A Drink Before the War by Dennis Lehane is a gritty mystery set in Boston. A Drink Before the War is Dennis Lehane’s debut novel. This book is the first story in the Kenzie and Gennaro mystery series. The basic plot involves a private eye team. They are hired by a politician on the brink of passing a gang bill. His cleaning lady is accused of stealing documents that the politician does not want out. When they find the woman in hiding, they discover she did not steal documents. Instead, she took a photo of the politician looking chummy with a gang member. This picture is one of many that reveals a whole lot more about the politician. Gangs and the government would kill to get those photos. The story is both a bleak mystery and a humor-filled wise-cracking detective story. The humor is throughout the story which helps lighten this dark novel. The two main characters are fun, flirty, and work well off one another. I do like that it is private detectives so they don’t have to worry about bureaucracy. Because they break all the rules and it is fun. Dennis Lehane is a great writer and has only gotten better. He captures a piece of Boston that feels so fresh and authentic. The story is decent the narrative is a little hard to believe all the coincidences that happen around one family. The pace of the story is steady it is not too fast or too slow just even. The book is under 300 pages so it felt fast. I was satisfied by the ending action but the story went a little off the rails during it. A Drink Before the War was a reread for me. I appreciated the words and banter a lot more this time. A Drink Before the War was published on November 1, 1994.

Plot Summary: Kenzie and Gennaro are Boston-based private detectives. They were a thing once briefly in high school but it has been over 10 years. They know each other inside and out and make a good team. A politician hires them to find documents that his cleaning lady has stolen. Patrick tracks down the cleaning lady and finds out too late that he was being followed. The documents she stole were holding up a gang task force bill. The cleaning lady reveals she did not take documents but photos. She gives Kenzie one photo of the politician palling around with a known gangster. The gangster happens to be the cleaning lady’s ex-husband. This photo is just the beginning before she can reveal more they’re getting shot at. Can Kenzie and Gennaro find out why the politician and the gangsters want this nice old woman dead?

What I Liked: This book had a lot of fun witty dialogue. The plot was interesting with a lot of twists and turns. I liked all the rule-breaking and looking the other way by the detectives. I loved the scene where Kenzie and Gennaro negotiated their fee and bonus. I liked the balance of light and dark subject matter. I liked the scene with the racist at the bar, where the cop just can’t let it rest. The shootouts were intense. I did like the character of Bubba who was scary yet very nice and polite to Gennaro.

What I Disliked: I did not like that the cleaning lady was related to two of the biggest threats. These connections made the story less believable. It seemed implausible. The cleaning lady worked for a man who had close ties to her ex-husband. Her connection also extended to her son. This made the plot less credible. She did not need to be related to any of the men to steal the photos from the politician.

Recommendation: A Drink Before the War is a great debut for Dennis Lehane. When you read this book you will see the foundations of the writer Dennis Lehane will become. What he does well is tell gritty stories with bits of humor. He knows the city of Boston well and treats it like a character with all its flourishes. Denis Lehane is one of my favorite authors. A Drink Before the War has a good solid story. It is both fun and horrifying. However, I will barely recommend this story to my followers to check out. My favorite Dennis Lehane novels are Shutter Island, Gone, Baby Gone, and Mystic River.

Rating: I rated A Drink Before the War by Dennis Lehane 3.1 out of 5 stars.