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I have wanted to read Lehane for awhile. He wrote for The Wire, is a great interview guest on NPR and he's popular some people on my friends list.
This is my first experience with him. I just picked up his latest book instead of one of his more known works, and as this is essentially a stand-alone (it does tie into another book of his), figured was as good place to start as any.
I enjoyed it, if I wasn't blown away by it. It's similar at times to gangster stories like Boardwalk Empire and there are action elements like something Stephen Hunter would write.
It's all set pretty straightforward, which is probably where it fell flat for me. There are a lot of pulp elements here and usually in these types of stories, the writers put a stylistic take on it, either going for noir elements or taking it to an extreme- either to the extremely ludicrous or the bare minimal. This book would have been delivered a lot differently if put in the hands of James Ellroy, Duane Swierczynski, or Andrew Vachss.
That said, I am not really complaining. It's a solid book that can be split into three parts. I enjoyed the last two parts of the book more than the first, but have seen others say otherwise. The second probably stuck with me the most, and the third was interesting and involving mostly, but did start to wear as I was ready to finish the book.
I felt involved with the characters. I liked the story and the dialogue. I never felt the book let me down (except for getting to that final wrap-up). The twists and turns had some predictability big picturewise, but the details still gave surprise.
Lehane is certainly a talent that is proven here. I was hoping for more of a 'wow' factor, and I didn't get it, but I got a very competently written book and the scenes and characters stick with me. If this becomes a movie as it is talked to be, there is a strong basis for a story here.
Not moved enough to go back to Lehane right away, but will certainly try some of his more known books when I get the chance down the line.
This is my first experience with him. I just picked up his latest book instead of one of his more known works, and as this is essentially a stand-alone (it does tie into another book of his), figured was as good place to start as any.
I enjoyed it, if I wasn't blown away by it. It's similar at times to gangster stories like Boardwalk Empire and there are action elements like something Stephen Hunter would write.
It's all set pretty straightforward, which is probably where it fell flat for me. There are a lot of pulp elements here and usually in these types of stories, the writers put a stylistic take on it, either going for noir elements or taking it to an extreme- either to the extremely ludicrous or the bare minimal. This book would have been delivered a lot differently if put in the hands of James Ellroy, Duane Swierczynski, or Andrew Vachss.
That said, I am not really complaining. It's a solid book that can be split into three parts. I enjoyed the last two parts of the book more than the first, but have seen others say otherwise. The second probably stuck with me the most, and the third was interesting and involving mostly, but did start to wear as I was ready to finish the book.
I felt involved with the characters. I liked the story and the dialogue. I never felt the book let me down (except for getting to that final wrap-up). The twists and turns had some predictability big picturewise, but the details still gave surprise.
Lehane is certainly a talent that is proven here. I was hoping for more of a 'wow' factor, and I didn't get it, but I got a very competently written book and the scenes and characters stick with me. If this becomes a movie as it is talked to be, there is a strong basis for a story here.
Not moved enough to go back to Lehane right away, but will certainly try some of his more known books when I get the chance down the line.
