedly stole these documents is black.

As the crack team begin to dig further into the case however they realize rather quickly that this is about more than just missing documents. As they fight battles on just about every side of their lives Kenzie and Genaro find out just how much more dangerous this whole thing really is. What begins as a fishy sounding missing persons case quickly becomes a drug, sex, gang and race related murder mystery. After being shot at, chased and nearly killed on more than one occasion the team has to sit down, take stock and decide just how important figuring this one out is.

To solve this one Kenzie and Genaro have to travel from the high rises of the rich to the seedy underbelly of the very poor all the while trying to stay two steps ahead of the many forces that are hoping to see them fail. As their missing woman turns up and then is promptly killed because of the papers she took the two realize that this isn't going to be just a grab it and go job. What started as a clear path soon turns murky with pain and injustice. In the middle of it all the two partners have to choose between a paycheck and payback.

REVIEW: I read Dennis Lehane's "Mystic River" so many years ago now that they weren't even publicly talking about making it into a movie and I loved it. I then saw the movie years later and loved that too but that's a different review. Since then I have always wanted to pick up more of Dennis Lehane's work. Every time I was in a bookstore I would find myself browsing his section and trying to decide what to read next. I'm not sure what it was that stopped me but I never pick anything else up until now. And I just want to say that I was a fool to wait.

He has a great talent as a writer but also as a storyteller. From the very first line in the first installment of his Kenzie and Genaro series I was hooked. The way he describes a surrounding or a feeling turns everything into this incredible 3D experience. His writing was rich and flavorful and I loved every word of it. He has a beautiful way with words even the words he chooses seems perfectly thought out. And I really, really enjoyed the humor that he put into it. It was subtle and very funny and not just 'someone fell down drunk' stupid/easy funny but intelligently so. I loved it!

The story was intense to say the least, but it wasn't overly dramatic or over done. Mr. Lehane tells the story with a sense of pain and beauty that seems right and not pompous. It's a dark story about very dark things that most people don't want to think about let alone have it shoved in their faces but Mr. Lehane does just that with poise and a strange almost impossible kindness. He tells it so well that you end up wanting to know about it.

Kenzie and Genaro are an incredible team. They are some amazing characters that I found myself liking right away and rooting for the whole way through. With main characters, the heroes and heroines of literature, we always find ourselves as readers rooting for them naturally. With some characters though, at least for me, I find that I root for them more because of their imperfections and humanness rather than because I was suppose to. This team of private eyes is now part of that group. They are an amazing team that look out for each other with love and great amounts of care but they are far from perfect, in fact they are so wrong that you almost wonder 'why these two as our heroes?' I love them and can't wait to read more about them.

All around I found that this was an great book and I really can't wait to get the next in the series. I think that Dennis Lehane has a real winner on his hands with this and I highly recommend it. This is a great start to what I think is going to be a good series and if you are looking for a good mystery that is interesting, full of life, and written incredibly well this is the one for you.